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Great quality hay and grain are very important part of feeding horses. Hay should never be dusty or moldy because this can cause respiratory problems and even a colic.

Your hay should not be too old or too new either, if it is way over a year old it already lost most of it's nutrients. Freshly cut hay on the other hand can be too rich and upset your horses stomach. If you are not sure about the quality you can take a sample of the hay and get it analyzed to find out what else you will need to give to your horse.

There is timothy and alfalfa mixes available, some prefer the sweeter alfalfa but we always feed timothy hay to avoid any muscle problems on our racehorses. Today even the hay cubes are an option, some feed them dry but I would recommend you to dilute them in water to avoid your horse from choking, I've seen too many horses choking on a cube.

You should give your horse a lot of hay and if he is not eating his hay he will most likely have some health problems like ulcers. Horses digestive system is designed the way that it should always have something inside the gut, think it like those yogurt's that are recommended for many people to keep them regular. Microbes inside the horse stay happy if they have some hay to work with! And if they do not they will die and your horse will get sick.

Normal size standardbred can eat about a bale of hay each day, two flakes in the morning, two after the exercise and more with lunch and dinner. Only time you can skip the hay is if your horse stays on the big pasture with plenty green grass to eat.

If your horse is retired and does not need so much energy basic oats from the local mill can be the most economical grain to feed. But there is many choices sweet feed or pellets to fit just right for your horses needs, the protein content and the fat content varies. Some feed companies even add the vitamins and minerals and this might be easier to feed than separate minerals. There is many websites with specific information and explanation about the feed and how much your horse needs and so on. Older horses require different diets, broodmares and young horses should not be on a same diet as a racehorse!

It would be great if you could give your horse the grain four times a day, always the same amount to keep his digestive system happy! Amount of feed depends on the performance level and the size of the horse. If you have a picky eater bran mash can get him to eat better but do not give too much bran because it messes up the calcium

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