The horse’s digestive system is designed to handle large quantities of grass, made mostly of water and fiber. For the majority of domesticated horses their diet consists mostly of grass and hay, hopefully good quality hay, free of dust and mold. Horses kept mostly in stalls would eat themselves sick if they were allowed to eat continuously because they are mostly stationary, while wild horses must wander endlessly in search of food.
Something to Chew On
Despite the need to limit the food intake of certain horses they still need to have something to chew. Horses that do not have an outlet for this need to eat may begin to chew on non-edible things like their stalls, bedding or even other horses' manes or tails. This can be combated by feeding “busy hay”, that is hay with few calories to keep the horse occupied. This type of hay is mature hay grass which is mostly roughage and low in protein so there are few calories in it.
A good recommendation for feeding horses is to feed grassy hay three times a day. For a thousand pound horse 17 to 20 pounds of hay is a good amount to break up into three feedings, depending on the individual horse. Many horse owners choose to stay away from alfalfa because it is very high in protein and can be harder on a horse’s digestive system than grass hay.
Checking to See if the Horse is on a Good Schedule
To check and see if a horse is on a schedule that fits his need there are several things that can be checked after each meal is fed:
- Did the horse eat everything that was offered? Most horses when given several meals a day will finish everything within two hours. Uneaten hay is often wasted. If there is leftover hay the horse may need to be fed a little less, or have more smaller meals throughout the day
- Did the horse take longer than two hours to eat? Again he may be being fed too much.
- Was leftover hay eaten later? Some horses will take a break from eating and then come back; that is normal behavior.
- How eager was the horse for his next meal? If the horse is overly aggressive than he may be being fed too infrequently or not enough. He may also be simply an aggressive horse.
Grazing
The amount of time a horse is allowed to graze is a careful balancing act. If the horse is kept on small acreage it is important to take into account what is best for the grass. It is also important to consider what is best between how much the horse wants to eat and how much he should eat. Some horses will naturally keep themselves from grazing too much, while others may overeat. Small horses and ponies must be watched carefully and kept off rich pasture to avoid laminitis and other injuries associated with too much protein or weight gain.
To avoid over-grazing and weight gain horses will need to be monitored and allowed out in the pasture only several hours at a time rather than all day. Another option is to fit the horse with a grazing muzzle which makes it much more difficult for them to eat too much grass but still allows them plenty of time outside and the company of other horses.
