There is very little data available about how presenting horses with a concentrate affects their feeding behaviour and whether restricting the variety in the diet affects the foraging behaviour. The study examined how various sensory components of the diet affect the diet selection and the behaviour of horses housed in stables. In the first experiment varied the formulation of the diet. Experiment two varied the flavour and formulation of the diets and experiment three, varied only the flavour of the diet. In two identical stables, horses were provided with a single concentrate diet or four concentrate diets for five minutes. During the five minutes, the behaviour of the horses was videotaped and compared. There were significant differences in the foraging and non-foraging behaviours when the horses were offered a single type or multiple concentrates in all three experiments. The diet that was available during the single selection influenced the diet choice when multiple concentrates were available. The flavour of the diet significantly affected the foraging and non-foraging behaviours. Horses provided with multiple concentrates foraged more frequently and for longer. However, the foraging bouts were much shorter in duration when compared to horses only provided one type of concentrate. The results from this study suggest that stabled horses exhibit and natural patch foraging behaviour when they are offered multiple concentrate diets, even if they only vary in terms of flavour.