A horse can be an excellent companion whether you are using it for pleasure or for working purposes.  No matter what you are using a horse for, it needs to be well fed.  It can be tricky knowing what to feed a horse so that it thrives and is healthy, so we’ve put together this guide to get you started.  Read on for more.

Horses Need Pasture

Horses are herbivorous animals which means that they only eat vegetation.  When feeding your horse, it is important to mimic its natural diet as much as possible.  You can do this by allowing your horse to have access to a well managed pasture with a variety of species.  Not only is this good for your horse, it will also save you money as you don’t have to buy as much supplementary feed.  Feeding on pasture is best as it will give your horse the fibre it needs (horses need roughage) and it will also help to relieve boredom.

Horses and Hay

If you don’t have the luxury of pasture for your horse to graze on, you’ll need to feed them on other foods.  The best choice is to use hay.  Hay is high in fibre and perfect for your horse to eat all day, as horses are designed to eat slowly and continually, not to have meals as such.  Choose a good quality hay for your horse such as lucerne, grass, clover, rye, or legume hay.  Again, hay provides roughage which your horses absolutely needs.

Supplementing Your Horse’s Diet

In some cases you’ll need to supplement your horse’s diet of pasture and hay with grains or pellets.  You should be careful to choose grains and pellets that are well balanced and specifically formulated to meet your horse’s needs in regards to energy and protein.  Horse feed is formulated for different types of horses so you’ll need to pick one that is designed for the type of horse that you have and the type of work that your horse does.

Feed According to Your Horse’s Energy Levels

You should also be careful not to feed your horse so that it becomes overweight.  Feed your horse according to its activity levels, that is, feed more when they are being active and less when they are not.  If your horse is ridden infrequently, pasture alone is often adequate (if you have access to good pasture), or you can supplement the pasture with hay.  However, if your horse is young, hardworking or lactating, it will need more energy from its food, and you’ll need to supplement the pasture and hay with concentrate supplements such as grain or horse pellets.

Are Mineral Supplements Needed?

If your horse’s diet is well balanced, there should not be the need to feed it mineral supplements.  However, there are some situations where this may be required and if you are not sure about whether to feed mineral supplements or not, you should take the advice of a vet that is experienced in treating horses.  Horses will need access to salt in some form though.

Don’t Forget About Water!

Of course, you shouldn’t forget about fresh water for your horse.  Your horse can drink several litres a day, especially in the hot weather (up to 65 litres on average!).  You should make sure that your horse has access to clean, fresh water at all times.  Ideally, keep the water in a sheltered position as horses do not like to drink hot water at all.