Horses ridden for pleasure or trail riding three to five times a week are considered to be horses in “light” work. You can often meet the additional nutrient requirements of horses in light work by simply increasing the amount of good quality hay you feed, without adding grain to the diet (Table 3). Alternatively, some horses may do better with a small amount of grain added to the diet (Table 3).
How to choose the right food for your horse?
When you feed your horse, take into account its age, weight, work and growth to determine its diet. Some horses are easier to feed and require fewer nutrients than others. Other horses are very difficult to feed and require special attention.
What do you feed a horse to get more energy?
Feeding a mature, late-bloom grass hay requires a 14 per cent protein grain mix to meet the requirements of working horses. A dietary fat source, such as corn oil or canola oil, can also be fed to increase the energy density of the diet. Vegetable oils contain almost three times the energy of oats (Table 2).
How do I feed forage to my horse?
Visit the FAQ’s for tips on how to feed forage. Compound feeds (mixes and cubes) are formulated to provide a balanced diet when fed at the recommended ration in conjunction with suitable forage. The following table can be used a guide to for calculating the level of feed required to provide a balanced diet for horses at rest or in light work.
What do you feed your horse when they have no appetite?
Sounds like horse is doing very light work so I think I wouldn't feed a great deal of hard feed but plenty of hay; maybe a handful of something (non-heating cubes/ chaff) to mix in a good vitamin/ mineral supplement.
What should you feed a horse in light work?
Most horses doing light or medium work, like hacking and schooling, just need good pasture or hay, made up of a variety of different grasses. Only horses in really hard and fast work, breeding stock or very underweight horses will need high energy concentrate feeds.
What should I feed my horse everyday?
Provide high quality alfalfa or grass roughage with a complementing grain to balance the horse's diet. Feed by weight, not by volume. Always maintain at least half of the ration as roughage, such as hay or grass. Never feed moldy or dusty hay, grass or grain.
What can you give horses for energy?
Starch is a carbohydrate found in cereal grains such as barley, maize and oats and provides a good source of fast release energy, particularly useful for horses working hard for short periods.
What do you feed horses at rest?
Provide hay at 1.5-2% of the horse's body weight. It should be mostly grass hay, but giving a little alfalfa (lucerne) may help to prevent the development of ulcers. A mixed hay with grass as the majority plant type is ideal. If you do not have the mixed hay, add a flake of alfalfa per day to the other forage.
Do horses need grain every day?
Feed grain in small amounts and often Most horses are given grain twice a day for the convenience of their human caretakers. If for some reason you must give your horse a large quantity of grain, consider an additional lunchtime feeding.
Can I feed my horse just hay?
According to the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Horses, most horses not participating in heavy work can maintain a healthy body condition score by being offered forage as the only source of calories, in addition to access to fresh water and a salt supplement.
How do you Energise a lazy horse?
3:585:31How to Put Energy in the Lazy Horse - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo if you got a horse that's really kicked back really lazy. You really need to work with it theMoreSo if you got a horse that's really kicked back really lazy. You really need to work with it the important thing is that what you want to do is that you always start with the light cue.
Why is my horse lacking energy?
It may simply be that he needs to get more feed. All horses are different, 3lbs a day might be more than enough for one horse, but another horse might need 6lbs a day. Look at your horse and assess body condition and increase feed if necessary.
What can you give a lethargic horse?
This is a common dietary cause of lethargy, especially if the weather has been warm. If your horse is lethargic, feed electrolytes daily for a few weeks and see if this perks him up a bit. It is recommended to feed working horses electrolytes every day.
Can horses live on grass alone?
In short, yes, all horses can live on grass alone. Healthy grass for grazing needs to be rich in nutrients to keep a horse healthy. Optimal levels of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) need to be present in the grass. Some areas don't have enough protein available.
How long can a horse go without eating?
Horses can go for two or three weeks without eating anything. However, starved horses begin to develop health complications in one to two days.
Do horses need hay if they have grass?
We know horses need to eat either grass or hay. When horses eat grass, you will need to keep an eye on their condition and make sure that they are neither eating too much nor too little. Horses can overeat grass, especially if the pasture is lush, but it is also easy to let a horse get too fat from eating hay.
How much should a horse eat per day?
Typically, a horse consumes 1.5-2.5% of his body weight in food per day. Say, for example, you have a horse that weighs 1,100 pounds. The math is simple (I promise!): 1100 x 1.5% = 16.5 lb of food/day.
How much do you feed a horse daily?
Horses need to consume about 2% of their body weight in forage per day, which is about 20 pounds of hay for a 1,000-pound horse.
How often should horses be fed?
twice a dayWhen feeding the horse, there are three general guidelines one should follow. Feeds should be fed at least twice a day. Feeds should be fed in equally divided amounts. Feeds should be fed near to or at the same time each day and at even intervals throughout the day.
How much grain should a horse eat a day?
The 2% Rule. Experts generally agree that all horses, regardless of activity level, should consume about 2% of their body weight per day in a combination of forage and concentrates (grains). Horses who are doing little to no work should eat closer to 2% of their body weight in forage, with little to no concentrates.
Why is it important to monitor your horse's performance?
It is important to monitor your horse’s behaviour, performance and condition to ensure that as his activity levels change he is still getting the required levels of energy from his diet. It is essential to make sure that your horse does not become overweight or lose condition and a medium energy feed is a great way of providing your horse ...
What is a novice horse?
The leisure or novice competition horse can have activity levels from simply schooling and hacking, to competing locally over the summer. Horses such as these, in light & medium work, require more than a low energy mix, but not necessarily a competition feed.
What is a ride and relax mix?
Ride & Relax is a palatable, light, muesli mix for horses and ponies at rest or in light to medium work. Suitable for horses with an intolerance to barley or molasses, Ride & Relax is ideal for horses who tend to get excited on traditional low energy mixes.
How many hours a week do you work on horses?
The National Research Council (NRC) gives descriptions you can use for estimating work level: Light work (recreational riding, beginning training, and horses that occasionally show). One to three hours per week of work composed of 40% walking, 50% trotting, and 10% cantering;
How to determine work level for horses?
Tracking Your Horse’s Exercise Level. Keeping a journal of what you do each ride can be a very helpful tool for tracking work intensity and might help you determine an appropriate work level for your horse. The most accurate way to determine work level is to measure your horse’s heart rate during work. As work intensity goes up so does heart rate.
How does riding affect horses?
A rider’s weight combined with that of any tack worn will impact energy expenditure as will the horse’s fitness. Weather conditions also play a role, as can the horse’s age.
What to do if you are new to feeding horses?
If you are new to feeding horses, check with your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist to make sure his diet offers the nutrients he needs. Otherwise, he could develop serious health problems.
How much grain should I feed my horse?
DON’T feed more than 11 pounds of grain per day, or 4-5 pounds of grain per feeding, or the horse’s colic risk increases sixfold. DON’T worry about too much protein making a horse hot.
How much should a horse eat a day?
Coleman recommends feeding one to two pounds daily if using a pelleted balancer, based on the horse’s body condition and nutrient needs.
What is the difference between legume hay and grass hay?
For instance, a legume hay, such as alfalfa, is higher in calories, protein, and calcium than grass hay of a similar maturity. Grass hay usually provides all of the calories the “average” horse needs.
What are the factors that affect a horse's energy?
Weight, along with age, amount of exercise, climate, body condition, reproductive status, type of horse (light horse, for example), etc., all affect a horse’s energy and nutrient requirements—the amount of calories, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals he needs to consume. Forage is the basis of all feeding programs, ...
What is the first step in horse nutrition?
The first step in crafting a horse’s diet, says Rhonda Hoffman, PhD, PAS, Dipl. ACAN, professor of horse science at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro, is knowing whether he is healthy. “First, and most importantly, horse owners must be able to look at their horse and assess whether it is at a healthy weight or too fat or too thin,” she says. “The eye of the feeder fattens (or thins) the horse.”
How much water should a horse drink?
A mature average-sized horse will drink 5 to 10 gallons per day. Of course, factors such as exercise, hot temperatures, humidity, sweating, pregnancy or nursing, and increased hay intake multiply the amount of water a horse needs, sometimes up to three or four times the normal amount.
What is the best feed for a horse?
The nutrient requirements of a horse vary with its age, weight and the amount of work it performs. Good quality hay is sufficient feed for a mature horse that is ridden very little. With an increase in work, grain should be added to its diet.
What are the minerals needed for horses?
Small amounts of minerals usually are needed. Iron, copper, phosphorous, calcium and magnesium are examples of minerals that are important for a horse's body. Without iron, blood cannot carry oxygen to the body's cells. Without calci um and phosphorous, bones and teeth will not form properly.
What is a complete feed?
A complete feed is a grain mix that is high in fiber because it contains a forage or high-fiber byproducts feed such as hulls. Complete feeds are held together, usually by extrusion (puffed up like dog food) or by forming into pellets. If you are feeding a commercial complete feed, you will not need to feed hay (follow the label for feeding recommendations). There are also feeds for specific classes of horses. Some feeds are specially formulated for young, growing horses (weanlings and yearlings); and for geriatric (aged) horses that are old and have specific nutritional needs. Some commercial feed companies make pre-mixed, convenient, easy-to-use formulated feeds for horses that are on different hay diets such as grass or alfalfa. You should not need to add any other supplements to the diet. These feeds may be more expensive than developing your own ration, but they are good for the owner who does not want to spend time to research their horse's diet.
How much roughage should a horse eat?
For example, a 1,100 pound horse requires at least 11 pounds of roughage.
Why is it important to know how to feed a horse?
Understanding the function of the horse's gastrointestinal (GI) tract is critical for maintaining its health and preventing conditions such laminitis.
How much water does a horse drink?
A horse drinks about 10 to 12 gallons of water daily depending on the work it is doing. In hot weather, a horse may drink up to 15 to 20 gallons of water. In very cold weather, water heaters may be needed to prevent the water from freezing. Energy in feeds is measured in Mega calories (Mcal) of digestible energy (DE).
What are the parts of a horse made of?
Proteins eventually become muscle, internal organs, bone and blood. Skin, hair, hooves and many other parts of a horse also are made of protein. Protein not needed to maintain or build a horse's body is either converted into energy or passed through the digestive system.
What do horses need to be healthy?
Whatever the level of work horses are doing, they need essential quality protein, vitamins and minerals to support general health and well-being, including tissue integrity, muscle tone and healthy hoof growth. For horses in little/no work or very good doers’ balancers’ are particularly useful as they supply all these essential nutrients ...
How to match horse diet to workload?
Matching your horse’s diet to their workload involves supplying the calories and nutrients they need to maintain the desired body condition and provide energy for their work whilst keeping the diet balanced at all times.
What is the minimum amount of forage needed for a horse?
The recommended minimum level of forage for maintaining overall health and function of the digestive system is not less than the equivalent of 1% of the horse’s bodyweight. ‘Good-doers’. Different horses have different metabolisms so whilst a horse’s requirement for calories (energy) will depend both on workload and body condition, ...
Why should forage intake be limited for horses?
The psychological and physiological benefits of this approach far outweigh any which suggest that forage intake should be limited for horses in intense work in an attempt to minimise bulky fibre sitting in the horse’s digestive system. The only instance when forage intake really requires management is for the especially good- doer ...
Do racehorses need concentrates?
Horses in hard work, such as racehorses need high energy feed, such as concentrates. The total concentrate ration should be divided into as many small meals as possible to avoid overloading the digestive system.
Do horses lose appetite for concentrate feed?
With a greater amount of calories and nutrients coming from concentrate feed, it is possible that horses will lose some of their appetite for forage but ideally horses should still have access to forage ad lib, to satisfy their need to chew and to maintain a healthy digestive system.
