FEEDING
© 1998
Cherry Hill
www.horsekeeping.com
Your horse will quickly tell you that feeding
is the number one priority! In fact, a good appetite is the best sign that
your horse is feeling well. But if you left it up to your horse, he’d
eat himself sick. So you need to keep your horse at a healthy weight.
If he is too thin, he may lack energy, be weak, cold and less able to ward off
illness. If he is overweight, his limbs are unduly stressed and he’s
more likely to founder. Know your horse's weight so you can feed and deworm
him accurately. Use a weight tape to encircle his heart girth. Record
his weight and monitor it frequently. A long winter coat can be deceiving.
Hay is the mainstay of any horse’s diet. Grass,
the traditional "safe" horse hay, includes timothy, brome, and orchard
grass. Alfalfa hay which has higher protein, three times the calcium and
more vitamins than grass hay, is often fed to young, growing horses and lactating
broodmares.
Good hay is free of mold, dust, and weeds and has a bright green
color and a fresh smell. It is leafy, soft, and dry but not brittle. Feed
about 2 pounds of hay per day for every 100 pounds of body weight. A 1000 # horse
would get 20 pounds split into two 10 pound feedings. Feed hay by weight not flakes.
Two flakes of dense alfalfa hay could weigh as much as 14 pounds while two flakes
of fluffy, loose grass might only weigh 4 pounds!
Grain should be fed only to horses that require it; many do not.
Young horses, horses in hard work, pregnant mares, and mares with foals usually
need grain and supplements. Oats provide fiber (from their hulls) and energy
(from the kernel) and are the safest horse grain. Corn has a very thin covering
so does not provide much fiber but provides twice the energy content as the same
volume of oats. Commercial feeds come as pellets or grain mixes. Pellets
can contain both hay and grain. "Sweet feed" grain mixes are usually
made up of oats or barley and corn, molasses and a protein pellet.
Grain should be fed by weight, not volume. A two pound coffee can holds
1.1 pounds of bran, 2.1 pounds of sweet feed, and 2.9 pounds of pelleted feed
so feeding by “the can” is inaccurate.
To avoid competition, fighting, and unequal rations, feed each horse individually.
If a horse gobbles his grain, it can cause choking, inadequate chewing and poor
feed utilization. To slow him down, feed hay first, and then grain.
Add golf ball sized rocks to the grain and use a large shallow pan rather than
a small, deep bucket. Minerals
Because soils, hay and grain vary widely in their mineral content, your horse
needs free choice trace mineral salt. Trace mineral salt is regular "table
salt" (sodium chloride) with important minerals added. An even better
mineral block is a 12% Calcium/12% Phosphorus Trace Mineral Salt Block.
Water If a horse lacks water, he can lose his appetite and colic.
A horse drinks about 8-10 gallons of water a day usually an hour or two after
eating hay. But be sure a horse always has good quality, free-choice water.
In winter, a horse should not be expected to eat snow, as it would take too
long and too much body heat for him to melt it.
When a horse is hot from exercise, only let him sip water. Walk him in between
sips. When he has stabilized, feed him grass hay and allow him his fill
of water. Pasture Since pasture
provides excellent exercise and nutrients, make best use of it by grazing it when
it is 4 to 6 inches tall. As soon as it is grazed down, move the horse to
another pasture.
Before turning a horse out to pasture the first time, give
him a full feed of hay. Limit grazing to one-half hour per day for the first
two days; then one-half hour twice a day for two days; then one hour twice a day
and so on. Pasture horses can quickly become overweight or founder from
too much lush pasture. Feeding Safety
Since the digestive system of horses is designed to handle small frequent meals,
feed two to three times every day. Feed at the same time every day.
Horses have a strong biological clock; feeding late or inconsistently can result
in colic and unpleasant stable vices and bad habits.
Make all changes in
feed gradually whether it’s a change in type or amount. If your horse
gets 2 pounds of grain per feeding and you want to increase, feed 2 ½ pounds for
at least two days. Then increase to 3 pounds.
If you are changing hay, feed ¾ "old" hay and ¼ of “new” hay
for 2 days. Then feed ½ old hay and ½ new hay for two days. Then feed
¼ old hay and ¾ new hay for 2 days. Finally, feed all new hay.
Don't
feed a horse immediately after hard work and don't work a horse until at least
one hour after a full feed. If you feed 2 pounds of grain or more per feeding
and your horse has not been exercised for a few days, warm him up slowly to avoid
“tying up” his muscles. If your horse will be out of work, decrease
his grain ration. When he comes back to work, increase grain gradually.
Feeding at ground level is natural and
provides a horse with a good neck and back stretch. But if a horse eats
sand with his feed, it can accumulate at the bottom of his intestine and he could
colic. Use feeders or rubber mats in the feeding area and consider feeding
psyllium to purge sand from the intestines.
Feeders need to be clean and safe. Moldy or spoiled feed can cause
colic. Sharp edges, broken parts, loose wires or nails can injure your horse’s
head. Tie hay nets securely and high enough so your horse can not get his
leg caught in the net. 
Part 1 - Feeding Part
2 - Sanitation Part
3 - Grooming Part
4 - Hoof Care Part
5 - Veterinary Care | 
