Horse Nutrition: Where to start?

Just like humans, horses need a specific diet which complements their lifestyle, activity levels and overall nutritional needs. Depending on what your horse or pony is doing is going to say a lot about what they need to perform at their optimal level. HH Feeds have chatted to a few of their go-to Equine Technical Advisors to help give us some insight into things to look at when it comes to your horse and what to feed it.

A horse’s roughage (for example hay/grazing) are the most important part of their diet and should always be considered first when looking at what to feed. The average horse should get a minimum of 1.5% of its body weight in roughage per day.

If owners are unable to get good quality grass, forage extenders such as hay cubes, chaffs and beet products can be used in conjunction to help implement a greater fiber quantity into their diet.

Feed products such as Equus Nice n Easy, Kwikbeet, Chaff products or Equi-Feeds Shandy Cubes are great options to consider to when wanting to increase fibre in a diet.

A horse’s diet should consist of a full array of balanced nutrients such as energy (from fats and/or carbohydrates), protein, fibre and vitamins and minerals. The ratios of these will vary looking at what you horse’s work, age and condition profile is (i.e., happy hacker vs competition horse).

Within the horse’s diet there are two forms of Carbohydrates: structural carbs and nonstructural carbs.

Fiber is structural carb and is the most important aspect to any horse’s diet. Nonstructural carbs (known as NSC) comprise of sugars and starches and these may need to be considered carefully especially when feeding to a horse with issues such as laminitis, gastric ulcers or colic’s.
For example, when choosing a diet for a horse with a veterinary issue (e.g., like laminitis), one needs to look at giving a diet which has an overall lower ratio and percentage of NSC, which can then benefit the horse in preventing issues. It is important to remember that a horse’s diet cannot be completely sugar and starch free as even grass and hay will contain some level of NSC. Horses also need some sugar in their diet for example as it is the only energy source that the brains can use.

Fat-based diets tend to work well for hot horses as it is a good source of calories in a calming fashion. Fat-based diets give the calories needed for work, maintaining weight or even picking up weight in a more manageable way instead of using concentrates which can be made up of cereal grains, which may not be suitable for all. Higher fat diets are also advisable for veterinary issues, in order to provide energy without overusing NSC.

Examples of this include: Equi-Feeds Tranquil Feed, Equus Cool n Perform 12%, Capstone Prolong or Royal Sugar Free Meal.

When looking at protein, it is important to remember that the quantity of protein doesn’t necessarily mean it’s of a better quality. The amino acid profile of a feed is of more concern as the amino acids it contains are vital, as they form the building blocks of protein, i.e., muscle.

When you are considering concentrates, you need to look at energy levels over protein levels. By matching the energy level with the workload that your horse is doing, you will get the correct and desired condition from the food as well as the correct amount of protein. A horse in light to medium work for example needs around 600-800g of protein per day. A large portion of a horses’ protein requirements can usually be covered by correct amounts of quality hay rations; concentrates simply make up the shortfall or help to supplement the amino acid levels when those levels within hay and grazing are not adequate. Protein is a really important factor to consider when you are looking at horses in different life stages e.g., foals or lactating mares.

Examples of these include: Epol Rider Pellets, Equi-Feeds Leisure Feed, Protein Feeds Horse Feed or Capstone Cool Time.

When looking at what concentrates to give your horse, something to consider alongside with the workload your horse does, is the type of behaviour your horse tends to exude: i.e., are they hot or cold horses.

It is important to look at the individual horse and compare what they need versus what they are getting. The best route to go for with a hot horse could be a combination of a high fat and high fiber diet. It is important to match the work profile of your horse to the product which best suits its’ calorie needs

Examples of these include: Equus Train n Leisure, Royal Calm Feed or Equi-Feeds High Fibre Cubes.

When looking at the other side of the spectrum, cold horses tend to do better on concentrates which are higher in starches and grains. One thing to remember and consider with cold horses is that they tend to be good doers and can get chubby quicker than their hotter counterparts. Here we need to look at giving horses just enough for their workload but not too much which can lead to them becoming overweight. It is also possible that good doers may need very little concentrates, and therefore adding a balancer (for vitamins and minerals) could be worthwhile to ensure they get their daily required intake.

Examples of these include: Epol Rider Muesli, Royal Competition Meal, Equi-Feeds Enduro, and Capstone Perform Time Examples of these balancers include: Capstone Lifetime Balancer, Equus all time balancer and Royal Feeds Balancer.

When looking at how many meals your horse should be getting, at the end of the day it comes down to your preference as an owner. Although, a horse should get no more than 2.5KG of food per meal. Older horses, poor doers, colicky horses or those that are ulcer prone, may benefit from feeding several smaller sized meals per day, as it’s been shown that smaller meals result in greater digestibility of food at each meal. For the average, “unproblematic” horse, the standard 2-3 meals a day is more than sufficient for your steed.

At the end of the day, there are many factors to consider when feeding your equine steed and if you are unsure or new to the industry, it is best to contact your local industry professionals to help you along the way.

Check in with us next month where we look at Oil, Supplements and other feed related questions!