The Horse Energy Index: A helpful tool for choosing feed

Horse owners need to choose the right feed based on the activity level, body condition and behaviour of their horses.

That’s why Sollio Agriculture developed the Horse Energy Index (HEI), an exclusive tool to help horse owners choose the ideal feed for their horses based on their individual health and performance objectives.

What is the Horse Energy Index?

The diagram below shows the energy profile of each feed based on four scales:

Calories

The orange bar represents calories. The higher the value, the more the feed will promote efficient weight gain or maintain the horse’s body condition regardless of exercise.

Fibre

The dark green bar represents fibre from highly digestible ingredients such as soy hulls and beet pulp.

When fibre ferments, it produces volatile fatty acids, which are used as the main source of energy. This does not impact horse behaviour.

Fat

The pale green bar represents fat from sources of vegetable fat such as soy oil and flaxseed.

This highly calorically dense nutrient does not trigger an insulin response and builds muscle endurance by promoting the mobilization of fat tissue.

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs)

The grey bar represents the ingredients’ sugar and starch content. These carbohydrates are a significant source of calories and help efficiently recover muscle glycogen after exercise.

NSCs have acidifying effects and impact blood sugar and insulin levels, so they must be provided in reasonable amounts and spread over several meals per day.

The Horse Energy Index

The arrow indicates which energy sources the feed provides and for which type of activity or exercise it is recommended.

Three horse feed examples

Different horses will need different Sollio Agriculture feeds. Here are three common types of horses and the feeds they require:

Leisure horse

This horse goes out for a ride two to three times a week. It maintains its weight easily and needs to stay calm during rides. The feeds that best meet its needs are LinoFibre and NutriFibre, which both have a very low glycemic index.

Barrel racing horse

This horse trains about three times a week. Training sessions are short and intense, with competitions on the weekends. The horse has significant energy needs and has to release a lot of power when it competes.

The feeds that best meet its needs are Versa TXT, Oleo and Turbo EXT, which have a moderate to high glycemic index.

Eventing horse

This horse trains four to five times a week and competes every other weekend. It needs to deliver power for jumping obstacles while maintaining calm behaviour and endurance.

The feeds that best meet its needs are Versa, HP and Perfo EXT, which have a controlled glycemic index.