01/20/2025
🥕🐴 The Basics of Balancing a Horse’s Diet 🍎☘️
When talking to people about their feeding programs, there is one problem I see more than any other – not feeding enough of the feed to meet the nutrient requirements of the horse. However, this is such an easy fix if you understand the basics of balancing a horse’s diet. And at risk of oversimplifying it, I want to discuss two important components that need to be considered during this process – calories and nutrients.
We deal with both of these in human nutrition as well. Calories are a way to measure the energy we put into the body in the form of food. This energy helps carry out important functions such as moving, growth, reproduction, recovery, or simply keeping us alive. Too many calories can result in weight gain and too little can result in weight loss, so our goal is to find the sweet spot so just enough calories are consumed to maintain a healthy weight (easier said than done). These energy requirements will change based on the stage of life the horse is in (e.g. maintenance, growth, breeding/reproduction, performance, etc.).
Nutrients provide this energy to the body, but they are also critical in carrying out specific processes to help keep the body functioning and healthy. For example, certain minerals such as sodium, potassium, chloride, and magnesium help regulate the fluid balance in the body, maintain neuronal signaling, and support muscle contractions. Vitamin E and selenium are important antioxidants to support cells, tissues, and organs. And amino acids are building blocks of proteins that also serve a role in hoof and hair health, enzymes, growth, and tissue repair. And this is only to name a few!
Our main goal when balancing a horse’s diet is to meet requirements for both calories AND nutrients to optimize horse health.
When balancing a diet, I begin with the forage as this should be the foundation of a feeding program. When selecting a forage, type, species, maturity, and ultimately, energy concentrations, should be chosen to match the horse’s energy requirements. For example, a horse who is an easy keeper may do better on a more mature grass hay while a mare in early lactation may require a higher quality alfalfa. This is important because we should be feeding our horses at least 1.5% of their body weight in forage each day (however I prefer to maximize this amount whenever possible). As a result, if an overweight horse is provided a high calorie hay, long fasting periods would be required to prevent excessive weight gain, which is not a healthy practice for horses. In comparison, if a lactating mare is given a low calorie hay, she simply cannot consume enough in a day and weight loss and decreased milk production may be observed. This demonstrates how critical it is to match the energy requirements of the horse to the forage selected.
Unfortunately,, a forage-only diet is often lacking in various vitamins and minerals. While access to quality pasture should provide adequate amounts of vitamins A and E, when a field is cut and dried for hay, these vitamins quickly deplete and sufficient quantities will not be provided in forage alone. Additionally, both pasture and hay may be deficient in minerals including copper, zinc, sodium, and magnesium, among others. Ideally, a forage test will be performed to more accurately assess the nutrient quality of your hay or pasture so the diet can be balanced accordingly.
This is where feed comes in. The majority of horses will require some form of balanced feed or supplement to ensure their nutrient requirements are met. This may be in the form of a ration balancer or loose vitamin and mineral mix, both designed to be fed at low feeding rates (< 2 lbs per day) to horses who do not require additional calories to maintain their weight. However, if a horse does require additional calories, higher energy commercial feeds can be provided according to the manufacturer's instructions. These feeds are balanced to meet the nutrient requirements of the horse BUT ONLY when fed at or above the recommended feeding rate. If the horse cannot be fed the minimum feeding rate, a vitamin/mineral mix or ration balancer can be added to the feed (or replace it) to provide the additional nutrients needed to meet requirements.
I most often see this problem when a horse starts to gain weight. As an example, let's say the owner was feeding the horse 4 lbs of a performance feed which met the minimum feeding rate for that horse consuming that specific product. But all of a sudden the horse begins to work less and consequently gains weight. To prevent the horse from becoming overweight, the owner decides to reduce the feeding rate to 2 lbs of the same feed. While this may balance the calories, the horse is now receiving only HALF of their required nutrients. Instead, the owner could have switched to a different feed, in this case a ration balancer would’ve been a good choice, to meet both the calorie and nutrient requirements of the horse.
Finally, for horses who cannot have hay, a complete or senior feed can be provided at recommended amounts. For senior feeds, it is especially important to read the manufacturer's instructions as some are fortified to accommodate a lower feeding rate while others are designed to be fed like a true complete feed (in high quantities to meet nutrient requirements).
My apologies, this got long - so let’s wrap it up with a few important takeaways and tips!
🐴 Match your forage and feed to the energy requirements of the horse. If your horse is gaining or losing weight but you are following recommended feeding rates, you likely need to change the forage or feed product(s) being used.
🥕 Follow the manufacturer's instructions when determining how much to feed. They are there for a reason! This is an easy way to help make sure the nutrient requirements of the horse are being met (if the right product is being fed) unless you want to do all the math or pay someone to do it for you.
⚖️ The feeding rate is provided in weight (lb, kg, g, etc.),. As a result, you need to weigh your feed. You can do this using a basic kitchen scale - but a handful or a scoop is not going to let you (or your nutritionist!) know if you are feeding the correct amount.
🎓 If this feels overwhelming, reach out to a nutritionist! If you feed a specific brand, many feed companies have their own consultants who will help you for free. If you prefer to have an unbiased or multi-branded opinion, there are quite a few qualified equine nutritionists who would be happy to help!
I know this is a lot of information! But the bottom line is you need to balance calories to manage weight and simultaneously balance nutrients to ensure the body has what it needs to function properly. While this is a basic understanding of balancing the diet, there are many factors involved. As a result, it is important to look at the full picture and consider all variables at play including the individuality of the horse, different forage options (including species, maturity, or even cutting of hay), as well as different feed products available.
What is your feeding plan to keep your horse healthy? Please share as I love learning what works for everyone else! Are you changing anything based on what you learned or have you been on the right track?
Cheers!
Dr. DeBoer
