04/14/2026
our horses eat hay many hours within a 24 hr period of time.
free fed all night long. perfect for chilly months.
(makes our ponies too fat, lol). good hay is essential.
2+2 = roughage.
One of the simplest ways to protect your horse from ulcers is often the most overlooked.
Many horse owners spend hundreds each month on gut supplements designed to prevent ulcers. But when you ask a simple question “Do you feed roughage before you ride?” the answer is often no.
The reality is, feeding fibre roughage (especially long stemmed fibre like hay and haylage) before riding is one of the easiest and most effective ways to support your horse’s stomach health. During exercise, stomach acid can splash around inside the stomach, which is a key contributor to ulcers in ridden horses. Feeding fibre roughage just before you ride creates a natural “mat” in the stomach, that greatly reduces this splashing effect. That in turn means the stomach becomes an environment where ulcers are much less likely to form. There are now multiple peer-reviewed studies supporting the benefits. Even horses on 24/7 modern day leafy pasture benefit. Long-stem fibre (like hay) does a far better job of forming this protective layer than pasture alone.
Another common myth is that feeding before riding increases the risk of colic. But horses are designed to be grazing, moving animals… built to react and be active at any moment. So why would nature set them up to fail if they need to flee? While high starch or sugary feeds before exercise aren’t ideal, feeding fibre (especially long-stem roughage) is nothing but beneficial.
