Notes

Your Horses' Feed - Get rid of the Guesswork and Save Money
Do you utilize guesswork to choose what and just how much to feed your horse? Can you believe it's too hard to change your horses' feed as their workload changes or because the seasons change? For most of the ten years that I am managing the feed for the horses we breed and train, I have been doing just this. The horses seemed healthy and in good condition. Little did I know how much cash I was wasting by feeding the horses an excessive amount of the wrong stuff! For just one of our horses I was feeding 20% more energy and 30% more protein than he needed! As Horse Feed Wheaton Aston Staffordshire was an Australian Stock Horse Stallion, he wasn't getting fat. Instead he 'sweated up' easily and he always seemed hyperactive. We just put this right down to him being a stallion. What could we've saved? Annually this 20% represented a lot more than $200, first horse!

The purpose of this article is to, for those of you who are also counting on guesswork when putting together your horses' feed, open your eyes to how easy it really is to calculate the right diet for the horse. You need to know this before even thinking about going in to the neighborhood horse feed store to choose a commercial feed from the huge range that's on offer.

Before we enter the facts of calculating what to feed your horse there are several points you must understand about horses in general.

1) Horses have been designed by nature as grazing animals. While grazing they could also eat some grass seed (grain), but this wasn't meant to make up a big section of their diet. So, when possible, always try to make up as much of one's horses' feed from top quality pasture and hay.

2) A horses' digestive tract can process only a limited level of feed per day. This consists of pasture, hay, and any feed mixes ('hard feed') you provide. The overall rule is that total weight of feed eaten should be between 1.5% and 2% of the horses' bodyweight (e.g. 500kg horse = 10kg total feed each day).

3) The number of feed a horse needs is dependent on three main factors. These are the weight of one's horse, just how much work they do, and the elements. This last factor assumes your horse is kept within an open paddock or field (i.e. not kept in a well balanced). This assumes your horse is already in good shape (body, teeth, worming, etc), and is in a healthy body. In general, the bigger they're, the more work they do, and the colder the weather, the more energy they will need - but still within the limits mentioned in point (2).

What are the basic guidelines for working out what to feed your horse? Horse Feed Cheadle Staffordshire must contain balanced levels of;

1) Digestible Energy (from carbohydrates, sugars, and fats);

2) Protein;

3) Crude Fibre; and,

4) Minerals and vitamins.

To quickly estimate the right amounts for the horse, use the following. References to BW refer to your horses' bodyweight.


1) Resting Horse (no work): 15MJ DE (energy) per 100kg BW, 150g Protein per 100kg BW, the least 1% BW in crude fibre, between 1.5% and 1.75% BW total feed weight (including pasture).

2) Horse in Light Work (20-30 min per day): 18MJ DE (energy) per 100kg BW, 180g Protein per 100kg BW, minimum of 1% BW in crude fibre, approximately 2% BW total feed weight (including pasture).

Vitamins and minerals have not been included as this is a complex area that deserves its article. Worry about obtaining the first three right and then deal with minerals and vitamins later.

Given the aforementioned information, everything you now should do is work out the proper balance of feed that provides the correct levels of energy, protein, and crude fibre, while staying under the maximum consumption weight. Usually the steps are;

1) Work out how much pasture your horse eats and the energy and protein value of the pasture. This is determined by how long they are in the paddock/field and the quality of the grass. If Horse Feed Shenstone Staffordshire live in areas where in fact the temperature drops right down to 5 to 12 degrees Celsius, in the Winter, the power value of pasture reaches least 15% lower than during mid to late Spring.

2) Calculate the rest of the amounts your horse needs and decide whether this is often made entirely from top quality hay.

3) If your horse still needs more Energy and Protein, you now need to go searching for commercial feed mixes that meet the remaining requirements of your horse.

You may think that all of this appears to be an elaborate balancing act. This is probably why most of us avoid accurately calculating our horses' feed. However, nowadays there are the right feed calculators, on the Internet, which makes this all very simple. It's easier if you use a calculator that requires a holistic approach by including the pasture and hay available to your horse, and generic advice that is not linked to a specific feed manufacturer. If it offers pictures of pasture types, and already includes the power and protein values of the feed brands available to you at your local horse feed supplier, you'll save a lot of time.

You now know the fundamentals of what your horse needs. There are numerous tools online that will help calculate the precise amounts required. Utilize them today, eliminate the guesswork, and cut costs as well!

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