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Hey everyone, I’m Jack from Slowfeednets. Today, I will give you a crash course on all the essential information you need to feed a horse. Whether you’re buying a horse for the first time or just starting to get into lessons and you like to know how you feed a horse, this is a great place to start.
Eating
The first point we will talk about is what your horse eats.
- Grass Your horse may eat a few different things, and the main thing they’re going to eat is grass. The grass is a horse’s natural diet in the wild, so it’s the thing that they need most. Ideally, your horse’s main sustenance will come from grass, and the reason is that there’s lower sugar content than grain. So it’s better for them, and they’re made to be eating all day, and so the grass has that abundance to where they could be grazing all day as they need to. There are different grasses that your horse will eat, and some grasses have more sugar than others. Some horses can get super fat off of grass, and these horses are called easy keepers meaning they don’t need that much sustenance to stay a healthy weight.
- Hay The next main thing your horse may eat is hay, basically just dried grass. There are many different types of hay, ranging from alfalfa hay to timothy grass. You can sustain your horse’s diet with hay. We feed it in the winter just because the grass dies off, so the horses need that forage. If you are stalling your horse or maybe your horse is injured, so they have to be kept in a stall, you will want to provide the horse with hay. In this way, they can have that food because horses are used to eating all day, and hay gives them the opportunity to constantly be munching instead of just eating the grain which they eat in five minutes.
If you’re going to purchase hay, it’s crucial that you purchase horse quality hay. Horses and cows are different so that they can digest different things. Cows can pretty much eat anything, and they’re fine. Horses, on the other hand, there are a few things they can’t digest as well as cows, so you want to make sure you’re getting horse quality hay.We one time got hay, and it, unfortunately, wasn’t the best quality, and it had this thing called foxtail which may rip up horses’ mouths. Besides, you need to check that horse quality hay for things like foxtail and other weeds that may damage your horse’s mouth or not be suitable for them to digest.
- Grain Many people also like to feed their horses grain. When it comes to feeding grain, it’s important to feed grain that will benefit your horse’s diet and your horse’s overall health. In my personal opinion, not every horse needs grain. Grain can be high in sugar, and it’s just unnatural for the horse to digest because horses are used to getting natural sugars from grass compared to grain with a high amount of sugar. That being said, some horses do need to sustain their weight with grain. It is up to the horse’s needs, so this is a great thing to talk to your vet about, and they’ll be happy to guide you in the direction of what your horse needs to eat. So if you’re working your horse hard every day or have a rigorous routine, supplementing their diet with grain may be beneficial. You can also give them supplements with that, like electrolytes that can help them retain their water. And if you have a fat horse, that’s one option you can choose. But like I said, always talk to your vet, and they’ll be happy to guide you in the direction you need to go when feeding your horse.
Water
Another thing your horse is going to need in order to survive is water. Horses need between 5 to 10 gallons of water a day, so you need to ensure that they have enough water to get through their day. If your horse is out in the field with other horses, you need to make sure you have a water bin that will be able to hold enough water for all of them.
One thing to note is in the winter, water buckets can freeze, and even the water buckets are kept installed. So it would be best if you made sure the water stays unfrozen. You can get water heaters for these, or even try some things to keep the water from freezing over. If they’re not hydrated, they can get colic, leading to more health issues and even death. So it’s important that you make sure your horse has adequate water and that they have access to it and know where it is.
If you are getting a new horse, why don’t you comment below and just let me know some more information about your horse and what you plan to do with them.