Horses are trickle feeders and non-ruminant herbivores, meaning that they are designed to graze for most of the day on vegetation, and process their feed through one stomach chamber.

The equine digestive system is unique in the way in which it processes feed. Feed is first processed enzymatically in the foregut (stomach and small intestine) and then ferments in the hindgut (large intestine).

We look at how a horse’s feed is broken down and digested through the horse’s system.