Category: Feeding Management

In a herd situation, horses establish a dominance hierarchy–a pecking order. In group feeding, you must keep this hierarchy in mind. Aggressive or dominant horses eat more than their share by chasing away others from the feed tubs, and timid horses do not get enough. For this reason, adequate feeder space should be available.

Young horses show little aggressive dominant behavior towards other horses during feeding. Mature horses, however, will show aggressive dominant behavior towards their pasture mates during …

Feeding Guidelines

When feeding the horse, there are three general guidelines one should follow.

1. Feeds should be fed at least twice a day.
2. Feeds should be fed in equally divided amounts.
3. Feeds should be fed near to or at the same time each day and at even intervals throughout the day.

Let’s look at the reasons why farm managers, nutritionists, and veterinarians follow these guidelines.

In the wild or out on pasture, horses eat frequently as they graze throughout the …

Feeding Grain

Horses should be provided the grain meal at the same time as feeding forages. Like hay, grain should be fed from a feeder instead of on the ground to decrease feed losses and contamination by urine and feces. Feeding grain on the ground also increases the horse’s consumption of dirt, which may accumulate in the large intestine and eventually cause sand colic or intestinal impactions. Grain can be provided in wooden, plastic, or rubber feed buckets, feed bags, …

Class of Horse Determines Nutrient Requirements

The National Research Council (1989) has published a guide to feeding horses entitled “Nutrient Requirements of Horses.” These requirements are based on several factors, including:

• class of the horse
• body weight
• body condition
• stage of production
• age
• activity level
• growth.

Diet selection for each class or activity level of the horse will depend on the nutrient requirements for that particular class of horse and which ingredients are selected to meet those requirements. Horses should …

Encourage aggressive horses to eat slowly.

Horses that eat fast and aggressively should be encouraged to eat more slowly. Horses that bolt their food have a tendency not to chew it before swallowing. There are several management tactics to use to slow aggressive eaters:

1. Feed in large shallow troughs.
2. Put bricks or softball-size rocks in the feed trough.
3. Feed extruded feeds.
4. Mix in chopped hay.
5. Mount a wire ring inside the feed trough.

Ashley Griffin, University of Kentucky…

The horse is a unique specie of livestock in that its primary purpose is for pleasure or work. Equine nutritionists have long been concerned with supplying the correct amounts and types of …

Body condition refers to the amount of fat on a horse’s body. Fat is tissue that serves to store energy and is produced when the horse is digesting more …

Top 10 Nutrition Tips

1. Always supply unlimited quantities of clean, fresh water.
2. Maximize forage intake.
3. Minimize concentrate consumption.
4. The Calcium to Phosphorous ratio (Ca:P) should be between 3:1 to 1:1.
5. Supplement minerals and vitamins.
6. Balance a horse’s ration in the following order: energy, protein, minerals, vitamins.
7. Monitor your horse’s body weight and body condition