Reed as a feed for horses

Background

Overgrowth of reed is increasingly common and can degrade coastal habitat quality and recreational value. To address this problem, reed is often cut, producing excess harvested biomass. If this biomass can be used as feed, harvesting reed could benefit both coastal ecosystems and the supply of roughage for horses. Previous studies of nutritional characteristics show that reed has a comparably low energy value and high fibre concentration, which theoretically could make it useful for horses that needs to lose weight or fat deposits.

About this study

The aim of the study was to investigate if reed could be used as a single roughage in the feed ration for adult Icelandic horses. As no previous studies on feeding reed to horses have been published, a feeding trial was performed in which six horses were fed reed silage and grass haylage in a crossover design, so that all horses had been fed both roughages in different periods at the end of the study. The researchers measured how much feed the horses consumed, how quickly they consumed the feed, and collected all faeces (stool) and urine to calculate the digestibility of the feeds as well as energy-, water-, and nitrogen balance of the horses.

Similarities and differences in feeding results

The results showed that horses ate less and more slowly when fed reed silage than when fed grass haylage. Despite this, the digestibility of fibre, protein, and gross energy was similar between the two feed types, indicating that degradation in the gastrointestinal tract was also similar. This was probably explained by the feed selection performed by the horses when they were fed the reed silage, as the refused feed had a higher fibre concentration than the average reed silage that was fed.

Environmental benefits and weight loss

The horses lost more body weight when they were fed reed silage (−18 kg over four weeks) than grass haylage (−2 kg), due to the lower total intake of reed silage than grass haylage. Nitrogen balance was close to zero when horses were fed reed silage, indicating that they excreted roughly the same amount of nitrogen as they consumed, which may be environmentally beneficial.

For horses with low energy requirements or in need of weight loss or loss of fat depots, reed silage may be an option, provided the individual horse accepts eating it. For horses where weight loss is undesirable, it would be less suitable as the sole roughage source in the feed ration.

The findings of this study suggest that harvested reed could serve as a useful roughage resource while also helping preserve wetland ecosystems by reducing overgrowth.

Reference

This research has been funded by FORMAS,  allocation #2021–02425.