Know What’s in Your Hay. Feed With Confidence.

Forage is the foundation of your horse’s diet. Our forage analysis service helps you understand what your hay is providing and how it fits into your horse’s complete nutrition program.

Why Test Your Forage?

Your Horse Eats Forage Every Day. Do You Know What’s in It?

Forage can vary because of:

  • Cutting
  • Maturity
  • Growing conditions
  • Soil
  • Harvest timing
  • Storage
  • Supplier
  • Forage species

Two bales can look similar and still provide very different nutrition.

A forage analysis helps remove some of the guesswork around protein, fiber, major minerals, NSC% and overall diet balance.

More Than a Lab Report

Your forage report is only the starting point. We combine your forage results with information about your horse, grain, supplements, workload, health concerns, and nutrition goals to help you understand the complete diet.

Your forage analysis includes personalized interpretation and a complimentary equine nutrition consultation.

 

Your Forage Analysis Includes

Forage Sampling Kit
Everything needed to properly collect and return your forage sample.

Laboratory Analysis
Your sample is submitted for professional forage testing.

Forage Report
Receive detailed information about the nutritional composition of your forage.

Diet Evaluation
We review the forage alongside your Equine Diet Analysis Worksheet.

Personalized Nutrition Consultation
Discuss your results and feeding program with the Equi-Shine team.

Written Recommendations
Provide a summary of key findings and practical next steps.

Everything You Need, From Sampling to Shipping

  • Easy hand-pull sampling instructions
  • Forage sample collection bag
  • Forage Sample Identification Form
  • Equine Diet Analysis Worksheet
  • “Understanding Your Forage Report” guide
  • Follow-up forage testing card
  • Return mailer
  • Return shipping

No searching for bags. No wondering what paperwork to include. We make the process simple from start to finish.

How It Works

1. Order

Purchase your forage analysis online.

2. Sample

We mail your complete sampling kit directly to you.

3. Return

Collect your forage sample, complete the enclosed forms, and send everything back using the provided return mailer.

4. Analyze

We coordinate the laboratory analysis of your forage.

5. Understand

Receive your results and review them with the Equi-Shine team during your personalized nutrition consultation.

Test. Understand. Balance.

 

 

What Will Your Forage Analysis Tell You?

Protein

Understand how much crude protein your forage contributes to the diet.

Fiber

Evaluate ADF and NDF to learn more about forage maturity, digestibility, and feeding value.

NSC

Understand the non-structural carbohydrate content of your forage—especially important for horses requiring carbohydrate-conscious feeding programs.

Major Minerals

Evaluate nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium.

Mineral Balance

Learn how the mineral profile of the forage interacts with the rest of your feeding program.

The goal isn’t simply to find “good” or “bad” numbers. It’s to understand how your forage fits your horse.

Is Forage Testing Right for My Horse?

Forage Testing Can Benefit Every Horse, But It Can Be Especially Valuable For:

  • Metabolic horses
  • Horses with insulin resistance
  • Horses with PPID/Cushing’s
  • Horses with a history of laminitis or founder
  • Easy keepers
  • Hard keepers
  • Senior horses
  • Growing horses
  • Broodmares
  • Performance horses
  • Horses struggling with topline
  • Horses with hoof-quality concerns
  • Owners wanting to simplify or better balance supplements
  • Anyone purchasing a large quantity of hay

You don’t need to wait until there is a problem. Forage testing is also a proactive way to better understand your horse’s everyday nutrition.

 

Managing a Metabolic Horse?

For horses with insulin resistance, PPID/Cushing’s disease, or a history of laminitis, knowing the nutritional profile of the forage can be especially important.

You cannot confidently manage the carbohydrate contribution of the diet without knowing what the forage provides.

 

A Report Is Only Useful If You Know What to Do With It

During your consultation, the Equi-Shine team can help you evaluate:

  • Is the forage appropriate for this horse?
  • Is protein adequate?
  • What does the NSC tell us?
  • Are important minerals lacking or excessive?
  • Does the grain complement the hay?
  • Are current supplements filling a real nutritional need?
  • Are there unnecessary overlaps?
  • What should be changed, or left alone?

Our goal is not to add more products. It is to help build a feeding program that makes sense.

 

Your Hay Changes. Your Analysis Should Too.

Consider retesting when you change:

  • Cutting
  • Supplier
  • Field
  • Crop year
  • Forage type
  • Primary hay lot

New Cutting. New Supplier. New Crop. Consider a New Test.

 

Ready to Learn What’s in Your Hay?

Forage Analysis + Personalized Nutrition Review

Included:

Sampling kit
Return shipping
Laboratory forage analysis
Forage report
Diet review
Personalized nutrition consultation

After checkout, your forage sampling kit will be mailed directly to you.

Better Feeding Starts With Better Information.

Forage is the largest part of most horses’ diets. Understanding what it provides gives you a stronger foundation for every other feeding decision.

FORAGE FIRST

Test. Understand. Balance.