What's wrong with molasses?
If you read this article after reading some of my others on feeding, you know that I have chosen to feed "molasses free", and I know that many people are also looking for that type of feed - up to the point that seeing "molasses" in the list of ingredients has become a critical flaw.
However, as always with me, there is a reason I have made this choice - and it might not be for the reason you think. After my many articles defending a grain-free diet, I may surprise a few people with this article. However, the end message in all my article is always that there are no general rules that should be applied to all horses, quite the contrary, I always try to explain how nothing is ever black or white. My main message is always, always that every horse is a special case and there are no general truth. Just as much as cereals aren't poison that need to be put into the bin, molasses isn't either. Both can be beneficial, if used correctly in reasonable and justified amounts.
Before you read it all, I will give away the main message now: is there is a real advantage at feeding molasses?? Not really. Is there a real advantage at feeding molasses-free only?? Not really either. Every horse is different and should be treated as such.
Knowing more about molasses
There are many articles about molasses on the internet, look it up, it takes no time at all. For a summary, molasses are a by-product of the transformation of sugar cane or sugar beet into sugar; molasses itself contains a high percentage of sugar around 40-50% (it is not pure sugar!). Those sugar are in majority simple sugars, including fructose and glucose.
Those sugars are easy to digest and are absorbed very quickly in the horse's digestive tract. The real advantage of that is that simple sugars will not fall into the large intestine (or in very limited quantities) as opposed to starch that is more complicated to digest. Therefore, it will not cause pH disturbances into the large intestine and will not cause problem to the flora. However, it is believed to be "heating" as it is quick energy, and causes a "sugar high" after the meal as well as an insulin peak. More on that later.
There are two types of molasses, cane molasses and beet molasses. Typically, energy content is the same for both. Molasses also contain a certain number of minerals, more specifically many electrolytes, and particularly potassium (35-40%), which gives it a laxative effect in high proportion. The major difference between the two types of molasses is found in protein and calcium content. Molasses from sugar beet is higher protein compared to cane molasse, and cane molasses are higher in calcium than beet molasses and typically have a very unbalanced calcium to phosphorous ratio (calcium excess).
Reading the label correctly is always paramount when you buy your horse's feed. Whether it is written "molasses", "cane molasses" or "beet molasses" doesn't imply the same thing at all. If there is one type of molasses to "prefer" over the others, it would be the last one, for its better calcium to phosphorous ratio (especially when you feed grain-free as the use of beet pulp or lucerne (alfalfa) greatly disturbs this ratio, there is no point adding more calcium with the molasses). And when it's said only "molasses", then it can mean a lot more than just "molasses". When that's said, it might mean that it is a mix of several types of molasses as well as other things such as additives and preservatives. For more on this, read this article.
Why molasses has such a bad reputation
We can now identify a certain number of problems with molasses.
It is a major source of sugar, and it may cause a "sugar high" and an insulin peak
It has a laxative effect
What is written on the label may imply more than you think, and may hide a certain number of undesirable things
"It's not very natural"
But there are also some advantages:
It contains electrolytes and minerals
It is viscous and serves as a binder for the food, thus reducing dust
It is highly palatable for horses and even the fussiest eater will love it
Where does the bad reputation of molasses come from? Mostly because in the past horses were fed with straw that was molassed up to 50%, and didn't have an automatic water trough, which had a terrible effect on their health (you can imagine, high level of electrolytes and not enough water, plus the laxative effect... it wasn't pretty).
The laxative effects have been noted for a feed containing 20% molasses. However, typically, molasses in nowadays feed is added up to 5% as a general rule (it depends on the manufacturer). You may find some feed up to 10% molasses, but you may also very well find some at 1-2%. You may have the detail of the % on the feed label, if you don't you can always ask the manufacturer, but as a general rule, nobody does equine feed with 20% of molasses, so relax on the laxative effect.
Understanding what feeding molasses really implies
We will now come back on the points I have made up above and discuss the advantages and disadvantages at feeding molasses to our horses.
The sugar problem
So our first point was that molasses contains mostly sugar. Yes indeed, we said it before, it contains 40-50% of simple sugars. I will repeat myself, but simple sugars do not cause any problem of pH disturbances and microflora modifications in the hind gut, it is absorbed easily and way before the hind gut, it does not cause metabolic problems like starch may. Also, you should know that grain-free diet usually have a high oil content, and this oil content will act as a regulator of the sugar metabolism, so the two combined is actually quite a good idea. And people let's put it out there: we all need sugar. Our brain cannot use energy from fat, it needs sugar, we cannot be on a sugar-free diet, that's not possible! Sugar is necessary for our horse's health, it is not the enemy! Enemy is excess, and having a molassed feed does not necessarily mean you will have excess sugar in your diet.
Let's talk some about sugar content then. Molasses does not necessarily mean "high sugar" and molasses free does not necessarily mean "low sugar". You can find both: molasses free feed super high in sugar, and molassed feed super low in sugar (and vice versa of course). It all depends on the feed, the molasses are far from being the only source of sugar.
Typically, you will find that a lot of horse feeds contain about 5-15% sugar (yes even the feed containing cereals, cereals contain a lot of starch, not that much sugar). It depends, of course you can find feeds with less sugar, and feeds with more sugar, but that would kind of the normal value, even for molassed feed. It is also perfectly possible to find a molassed feed with the so desired starch+sugar level of 10%. So, I will never say it enough, but read the label properly, and if it's not written, then ask the manufacturer.
To illustrate my point, we'll take the example of two feeds: Dengie Alfa-A Lite (molassed) and Simple System Green Gold (unmolassed). Both are lucerne. The Dengie contains 8% sugar while for the Green Gold it is said "less than 7%" (which means that is varies from bag to bag, but see, it can reach 7%, and knowing the brand myself, they usually are at the top of the ranges they write on the website when you receive your bag of feed). So you see, two lucerne feed, one molassed and the other unmolassed, and very similar sugar contents. Of course I have chosen the feed very specifically to show my point, it's not always true, but sure, the goal was only to show you that adding molasses did not necessarily mean super high sugar content. Actually, the Alfa-A Lite contains 8% sugar and 2% starch, which actually qualifies it as a "low soluble carbohydrate feed" and therefore makes it adapted for horses with metabolic issues such as laminitis, PSSM, Cushing's, etc. even if it is molassed.
On the next picture I show you a number of brands and their sugar contents with various compositions, with and without molasses. Of course, once again, I have chosen the feed to prove my point, so it may not reflect reality, all I want is to open your eyes and show you that everything is possible and you shouldn't judge too quickly and ban molassed feed just because they are too high in sugar. In this list you will find low sugar content (less than 5%) on both molassed and unmolassed feed. You will also find medium sugar content (between 5 and 10%) on both sides, and you will also find high sugar content (above 10%) on both sides (because even unmolassed feed can be high in sugar!).
Just a precision: the picture is in French but I'm sure you'll understand. First is the name of the feed and brand, then "compo" stands for composition, and "sucre" means sugar content. On the left are the feed without molasses (="aliments sans mélasse") and on the right are the molassed feed (="aliments avec mélasse"). "Variée" means "varied" meaning that it's complete compound feed. "Luzerne et autres" means lucerne and others. "Herbe" means grass. And "paille" means straw. All those feeds are grain-free except the Dynavena Harmony.
Another point that I'm going to make with sugar content is that hay is way higher in sugar than a lot of those molassed feed. Typically, hay contains 10-12% sugar, but you feed that in dozens of kilos every day (if you feed ad lib, which you should, and even if you don't, a horse should always eat 1,5% of their body weight in fourrage, which is 7.5kg for a 500kg horse). So for 10kg of hay a day for a low sugar hay, which would be 10%, you actually feed 1kg of sugar. So your molassed feed that you consider "high sugar" because it's 10%, but you feed only 1kg of it a day... actually only gives 100g of sugar per day. That's nothing compared to hay, and hay is considered a safe feed for all horses in terms of sugar... And it would be about the same with haylage. And let's not even start about grass, you can double the amount of sugar then.
The last point to be made on sugar is about the "heating" effect and the peak in insulin. It is considered that the glucose and fructose (and please, please please do not confound fructose and fructans!) contained in high sugar feed will cause a peak in blood sugar and insulin and cause the horse to go berserk after a meal. If you feed your horse correctly, that's just not true. Here are the conditions for you to have these effects:
You actually have a high sugar feed (not just a molassed feed, a high sugar feed, meaning you have more than 15-20% of sugar in it)
You feed enormous meals of concentrates that your horse will eat so fast he'll get in a few minutes the total amount of sugar he'd eat in an hour with hay
You don't feed ad lib fourrage (which is the big mistake in terms of insulin)
Here's how not to have the heating effect, which is actually general good feeding practices that you should always do:
Have a feed with a more "natural" amount of sugar, around 10-15% maximum like hay (which is subject to change depending on the horse but we'll talk about that later)
Feed small meals, no more than 500g per meal is ideal, otherwise 1kg is still acceptable (but really maximum!)
FEED AD LIB FOURRAGE - as I said there is 10-12% sugar in typical hay, and if your horse eats this normal amount, then sugar will always flow into his veins and insulin will be constant, no matter the amount of concentrates you feed, as is meant to happen in the horse. Insulin peaks are not mostly caused by high sugar feed, they're mainly caused by feeding practice. Feed any feed after a few hours of fasting and any horse will have a sugar high, they are meant to eat continually (or at least 16 hours a day) so make sure that happens and your concentrate meal will just blend in with everything else.
Composition and feed label
Then our two next points cover the laxative effect, which was already discussed, and the feed label with the 3 kinds of names. Read the label correctly, and ask the manufacturer if it's not clear enough. If he doesn't answer, then find you a reliable, trustworthy brand who will.
It's not natural
Alright, that's a big debate right here. I won't go into it too much! I just want to point out of few things here. Nowadays, natural and sport horses doesn't go well together - it's hard to cover your horse's needs with a natural diet. However, it's your own choice, there are loads of options out there, but you have to honest with yourself. If you say that molasses isn't natural, then industrial feeds ain't natural either. So if you see yourself looking at the LABEL of a feed, you're on the wrong path for natural. Sure you have options out there like Thunderbrooks, Agrobs or Simple System, but there are loads of flaws in their feed and unbalances that you'll need to do something about. You have perfectly good compound feeds out there that are not natural but that are very well balanced. So looking for a molasses free industrial feed because molasses isn't natural... that's just a flawed argument through and through.
Some advantages
The advantages that I talked about earlier on my list are not to be neglected, especially the last one on palatability. There are many scientific evidences to tell you that horses chose their feed according to their taste and not their nutrient content (at least on the short term). How many of us have relied on carrots, apples or apple juice make your horse eat the medications in their feed. Maybe on the long term they can find out that a feed is not good for them (I think of Willow that for a long time ate beet pulp without a problem, as me and his ex owner both fed him beet pulp, but suddenly he completely refused to eat it, no matter with what I was mixing it, and I can't help but think it may have to do with unbalances concerning the calcium to phosphorous ratio or the iron excesses or the deficiency in vitamins... I don't know, it's a hypothesis). Adding molasses for fussy eaters is just such an enormous relief. I remember, when after a winter Willow had lost 150kg and refused to eat his meals... Yes I relied on molasses and it got him eating again.
On top of this, I have a friend that found that chewing rate and salivation increased on molassed chaff compared to oiled or straight chaff. Chewing rate and salivation are both super important for the health of the digestive system for many reasons, and increasing them is the reason why we feed chaff in the first place. But then if molasses help increasing chewing rate and salivation even further compared to an unmolassed chaff, molasses are actually... beneficial!
Then the two other advantages are the electrolytes content (well, that's self explanatory...) and the dust reduction. Well that's not really a good advantage, there are other ways to prevent dust that don't involve sugar - like adding water for example, or oil.
Why I personally chose to feed molasses-free
It is absolutely a personal choice that regards my own particular horse. There was also a time where I fed him a small amount of cereals, so you see, I never believe that anything is junk, I always try first and see if it works for my horse (while respecting the balance, meaning that I feed small respectable and justified amounts). I love my calculations, I love my tables, but I also love to see the results on the horse! I was feeding cereals for a bit of energy coming from starch, and my horse was thin, ugly and super stressed. I forgot about cereals and fed a compound cereal free feed, with oil as energy, and I got a beautiful horse that kept his weight over winter and was a lot less stressed. It just worked better for him, and same with molasses - I tried before I said I didn't like it.
There was a time with Willow where I was absolutely desperate. He lost a tremendous amount of weight in a very short time (about 150kg in 2-3 months). His coat was super dull and it actually started to grow longer to try and compensate for the loss of weight. I tried to rug him but didn't change anything. On top of that, he refused to eat his meals (this moment with beet pulp where he just didn't like it no matter what I put into it). So of course before you say it - the feed wasn't the reason he lost the weight, he was depressed as conditions were super bad and he had to be stabled for long periods of time, and he was finally out with other horses competition was too fierce for the hay and he was too low in the hierarchy to have anything, so that's the real reason for the weight loss (but we didn't have any other options at the time). So I needed him to eat his meals correctly to help with the weight.
I tried freaking everything. I added lucerne, I added lucerne chaff, I added grass chaff, I just tried and nothing worked for more than a few days. But at the livery the others were fed molassed lucerne, and I already knew he loved it, so I tried that and magic he ate (no matter the amount you gave him, he'd lick the bottom of the trough).
But that was only a short relief. After a while I had the chiropractor coming to check him, and she found him tense in areas linked with stomach pain and ulcers. On top of that, he was being backed at the time (by me...) and even though he was used to me and used to the legs, he bucked me off after a leg action, which was extremely surprising. So I had the vet coming and he tested him with the Succeed test that came back positive for gastric ulcers. But I just couldn't believe it! Bad winter was behind us, he was back at a good weight, he had ad lib fourrage and no stress... So first I changed the feed and took away the molasses. And O Miracle the pain was gone and everything was back to normal. And yes it was the molasses, I went from molassed lucerne to unmolassed lucerne, so really... it just was the molasses.
So now you'll think "but you see, molasses are bad, you just said it!" yes but no. There are no universal truth, there are only special cases. All the horses in my livery are fed that molassed lucerne I used, which is about 10 horses at the time and probably another 10 horses since, maybe even more. So in my own personal case I have seen maybe 20 horses, and maybe more, fed molassed chaff without a bother in the world, with only Willow not supporting it, so that's a 1 in 20 cases really... Not that high for just my own personal experience. Willow is sensitive on sugar, I know it, I have problems with grass in the summer, so really, it's just him.
Knowing when and how to feed molasses
To me everything always comes back to managing your horse's feed correctly. Molasses are dangerous if you abuse of them, like everything else. Giving access to enough fourrage (ad lib or at least 1.5% body weight per day), as well as ad lib water and small meals of 500g-1kg max of concentrates is the basis of everything. Not doing that's is asking for trouble and it won't matter then if your feed contains molasses or not.
For horses in maintenance and light work, I will always recommend low sugar and low starch, and as a consequence unmolassed (unless sugar content is acceptable) and grain free. Fourrages will bring more than enough carbohydrates there is no point to add any. So finding a feed with about 7-8% sugar and less than 5% starch is better suited to those horses. Feed oil if you need extra calories for those who lose condition. More on that in another article.
However, for horses in moderate work, a greater content in starch and sugar can be perfectly discutable and justifiable. I would have a tendency to recommend low starch and to use the energy coming lipids for those horses as well, but not necessarily low sugar, and therefore not necessarily unmolassed. Simple sugar is a safer source of additional energy to lipids than starch if kept in reasonable amounts. Also, remember that molasses contain electrolytes.
For horses in intense work, then you will need an adapted source of energy. Starch will provide explosive quick release energy, so for sports such as racing or horse ball, it would be perfectly arguable to give them starch. Endurance horses would definitely benefit more from oil.
I'm diverging. Those are general basis recommandations, but then again, I will never put enough emphasis on treating each horse as a special case. Feeding grain free or molasses free at all costs can be just as detrimental if your horse needs the little extra. But then you should probably just keep them as "extras", meaning we should stop relying on them so much and putting them in every single concentrates, but having them somewhere "just in case" can always be good.
I might however add that it might be better to apply the precautionary principle for those sensitive horses with laminitis, Cushing's, insulin resistance, ulcers, PSSM, etc. For them, always keep sugar and starch at less than 5%, and prefer unmolassed feed. You are absolutely free to use the precautionary principle for all horses and prefer molasses free feed, but ask yourself what the manufacturer may have replaced molasses with. That's like sugar and aspartame, you're just replacing a problem with another! Not all manufacturer will replace it by something else, but some might... Feed for thought ;)
