Short answer: the Government of Ontario's horse factsheet "Forage substitutes for horses" says "Long-stem, dry hay should be the main nutrient source for horses." When hay is short or poor, it sets out hay cubes, "complete" concentrates, beet pulp and straw as fibre options, each with limits, and says "Neither straw nor beet pulp should be used as the sole source of nutrition." Masterfeeds' hay-shortage article names hay cubes and beet pulp (and its own Rx Roughage) as hay replacers fed "in lieu of a few pounds of hay". Before you take hay out of a ration, talk to your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist.
How much forage does a horse normally eat?
Two sources, framed two different ways:
- Ontario: "A good source of forage should comprise at least 50% of a horse's daily intake - 5.4-6.8 kg (12-15 lb) of dry hay for the average adult horse."
- Masterfeeds: "approximately 1.5-2% of their bodyweight per day should be forage", "which is about 15-20lbs for your average 1000lb horse".
Our arithmetic on Masterfeeds' 1.5 to 2% figure (not a ration, and not a substitute for weighing the hay):
- 400 kg horse: 6 to 8 kg of forage a day
- 450 kg horse: about 6.8 to 9 kg a day
- 500 kg horse: 7.5 to 10 kg a day
- 600 kg horse: 9 to 12 kg a day
To put a number on your own horse, see our guide How to Estimate a Horse's Weight: Weight Tape, Girth Table or Scale.
Why fibre is the issue: Ontario's page says "Long-stem hay and pasture grasses contain over 20% crude fibre, whereas most grain mixes, even so-called "complete" feeds, contain less than 12% fibre."
Hay cubes
Ontario describes hay cubes as long-stem alfalfa, or alfalfa and timothy, hay that is "dried, chopped and compressed into cubes". What the page says about feeding them:
- "The mixed-grass or corn-plant/alfalfa cubes are recommended if fed as the sole source of forage to adult maintenance horses."
- "Alfalfa cubes are more appropriate for either lactating mares or growing horses and as a partial forage substitute."
- As a hay stretcher: "1-2.5 kg (2-6 lb) of cubes per horse per day can be used as a "hay extender" if only poor-quality hay is available in limited quantities."
- Soak them: the page says choking is avoided by "soaking the cubes in water for 10 minutes before feeding them to the horses".
- In the cube-only research the page reports, horses chewed more wood; it says that can be reduced by feeding "at least some long-stem hay or straw".
We don't list hay cubes. The nearest thing we list is Simply Straw Dehydrated Alfalfa Pellets 20 kg, which our listing describes as Canadian non-GMO alfalfa pellets with at least 17% protein. Ontario's notes above are about cubes, not pellets, so feed the pellets by the bag's own directions.
Beet pulp
Ontario's page calls beet pulp "a by-product of the sugar beet industry" and says: "It is a good source of fermentable fibre and is fairly high in calcium, with only moderate protein (8%) and no vitamin content."
- Amount: "Up to 4.5 kg (10 lb) (dry weight) can be fed to the average adult horse but it should be supplemented with a balanced vitamin/mineral supplement and perhaps protein."
- "Do not feed beet pulp as the sole source of nutrition."
- Soaking: the page says the raw form is traditionally "soaked in water for 1-12 hours before feeding", and that soaked pulp can go rancid in hot, humid weather.
By our arithmetic, a 25 kg bag fed at Ontario's top amount of 4.5 kg (dry weight) a day lasts one horse at least 5 days; at 1 kg a day, 25 days. That is arithmetic on a maximum, not a schedule.
We list Beet Pulp Pellets - 25 kg, sold through Masterfeeds. For the vitamin and mineral products we list, see Mad Barn Omneity vs AminoTrace+: Which One Does Your Horse Need?, and ask your nutritionist which fits the rest of the ration.
"Complete" concentrates
Ontario describes these as mixtures of grains, hay or beet pulp, vitamins and a mineral supplement: "They are designed to be fed without hay, grain or other supplements and still meet the horse's basic needs." How to tell one apart: "The label should contain the statement "designed to be fed without forage.""
- Amount: "Usually 5.4-6.8 kg (12-15 lb) of a complete feed are needed to meet the average 450 kg (1,000 lb) horse's daily needs".
- Split it: the page suggests "Feeding smaller amounts (1-1.5 kg (2-3 lb) per feeding) more frequently".
- "Use complete concentrate feed instead of, not in addition to, a horse's regular grain ration."
- Change over slowly: "Switch horses to the complete concentrate rations slowly, taking over a week to completely eliminate hay from their diet".
- The page also carries a caution about feeding complete concentrate with no other source of roughage. Read it on the page, and talk to your veterinarian before you remove hay entirely.
The Masterfeeds horse pellets we list are fed with hay, by Masterfeeds' own directions:
- Masterfeeds Senior Horse Pellets - 25 kg: "Feed ½ to 1½ kg per 100 kg body weight along with good quality hay." Masterfeeds' Senior page adds: "As the horse ages, problems with their teeth will mean the forage component of their diet will gradually need to be replaced with processed crude fibres." and "The combination can be soaked to make it easier to consume." (It names its Rx Roughage cubes or pellets for that; we don't list Rx Roughage.)
- Masterfeeds Podium Cool Energy Horse Pellets - 25 kg: "Feed ½ to 1½ kg per 100 kg body weight along with good quality hay."
- Masterfeeds 14% Equine Developer Pellets - 25 kg: fed "along with good quality grassy mixed hay" (pregnant mares), "along with good quality mixed hay" (lactating mares) or "along with good quality grassy mixed forage" (yearlings).
For those rates worked out by body weight, see How Much Senior Feed to Give a Horse? Masterfeeds Rates in Kilograms.
Straw
Ontario: "Think of straw not as a source of nutrition for horses but rather as a "chew factor" and fibre source." The page warns against suddenly putting horses that have had no forage onto straw, and about mould toxins in straw from wet years, and says: "Do not use rye straw with pregnant mares in the last two months of gestation." We don't list feeding straw.
Wheat bran and rice bran
- Wheat bran: Ontario says it is "extremely high in phosphorus". "If feeding it as a supplement, limit it to no more than .45 kg (1 lb) per adult horse per day and carefully balance the calcium/phosphorus ratio with calcium supplements." "Wheat bran is not recommended as a major forage substitute."
- Rice bran: the page says "rice bran is not recommended as a major forage substitute".
We don't list wheat bran or rice bran. (GHS Rice Bran Oil is an oil, not bran; it is not one of the substitutes on Ontario's page.)
Lawn clippings and garden waste
Ontario says garden plants and clippings "are not recommended as forage substitutes or even supplements", and: "Even pure grass clippings are unacceptable."
Stretching the hay you have
Masterfeeds' hay-shortage article suggests conserving the hay you have, and names slow feed nets or feeders, "preferably fed below the shoulder". It says "replacement products should be fed in frequent, small meals similar to their grazing behaviour with forage", and "A hay analysis is an excellent starting point to determining what nutrients may be lacking".
Slow-feed hay nets we list:
Before you change a ration
Every substitute on Ontario's page has limits, and its summary says hay should stay the main source. Change feeds gradually, weigh what you feed, and talk to your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist about your own horses, especially seniors, broodmares and growing horses.
Related guides: How Much Senior Feed to Give a Horse? Masterfeeds Rates in Kilograms · How to Estimate a Horse's Weight: Weight Tape, Girth Table or Scale · Mad Barn Omneity vs AminoTrace+: Which One Does Your Horse Need?
Sources: Government of Ontario, "Forage substitutes for horses" (factsheet ISSN 1198-712X, first published September 2005; page updated May 4, 2026), ontario.ca; Masterfeeds, "Hay Shortages and Quality Issues: Finding Fibre Alternatives and Balancing Rations", and the feeding directions on Masterfeeds' Senior Pellet, Podium Cool Energy Pellets and 14% Equine Developer Pellet pages, masterfeeds.com. All viewed October 2026. The weight and bag arithmetic is ours.