Equine nutrition is simpler than the supplement aisle suggests. Get forage, water and salt right and most horses need very little else.
A horse’s digestive system is built for a steady trickle of fibre, not large grain meals. Aim for roughly 1.5 to 2 percent of bodyweight in forage daily. Skimping on it invites ulcers, colic and stable vices.
Clean, unfrozen water at all times, and loose salt available free-choice. Dehydration is a quiet cause of impaction colic, particularly in winter when horses drink less.
Add grain when forage alone cannot maintain condition and workload — a hard-working horse, a hard keeper, a broodmare in late gestation. Many horses in light work need nothing more than good hay and a vitamin-mineral balancer to fill nutritional gaps.
The gut microbiome adapts to a diet over days, not hours. Any change to hay or feed should be phased over seven to ten days. Sudden change is one of the more preventable causes of colic.
A scoop is a volume; a ration is a weight. Two feeds of identical appearance can differ substantially in density, which means a scoop of one is not a scoop of another. Weigh your scoop once on a kitchen scale and write the figure on the bin. Do the same with a typical section of hay. This single habit removes most accidental over- and underfeeding, and makes any conversation with a vet or nutritionist far more productive.
Most barns contain both. The easy keeper holds weight on air and is the horse most at risk from unrestricted spring grass; slow-feed nets, a grazing muzzle and restricted turnout protect it better than cutting forage below what the gut needs. The hard keeper usually benefits from more forage first, better-quality hay second, and added fat before added grain. Reaching for a high-starch feed is often the least effective answer to a horse that will not hold condition.
Learn to assess condition by hand, over the ribs, along the neck, across the withers and around the tailhead. Weight changes slowly enough that you will not notice it day to day, which is exactly why a deliberate monthly assessment catches drift long before it becomes visible.
No. Many maintain healthy weight and energy on forage alone, especially in light work. Grain fills a gap that may not exist.
Roughly 1.5 to 2 percent of bodyweight in forage. For a 1,000 lb horse that is about 15 to 20 lbs of hay.
Gradually, over seven to ten days, mixing increasing amounts of the new with decreasing amounts of the old.
Not by default. They are most useful for a specific identified issue, once forage, water and salt are already right.
Related: how to body condition score your horse.
Related: what horses eat.
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No. Many maintain healthy weight and energy on forage alone, especially in light work. Grain fills a gap that may not exist.
Roughly 1.5 to 2 percent of bodyweight in forage. For a 1,000 lb horse that is about 15 to 20 lbs of hay.
Gradually, over seven to ten days, mixing increasing amounts of the new with decreasing amounts of the old.
Not by default. They are most useful for a specific identified issue, once forage, water and salt are already right.
