Ensure you know your horse’s daily needs.
Work with an equine nutritional advisor to accurately determine the nutrients your horse needs, where he is getting these nutrients from, and if you are over or underfeeding.
HH Feed clients get the bonus of always having our in-house advisor’s help for FREE, so be sure to contact us today and book a visit for your yard.
Determine the daily cost of feeding your horse.
Compare this daily cost against the amount your horse needs to be fed. You might be surprised to find that cheaper bags cost more to feed as they take more kg per day to maintain good body condition or provide adequate vitamins and minerals for your horse.
Price of one bag/weight of one bag = price per kg.
Look for the right feed for your horse.
A feed designed for your type of horse with the proper balance of protein, vitamins, and minerals is more cost-effective than a feed not specific to your horse.
For example, a top-performance horse being fed a low-energy feed designed for horses, not in work will need to be fed more kg per day to meet requirements than feeding a “Performance” product designed to match the level of work in lower kg amounts.
Follow the manufacturer’s feeding rate.
It can be tempting to reduce feed a little to save costs. However, feeding below the manufacturer’s minimum recommendation could mean your horse isn’t getting the full range of nutrients needed. Chat with your feed company of choice to ensure you are feeding the correct amounts based on their inclusions.
For example, if you’re feeding a handful of feed to a good doer/pony type just for something to keep them occupied at mealtimes, it won’t be supplying anything significant in terms of nutrients. Providing a balancer in these cases will give worthwhile nutrients in a small amount ensuring you don’t need to add anything further.
Focus on your hay.
Look at providing the best quality hay you can. Although this may cost you more per bale it will supply a higher level of valuable nutrients meaning that you may be able to reduce the amount of concentrate feed or supplements you provide.
Weigh, weigh, weigh.
Weigh your feed out rather than relying on scoops. A scoop of pelleted feed will weigh significantly more than a chaff-based feed. This could lead to over or under-supply.
Weigh your hay too- are you feeding more than you need to for good-doer ponies? Are the horses getting enough? Hay bales will vary in weight and therefore it’s worth weighing your hay out to ensure again that the right amount is being fed. This is important if you feed from large round bales as often when unwrapping the bale, it fluffs up and looks like a lot when actually it is way under what a horse should be fed. This in turn means your concentrates must work harder and often in larger amounts to maintain body condition.
All horses should receive at least 1.5% of body weight in hay per day. This equals around 8.5kg of dry matter per day per 500kg horse minimum.
Check your supplements.
Supplements have a valuable place in feeding horses but check the labels of what you do feed to ensure you are not doubling up on any nutrients. Also feeding for “just in case” isn’t always viable and there are very few studies that show all supplements can prevent future issues. Rather pinpoint the exact issue your horse has and supply one for that reason only.
