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To investigate effects of hay intake and feeding sequence on indicators of the microbial activity within the hindgut, six horses were fed 1.00 kg oats plus 0.50, 0.67, 0.83 or 1.00 kg hay/100 kg body weight (BW) × day, each for 14 days. Oats was offered either 30 min prior to hay (OA) or in the reversed sequence (HA) in a 2 × 8‐week crossover design. Because typically exercised horses should be subjected to the study, faeces was used as substrate. Faecal dry matter (DM), the faecal waters’ short‐chain fatty acids (SCFA, in mmol/l) and molar percentages (mol%) of propionate and iso‐butyrate were highest with OA (p < 0.01). Acetate mol%, acetate–propionate quotient (A/P) and buffering capacities 1 and 2 (BC1: current pH to pH 6; BC2: pH 6 to 5) of the faecal water were highest with HA (p < 0.01). While the hay intake rose, faecal pH, acetate mol%, A/P, BC1 and BC2 (the latter with HA only …