Researchers suggest straw is a good forage option for overweight horses and others who might benefit from reduced energy intake and the resultant lower blood insulin levels. Blood collected from the researchers’ horses revealed that in addition to satisfying hunger, the half-straw diets altered each horse’s metabolic profile in beneficial ways.
Straw is a useful supplement to horses that desire more roughage than they are allowed to for weight management reasons.”
Source: EQUUS, November 2, 2021. Link. Straw is not commonly fed in the U.S. so some horses may have to learn to eat it. Sara Ringmark, PhD, shared this study showed no association between feeding straw and the formation of gastric ulcers, a potential correlation raised in a previous field study.