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For years soybeans and soybean by-products have maintained their position as the go-to protein source in horse feeds.

“In addition to the total protein they provide to feeds, soybeans have another distinct advantage over other common protein sources: they have a beneficial complement of amino acids, particularly the limiting amino acids and specifically lysine,” said Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research (KER).

Soybean meal is the most common form of soy in horse feeds. A by-product of soybean oil extraction, the meal is derived through one of two processes: pressure (expellers) or solvent extracted (the most common soybean meal). Soybean meal can be found with the hulls (44% protein) or without (48% protein). Both products will have less than 10% fat.

“Other forms available are roasted soybeans, micronized soybeans, soybean flour, soybean flakes, or extruded soybeans with all the natural fats. These products have about 18-20% fat and 30-36% protein, and all are tasty to horses,” commented Crandell.

If you’re thinking of feeding raw soybeans as part of a home-mixed concentrate, reconsider.

Horses should not be offered raw soybeans because they contain a specific enzyme that acts as a trypsin inhibitor; trypsin is an important enzyme involved in the digestion of many proteins. Once soybeans are roasted or processed for meal, the inhibitor is denatured and does no harm, according to Crandell. Processing soybeans does not affect the quality of the protein.

“Some horse owners mistake protein as an energy source, and feed it thinking it will give their horse a caloric edge,” said Crandell, “but there are far better and less expensive ways to provide horses with calories, including bumping up fat and fermentable fiber in a diet.”

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