Nutrition Comparison
The Nutritional Content Comparison table provides select macro and micro nutrient content for representative types of forages, roughages, and a grain product for comparison. The macro and micro-nutrients selected are those that AAFCO model bill identified for horse feed labels with two exceptions.
(1) The database used for this data (Equi-Analytical Interactive Common Feed Profile) doesn’t include measures of Selenium or Vitamin A.
(2) The database does include Starch and Simple Sugars.
It should also be noted, and emphasized, that this data is calculated on a, “dry matter” basis. The Guaranteed Analysis on feed packaging is on an, “as fed” basis. That means the two are not directly comparable because the, “as fed” includes the water content. The purpose of the following table is to provide a general comparison of representative ingredients.
Comments on table:
Grains and grain by-products provide more Digestible Energy (DE) per pound than the forage, Legume Hay, selected for comparison.The difference seems largely in the starch content, which in general is much higher in grains than forages.Starch metabolizes into glucose which yield considerable more chemical energy than the short chained fatty acid, or volatile fatty acid, that are products of microbial fermentation of fibers.
The calcium to phosphorus ratio of grains and grain by-products is considerably lower than Legume Hay.
Rice Bran is somewhat unique in this selection of grain and grain by-products in that it has a higher fat content, which provides more digestible energy than fermentable fibers.
Wheat Mids and Distillers Grain is an interesting comparison. In one, the starch is milled out of the grain, and in the other yeast metabolize the starch out of the grain into alcohol. The high protein content of the distillers grain may be due to yeast remaining in the grain mash after the alcohol and water is removed.