by Megan Worley

Created on: October 10, 2009

Guide to feeding a horse

Feeding horses is not a particularly complicated chore but a lot of what you do depends on each individual horse which makes things much more difficult. The best way to begin thinking about how to feed your horse is to consider what and how that horse would eat in the wild. Horses that live in the wild tend to eat smaller amounts fairly often. Domesticated horses are instead fed usually only twice a day and fairly large amounts. The best way to feed a horse is to try and feed them as close to the way they would eat in the wild. To best feed your horse there are a few simple rules that you can follow.

Hay

The most important part of a horse's diet is the hay that they eat. Hay and grasses are what horse's digestive systems were designed to digest, making them essential to the horse's diet. In an ideal world a horse would be able to spend the majority of his day out in a pasture eating. The world of barns and competitions does not allow for horses to eat that way. So instead of allowing horses to spend their time grazing we have to feed them enough hay to make up for the grazing time they are not able to get.

How much Hay to Feed

A horse needs to eat about 2 pounds of hay per 100 pounds of bodyweight. For the average horse that works out to about 20 pounds of hay. The best method for feeding horses is to weigh out the horse's hay to make sure that they are getting the right amount. If you don't have access to a scale or can't weigh your hay all the time then the best thing to do is weigh a few flakes in a bale to figure their average weight and feed the horse the right amount of flakes to get the right weight. Most flakes of hay weigh about 5 pounds and so the horse will need about four flakes a day. However that can vary a lot depending on the horse's condition and the type of hay being fed.

Good Hay and Grain

Most people choose to feed grass hay, or a mix of grass and alfalfa, rather than straight alfalfa which has a high protein level. Horses that tend to gain weight should not be fed alfalfa because it is so high in calories which type of hay you choose it should be keep free from dust, dampness and mold spores. When you buy hay be sure to check and make sure that you are not getting hay that is moldy or becomes moldy quickly. If that is the case then switching suppliers is a good option. Talk to other horse owners in the area to find one that is reliable and sells good quality hay.

There is a huge variety of different grains out there to choose from to feed your horse. To figure out which one is best for your horse do a little research. There many types of grains for all types of horses from the old retired ones to the young show horses. If your horse is not working too much then he probably does not need grain. If you choose to feed supplements do your research and talk to other people who use it as well as your veterinarian. If you decide to switch feeds be sure to do so slowly, allowing your horse to adjust at its own pace to the new feed and try to be consistent with what you feed.

General Rules about Feeding

1. Introduce any diet changes gradually; quick changes can result in stomach aches or colic.

2. Feed most of the horses diet as hay.

3. Make sure that fresh water is always available.

4. Don't work a horse immediately after feeding them. They need about an hour to digest.

5. Match amount of food with amount of work. If a horse's workload increases their food amount may also need to increase for example.

6. Feed smaller amount several times a day. Three or four times is optimum but not possible for most horse owners. Shoot for feeding twice a day.

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