Introduction to Feeding

So you have bought your first horse and are wondering what to feed him?

The first thing to remember is that horses are herbivores and are fiber digesters, and that they have evolved eating grass, so the diet must always be of vegetation and should be based on grass.

What to Feed

The best thing to give horses is pasture and at the times of the year when there is little or no grass growth give them conserved grass in the form of hay. The only time grass can be harmful to horses is in the spring when it is growing fast and may be low in minerals and high in sugar. Otherwise grass is a high fiber feed and is what horses do best on.

If they can't maintain body weight on hay or pasture then you can give them extra calories in the form of grain and grain byproducts.

The pattern of grass growth is to grow very actively in the spring and to flower and then seed. The grasses try to do this before the hot dry months of summer when they cannot grow as well due to low rainfall. Once the grass has formed seed heads it has ìgone to seedî and no longer has a high nutritive value, plus if the there is low rainfall the grass stops growing altogether. So in the summer time it may well be necessary to supplement pasture horses with hay.

In the Fall, when the rain comes again the grass will re-grow but this time it will not flower or form seed heads. This grass is also nutritious but only lasts until the first frost, then it dies back, leaving only the dead stalks. In the winter it will be necessary to supplement with hay and possibly grain.

Learn to indentify good hay. It should:

1. Be free (as much as possible) of mold. So no moldy smell. Open a bale to check. And clouds of mold puffing up when hay is shaken. Reject any bales you suspect of containing mold.

2. Be crisp and clear in color. The exact color depends on the grass/legume cut. The outside of the bales which have been exposed to air might be brownish but the inside stuff should be greeny gold. Good hay is rarely black, dark brown or medium brown in color. The only exceptions here are some clover and lespedeza hays which tend to go brown in storage but are fine in nutritive quality. BUT with all legume hays, be especially careful of mold. Molds LOVE legumes!

3. Be palatable. This means the horses eat it willingly and clean up all they are given! The ONLY place hay can benefit the horse is in its stomach and if it wonít eat it, it means that something is wrong!

4. Have minimal weed content. Particularly minimal thistle content. Horses wonít eat hay with a lot of thistle and other weeds. See above comment!
Have individual grass stalks or legume plants that are clearly distinguishable, not all smushed together into an impenetrable mass. The latter is a sign of hay that was baled too wet and usually has with a high mold content.

How much to feed

Amounts fed should be based on bodyweight and activity level. A horse will eat about 2% of its body weight per day and at least 70% of that should be as fiber, as in grass or hay. Thus a 1,000lb horse will eat 20lbs of dry matter per day and unless he is in work it should be mostly hay. The hay should be clean, nutritious and good quality (see above).

Keep the grain intake to a minimum, give the horse only as much as it needs and no more. It is usual to feed around 1-2 lbs of grain in a meal, but less is fine too. At no time should a grain meal exceed 5 lbs, the horse has a very small stomach and canít safely eat more than 5 lbs at a meal.

How do you know if the horse is getting enough to eat? Use the body score scale to judge. Horses should be between a 5 and a 7 on the scale. If they are too thin (4 or below) feed them more hay and some grain. If they are too fat (8 or above) then cut out the grain and feed them slightly less hay.

Equine Body Score system
POOR - Animal extremely emaciated: back bone, ribs, tailhead, point of hips, and point of buttocks project prominently: bone structure of withers, shoulders and neck easily noticeable; no fatty tissue can be felt.

VERY THIN - Animal emaciated ; slight fat covers base of backbone; base backbone in lumbar region feel slightly rounded; backbone, ribs, tailhead, point of hips and buttocks prominent; withers, shoulders, and neck structure faintly discernable.

THIN - Fat buildup about half-way on backbone; base of spine cannot be felt; slight fat cover over ribs; ribs easily discernable; tailhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be indentified visually; point of hips appear rounded but easily discernable; point of buttocks not distinguishable; withers, shoulders, and neck not obviously thin.

MODERATELY THIN - Slight ridge along back; faint outline of ribs discernable; tailhead prominence depends on confirmation, but fat can be felt around it; point of hip not discernable; withers, shoulders and neck not obviously thin.

MODERATE - Back is flat (no crease or ridge); ribs not visually distinguishable but easily felt; fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy; withers appear rounded over top; shoulders and neck blend smoothly into the body.

MODERATELY FLESHY - May have slight crease down back; fat over ribs spongy, fat around tailhead soft; fat beginning to be deposited along side of withers, behind shoulders and along sides of neck.

FLESHY - May have crease down back; individual ribs can be felt but there is noticeable filling between ribs with fat; fat around tailhead is soft; fat deposited along withers, behind shoulders, and along neck.

FAT - Crease down back; difficult to feel ribs; fat around tailhead very soft; area along withers filled with fat; area behind shoulders filled with fat; noticeable thickening of neck; fat deposited on inner thighs.

EXTREMELY FAT - Obvious crease down back; patchy fat appearing over ribs, bulging fat appears around tailhead, along withers, behind shoulders, and along neck; fat on inner thighs may rub together; flank filled with fat.

A body score of less than 4 indicates inadequate energy intake, a score of more than 7 indicates too high an energy intake. A score between 5 and 7 is indicates the proper amount of energy intake.

How to feed

Hay should be fed on the ground, in a pile or in a low rack. Racks help stop the hay getting tramples but do pose a risk to the horse, it can injure itself in the rack if it is too low. Piles of hay may waste a bit but are far safer. If you are feeding hay to a group of horses always have one more pile than there are horses and space the piles far apart so every one has room to eat and can get their share.

Grain should be fed in a suitable container either up off the ground or on the ground. A suitable container will be big enough for the horse to easily gets its head into it and be easy to clean with no sharp edges. It should also be heavy enough to stop the horse easily knocking it over or be hung from a firm fixture like a post.

Basic Rules of Feeding horses.

Feed mostly hay and only as much grain as is needed no more.
Feed little and often.
Feed only clean good quality feed and hay.
Feed out of suitable safe containers.
Feed according to bodyweight and work done.
Use the body score scale to assess fatness.
Feed (grain if fed) at the same time each day.
In cold weather feed more hay.
Ensure a regular supply of clean water at all times.

Dr. Melyni Worth Ph.D. - 2004 (c)

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