Draft Horse Diet

Draft horses are larger, thicker, stronger versions of standard horses. Also known as "cold blooded" horses, these gentle giants require a special diet to keep them healthy and in good flesh. Surprisingly, it is not just the amount of food that needs to be different from the smaller horse, it is the type. Knowing what kind of food to feed the draft horse is important to maintaining its health.

  1. History

    • Until scientific study showed that there was a better way to feed draft horses in the early 1990's, they were mostly fed a standard horse diet, just in larger quantities. Owners fed the horses grain concentrates based on weight and roughage in huge amounts because of the horses' overall mass. While this definitely maintained their weight, and in many cases made them fat, other problems cropped up that were feed related. Founder, Cushing's Disease and other metabolism based issues were a problem. It has only been in the last decade that science was able to look at these health issues and connect them with feeding.

    Types

    • Draft horses need a low carb, high-fat diet, called the EPSM (equine polysaccharide storage myopathy) diet. This diet focuses on forage as the main source of calories and includes a fat supplement, such as corn oil, for additional calorie intake. By lowering the amount of starch digested in the small intestine, it prevents metabolic overload, which can cause founder, colic and other problems.

      By providing a slow, steady intake of calories from forage, supplemented by slowly digested calories in the form of fat, the draft horse can get the calories it needs to maintain condition, without risking side effects of high carb sweet feeds and concentrates.

    Features

    • Free choice grass hay is the first feature of the draft horse diet. While good hay is important, rich hay that is over 12 percent protein should be avoided for free choice. Alfalfa and other high protein forage can be provided as a source of calories and energy, but the free choice should be plain grass hay.

      In addition to the grass hay, alfalfa cubes and pellets should be given twice a day, and an average of two cups of vegetable oil per day. This, along with a vitamin supplement in the form of a feed additive, should provide all your draft horse's needs for health.

    Considerations

    • While many drafts are not picky about their feed, and will readily eat the vegetable oil you pour over the alfalfa pellets, some horses may be picky and try to avoid consuming the fat. In these cases, you can seek out high fat commercial feeds that will provide the high percentage of fat (25 percent) your draft needs in his diet, while limiting the starch and carbs that come with concentrates such as corn molasses.

    Warning

    • As with any feeding program for horses, making any diet change should be gradual, and happen over the period of a week to 10 days. Horses are notorious for colicking if you make sudden diet changes, so introduce your draft to his new diet slowly. Once he has made the switch, it will be easy enough to maintain him with all the forage he can eat and a high fat diet.