Low-Energy Foods for Horses

Low-energy foods should only be fed to horses who are not regularly being worked and participating in high performance. According to the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture, energy is vital to horses who need to perform their best as it aids many of the body's functions including muscle contraction, respiration and circulation. Only feed a low-energy diet to an idle horse and feed a high-energy diet to an older or sickly horse and to a working horse.

  1. Hay

    • If a horse is too fat or is only participating in light work, than cut down on its grain and increase the amount of hay. Horses should have as much access to hay and grass as possible, as these are both nutritious and and have low energy.

    Grain

    • The website Wow Horses recommends that you "restrict the horse's grain intake to a third of its energy requirements." To measure a horse's energy requirement, consider that an idle horse needs 2 percent of its body weight in hay per day. So a 600 kg horse needs 12 kg of hay a day. Wow Horses uses the calculation that 1 lb. of grain equals 2 lbs. of hay for an idle horse. Feed low-energy grains, such as plain oats, instead of pellets or sweet feed.

    When to Avoid Grain

    • Avoid feeding any grain to horses with a history of laminitis (lameness) or to pony breeds. If horses are grass fed, avoid feeding them any grain during springtime and mid-summer, when the grass is lush and plentiful. Split grain feedings over two or more feeds every day so the horse does not overeat.