Below is a short guide to the various types of fibrous foods that can be given to horses: grazing grass, hay, ensiled foodstuff, straw, molichaff, artificially dried grass, enriched forage and complete foods.

Hay can be cut up in smaller or larger pieces. Sometimes, this products might be enriched with molasses, a thick, brown and sticky liquid sub product of sugar resulting from the processing of sugar beet.

Adding molasses gives hay a brownish color and makes it more palatable for the horse, reduces the dust content, increases slightly the nutritional value especially in terms of ready-to-use energy. The protein, mineral or vitamin values remain unchanged, unless special vitamin combinations have not been added before.

Molichaff, being cut up (sometimes in more or less large cubes) takes up less space than hay, even if the weight remain the same, and therefore it can be transported more easily. In addition to that, their composition usually remains constant, as guaranteed by the label attached to the packs. Horses normally like these products very much and eat them eagerly, but their consumption times are clearly shorter than those with hay. The quantity to be fed should be slightly less than when giving them hay.