Things You'll Need
- Access to a feed store
- Ability to do some research
Instructions
Selecting the right feed for your horse
Depending on your horse's age, condition, and the amount of exercise it receives - you may or may not need to buy bagged feed at all. Most horses, and especially ponies, do very well off a diet of pure forage. Indeed, high quality forage is always the best choice for equines of any breed, and even when buying the best quality concentrates, you should always keep at least 25% of your horse's overall diet as roughage.
Weaning is the first stage of special dietary need. The foal is leaving the richness of his mother's milk and will now rely solely on solids to get him all the nutrition he needs to grow properly. With too little protein and nutrients, he will be stunted and never reach his full potential. Too much, and he will suffer crippling joint deformities. It is vital to get his feed correct. Thankfully, there are many "ready made" horse feeds for all stages of the equine life, and these are the safest as they have had clinical trials to prove their efficacy and safety.
A horse aged two and up through his mid teens needs an average diet. Most horses do very well on lots of good quality forage, and a simple additional concentrate - such as crimped oats. Occasionally, in areas of the country where it gets cold, sweet feed or a corn supplement will be added. If, however, the mature horse is being worked very hard - for example a working western cow horse - he will require much higher levels of all nutrients - in particular fat and protein. Again, we are fortunate to live in an age where every feed store will carry some sort of tailored feed to suit nearly every horse's needs. Explain your horse's daily regime to the feed store owner, and they will help you select the feed that suits your horse's dietary requirements.
Once a horse has hit his mid teens and up - he is considered geriatric and will need to have his diet changed. Older horses need easy-to-digest grains, and also need to have a higher fat content with lower starch content. In an age where the vast majority of the horse population is aging, every major feed company has come out with their own "Senior Feed'. For the most part, these are excellent, and are well worth the few extra dollars per bag to make sure your aging equine has all the nutrition he needs.
Selecting horse feed has actually become much easier in the last ten years, as the major feed companies have really begun to apply their science to the various stages in a horse's life. Always ask questions, and never be afraid to admit if you are not sure if what you are doing is correct. Learning something new every day is part of the joy of owning and caring for horses.