I see so many people asking what to feed their horse on social media. Whilst social media can be a good place for advice, seeking feed advice on social media is such an inefficient way of getting the right feed for your horse. Every horse is different and many different factors come into feeding; such as age, workload and any conditions like cushings for example. You will be bombarded with hundreds of different feed suggestions, many of which may not even be suitable for your specific horses needs and you will still be none the wiser!
My go to is to seek out a good independent nutritionist. If the horse has a hoof issue, we call the farrier, if it has a medical issue, we call the vet, teeth issues, we call the dentist! So why not call a nutritionist for your horse’s feed advice! Feed companies are great for advice but are obviously naturally biassed to their own brand. I find independent advisors are much more tailored to your horse’s needs.
In 2021 I had a nutritionist out to my horse Patience and it was the best thing I ever did for her. Patience was about 29 at the time and struggling to hold weight in the winter months. We went through everything she would eat in a day and weighed it all and all the data was put into a form which then generated a report with a full nutritional analysis. Whilst her current weight was spot on and her coat was shiny, I was shocked to see so many deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals! A detailed nutrition plan was put in place and I went straight out to buy exactly what she needed! I gained so much valuable information from this session and it was a huge eye opener. Whilst your horse may look good on the outside, you never really know what’s going on inside!
The session also gave me the ability to apply what I had learnt when seeking different feeds in the future to suit her needs. Like most of us, money can get tight. I had to look for slightly cheaper alternatives without compromising on nutritional value and I felt I was able to do this so much easier than before as I wasn’t just choosing something at random!
My top tips:
- Good quality forage/fibre – this should always be the top priority in a horse’s diet. Why waste money on feed when swapping to a better forage could be more beneficial and cost effective. I always feed adlib, horses need to chew in order to produce saliva which neutralises the constant supply of stomach acid. I would rather they left some hay/haylage than not have enough. There are obviously some instances where feeding adlib is not possible, such as a horse needing to lose weight. The minimum amount of forage per day should be around 1.5-2% of their body weight which is spread out to last as long as possible to avoid prolonged periods without the stomach being neutralised by saliva.
- Feed a good quality balancer – high quality forage and grazing alone does not provide your horse with all the essential vits & mins they require on a daily basis. Even if your horse is not in work or out at grass, they still require a balanced diet to function properly.
- Always introduce new foods/forages slowly – horses’ digestive systems are very sensitive, the bacteria and enzymes in the horses stomach need time to adapt to digesting the new foods and any sudden change can cause colic. The longer the change over the less risk there is of upsetting the gut.
- Get familiar with your horse’s ideal weight – It is so easy to let a horse get too fat, especially when we see them everyday! We lose sight of what a healthy horse should look like. The Blue Cross has a really good body condition score chart on their website. And you can always speak to your nutritionist or vet to help you get an ideal weight in kilos that they should be.
