Fibre is fermented in the horse's hindgut which is comprised of the caecum and large intestine. Like other mammals, the horse isn't able to produce the enzymes required to break down fibre so it relies on a population of micro-organisms to carry out the fermentation process. As the micro-organisms break the fibre down they produce volatile fatty acids (VFA's) which the horse utilises as an energy source. This fermentation process results in heat being produced as a by-product so during the colder months fibre is essential for keeping your horse warm from the inside out!

Cooking cereals before feeding vastly improves the digestion of starch by making it more available to be absorbed in the small intestine. Micronisation has been shown to be the most efficient way of cooking cereals and thus helps to reduce the amount of starch entering the hindgut (therefore minimising the risk of disrupting the sensitive microbial population). Firstly, the grain is soaked to increase its moisture content and causes the starch granules to swell. The grain is then passed under an infra-red heat source and as the water vapour pressure in the starch granules rises, they swell and fracture; this is gelatinisation. The grain is then rolled to prevent the starch from binding to the protein in the grain which would render it indigestible.

Molasses is a dark brown syrup and is produced as a by-product of the sugar extraction process from sugar cane or sugarbeet. It is often added to feeds to reduce the dust content and improve palatability and the horse is very well adapted to digest this as long as it is trickle fed. (It is always important to remember that grass contributes the most sugar to the horse's diet). During the high temperature drying process, the leaves of the alfalfa plant (the most nutritious part) become brittle and tend to shatter so to produce a nutritionally consistent product, a light molasses or molasses extract coating is added to our products.