How much do I feed my horse a day? How often and what do I feed him? Learn all the basics on how to feed your horse properly in simple language.

Water

Horses should have a clean unrestricted supply of water. Low temperatures, changes in water source, and frozen water are the main causes of a horse not drinking enough water. Not drinking enough water can cause impaction resulting in death and colic. Using a tank heater in the winter to keep the water at a temperature which horses prefer will increase water consumption. Winter, especially weather when the temperatures never get above freezing, is the time of year most problems from not drinking enough water occur. The water bucket heaters are considered dangerous as they can cause a fire in the barn should the horse drink all the water in the bucket.

horse feedingForage

Horses are naturally grazers. They must have forage (hay or grass) for their digestive system to work properly and for mental health. Horses must have access to hay, pasture, or a coarsely processed food daily. Hay or pasture is preferred by most horsemen over what is called a complete ration (coarsely processed food). A rule of thumb is to feed your horse a minimum of .75 percent of body weight in forage daily. For a thousand pound horse, this would be at minimum of seven and a half pounds of hay daily. A horse on good pasture will take care of its forage needs on its own.

Feeding hay and/or letting your horse graze for a few hours daily reduces incidences of colic, increases water intake and reduces behavioral problems (especially in stalled horses) such as tail chewing, wood chewing and wind sucking.

Feeding high quality hay which is more efficiently digested, allows you to feed less grain. High hay consumption and low grain consumption is better for horses and is more economical for the horse owner as hay per pound, even top quality hay, is cheaper than grain per pound.

I personally recommend a couple of pounds of high quality alfalfa daily. I find high quality alfalfa puts a bloom, and just a look of fitness on a horse which nothing else will do as cheaply. While top quality alfalfa is not cheap or easy to find, it is cheaper, and better for horses than all of the supplements given to achieve a bloom and fitness. It has to be top quality alfalfa, though. Low quality alfalfa does not achieve the same effects. I personally feel you are better feeding no alfalfa if you can’t get top quality alfalfa. Your horse would be better off if you were to use the money on a high quality Bermuda grass hay.

High quality Bermuda grass hay that has been fertilized and irrigated is better than medium or low quality alfalfa. Hay that is fertilized and does not get enough water to grow properly becomes tough and is not as palatable to the horse. Top quality Bermuda grass hay can be as high as 16% protein. Top quality alfalfa can go to 24% protein. I do not recommend feeding over a couple of pounds daily of a top quality alfalfa hay to a horse. The horse should also get some lower quality, lower protein grass hay for roughage.

Grain

Forage alone will not provide your horse with a well balanced feeding program although if forage is of high quality it can provide most of the nutritional needs of an adult idle horse or a horse that is ridden for pleasure once or twice a week.

Young growing horses, broodmares in their last three months of gestation, lactating broodmares and horses in high level athletic competitions have much higher and more specific nutritional needs. There are more incidents of physical problems due to improperly balanced feeding programs in these classes of horses. A feed specially formulated for foals, or one specially formulated for performance horses from a reputable feed company is a wise investment for young growing horses or horses in high level athletic competition. Improperly fed young horses can end up with bone anglelation faults in the legs, and horses in high level competition can break down, becoming useless and less valuable due to an improper feeding program.

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