About Horse Food

Horses need a balanced diet with plenty of water and roughage to keep their digestive systems healthy. The needs of each horse will be determined by age, activity, season and location. Pregnant and lactating mares will need extra nutrition plus grains to feed their growing foals and consume enough nutrients to maintain their own weight. Grooming and exercise are also a necessary part of good horse-keeping.

  1. Time Frame

    • Horses have only small stomachs and should be fed between three and four times daily in small amounts to avoid upsetting the horse's delicate digestive system. Horses are unable to vomit if a certain food disagrees with their system; therefore any change in feed must be done gradually over two weeks until it's switched completely. There are different feeds available at your local feed store in 50-pound sacks to suit foals, yearlings and mature horses. Milk replacer is readily available from your feed store should a foal lose its mother and need bottle feeding.

    Significance

    • A horse's daily feed or food intake will depend on what he is expected to do each day. Working horses need more nutrition than a backyard horse that browses all day. Pasture is good for horses to munch on all day as long as they are accustomed to doing so, as it provides necessary roughage to keep their digestive systems in optimum condition.

    Types

    • Good hay may be fed during the winter months when pasture is not available. A bale of good hay should be green and leafy and smell good; it should break away easily in flakes and not contain any weeds. Throw away any hay that is moldy, as the mold may kill your horse. Ensure the hay bales are not dusty, as this may cause respiratory illness in your horse. Good grass hay includes timothy, millet, brome, prairie grass and Sudan grass. Grain hays include oat and wheat hay with kernels included within the hay. Legume hays such as clover and alfalfa should be mixed with grass hays, because feeding legumes exclusively may cause stomach upset in your horse.

    Warning

    • Grains should be fed sparingly to your horse, as horses tend to overeat when grains are offered. Crushed oats are easily digested and no more than a cup a day along with regular horse feed, pasture, hay or a mixture of these. Barley is not easily digested and may cause colic if given to your horse in large quantities. Everything in moderation, is a good rule of thumb to remember when feeding horses. Corn on the cob is a good energy food for horses to consume during the winter, and although horses love corn on the cob, they can't bolt it, because they have to bite off small chunks and chew them properly before swallowing.

    Benefits

    • Always water your horse before feeding him if he has no ready access to a stream or pond where he may drink free choice. Feeding before watering may bring on a digestive upset or worse, colic. Horses drink ten to twenty-five gallons of water each per day, to aid in digestion, maintain their temperature and use in their circulatory systems.