Different types of horse feed

Photo: Roland Thunholm

Roughage

Hay is the most common food. A good hay covers a large part, if not all, of a horse's entire nutritional needs. The hay should be green, leafy, smell good and not be dusty or mouldy.

Hay that has been harvested late has a poorer nutritional content - the stems are coarser and the ears larger. In order to be able to make a real forage report where you know that the horse's nutritional needs are satisfied, you have to do a nutritional analysis of the hay you use. 

It is estimated that a horse needs a daily supply of 1.2 kilos of hay per 100 kilos of weight. This means that a horse weighing 500 kilos should receive at least 6 kilos of hay - this is a minimum recommendation, in order for the horse to be able to cover its need for straw feed. To meet other nutritional needs, more is usually needed.

Concentrated feed

Concentrated feed is used to supplement the high needs of growing or working horses, but many horses do well on a good roughage.

Concentrated feed should be divided into several feeds per day and a horse should not receive more than 0.4 kilos of concentrate per 100 kilos of weight at each feeding. If a horse receives too large portions at a time, too much of the feed will pass through the intestines undigested, causing a disturbance in the intestinal flora and, in the worst case, lead to colic.

Oats are the traditional concentrate, but today it is more common to give processed concentrate in the form of pellets and muesli.

Barley was previously used as a supplement to oats in mainly working horses' fodder states. It contains more energy than oats do, mainly in the form of starch. Barley has a hard core and must always be crushed in order for the horse to be able to assimilate the nutrition.

Wheat bran contains a lot of phosphorus and B vitamins, which is good for digestion. It also contains a lot of protein. Wheat bran can be given moistened in small doses (no more than 0.5 kilos per day or no more than 0.1 kilos per 100 kilos of body weight).

Soy flour and linseed contain high levels of protein and are only given to horses with a high protein requirement.

Minerals and vitamins

With a well-composed forage state, the horse should not need extra vitamins. Pregnant mares, high-performance horses and young horses may sometimes, depending on the content of the forage in general, have a need for additional vitamins and then usually vitamins A, B, D and E.

Minerals may need to supplement the feed and are available to buy as ready mixes. Minerals and trace elements are needed for a strong skeleton, for the muscles and a number of other functions in the body. It is mainly calcium and phosphorus that the horse needs, but also copper, magnesium and iron. The easiest way to solve it is to give the horse free access to minerals in a separate manger. But make sure it actually eats!

Salt can be given to a horse by placing a rock of salt in the box or on the pasture. The need for salt varies with heat and exertion and therefore the horse must always have free access.

The most important thing when it comes to feeding a horse is to do a proper forage analysis and then calculate a feed state for each individual horse, depending on the age and how much the horse is ridden and trained.

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