Your feeding regime is probably one of the most important factor to take into account to keep your horse healthy. There are some very basic feeding rules which I will list before going into further detail.

1, Feed little and often.

2, Feed according to the amount of work done.

3, Always feed the best quality food.

4, Offer mainly bulk (hay, haylage, or grass).

5, Always feed at the same time each day.

6, Make any changes to diet slowly.

These rules may sound very simple, but it is sad to realize that most horses today are over weight. This is partly due to 'fashion'. We like to see our horses flanks well covered, but in reality you should be able to feel your horses last three ribs through their skin.

With so many feeds on the market it can be difficult to decide what exactly to feed your horse. To help you decide, firstly work out exactly how much work your horse is doing. You musty always ensure that you feed at least two thirds bulk, to one third concentrates. Bulk feed is either grass, hay or haylage. Horses are grazers and would normally spend up to twenty hours a day nibbling. To keep our horses healthy we need to replicate this. Give your horse as much free access to grazing as you can, and for the times they need to be stabled offer them hay/haylage. To make sure your hay lasts through the night I always use small holed hay-nets. For greedy horses who tend to gulp their hay ration I even use two hay-nets, one inside the other.

Hay varies in quality so if you buy a large amount it is well worth getting it analyzed so you know the exact protein levels. Also always weigh your hay-nets as most hay bales come up in varying sizes.

For the novice owner I suggest feeding a mix. These are made up of a variety of feeds, grass cubes, peas, barley, locust beans. They also have the advantage of having the right ratio of vitamins already added. So you should not add extra vitamins if you feed a course mix as you will be putting the balance out. Mixes come in many varieties so you need to make sure you get the one which fits your horses work load.

Pony nuts or cubes are similar to the mixes but I feel they must be boring to eat as each mouthful tastes the same. They do have the vitamins added though and also come in different varieties according to work done. For instance you can get race horse cubes, brood mare cubes, event cubes, endurance cubes, lamanitic cubes, light work cubes, and resting cubes.

Horses stomachs are quite

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