A trial was conducted, using 12 mature thoroughbred horses as a cross-over design, to compare the water and energy intake and the digestibility of dry lucerne chaff (LC) against a controlled fermented lucerne (CFL) product (HNF Fiber®; Fiber Fresh Feeds Ltd, Reporoa, New Zealand). Significant (P < 0.05) increases in dry matter intake (20%), energy intake (20%), retained energy (32%) and digestible energy (22%) were observed for the CFL compared to the LC. In a concurrent small scale study within the trial, numeric improvements in water intake (18%) for the CFL were recorded. The results demonstrated that the standard reference values underestimate the digestibility and nutritional contribution made by CFL when fed to horses, and that this type of forage has increased nutritional benefits.
