Basic feeding tips
Horses graze by nature. Feed smaller amounts more often.
Good quality hay or forage should form the basis for all feeding programs.
Make no sudden feed changes. Alter the diet over a 7 to 10 day period, so the digestive system can adjust.
Provide free choice access to salt (preferably trace-mineralized) at all times.
Provide mineral supplementation.
Provide free choice clean water at all times and in all seasons. Eating snow is not sufficient as a water source in winter.
Assessment of body condition is an important indicator that the horse is getting enough nutrients. You should always feed your horse to maintain a body condition score from 4 to 5 (on the 9-point scale, with 1 being extremely thin and 9 being extremely fat). Adjust feed intake accordingly.
Remember, horses are individuals and should be managed and fed as individuals. Segregation of horses may be necessary.
Horses on pasture
Three to five acres of good pasture are required to graze one horse during the summer.
Spring growth is more nutrient rich than summer or fall growth.
Avoid alsike clover in horse pastures and hay, because it can cause liver damage and photosensitivity.
Mature horses generally get fat on good pasture. Pasture may need to be restricted.
Overfeeding and related problems are more common than underfeeding.
Horses still need access to minerals, free choice salt and fresh clean water while on pasture at all times.
In winter, provide supplementation with hay and possibly grain.
Feedstuffs contain the nutrients energy, protein, minerals and vitamins. The right combination of feedstuffs needs to be chosen to meet the nutrient requirements of your horse.

Energy
Energy is the main component of horse feeds, and it includes the starches, sugars, cellulose (fibre) and fat in plants. If the horse does not receive enough energy, it will lose weight, or with young horses, it will not grow. Excess energy is stored as fat.

Hay forms the basis for all horse rations. Depending on your horse’s physiological state and the hay quality, extra energy may need to be provided.

Oats are the grain of choice for horses. Oats can be fed whole except for those horses that are old or have poor teeth. Corn, barley or commercial feeds are also high in energy and can be used. To avoid digestive upsets, grain should be fed in small amounts (e.g. 1 kg) at a time unless the owner has experience feeding higher levels.

Protein
All soft tissue, such as muscle, is composed of protein. Protein in diets is required for growth and maintenance of muscle, hair and organs. Legume hays, such as alfalfa, generally have a high protein content (16-18%). Grass hays (bromegrass, orchardgrass, timothy) are lower in protein (5-12%), but generally meet protein requirements for mature horses. For young horses (less than 2 years old), protein supplements or soybean meal (48% protein) need to be added to the ration to meet the protein needed for growth.

Minerals
Horses require minerals such as calcium and phosphorus as well as trace minerals such as iodine, copper, iron, manganese and selenium for bone development and general health.

Horses have an appetite for salt (which is sodium and chloride), and most feedstuffs are low in salt. Also, salt requirements go up in hot weather or during exercise, when horses are sweating. Salt can be mixed into the diet or fed free choice in block or loose form. The brown salt block is trace-mineralized and contains added iodine, manganese, cobalt, iron, copper and zinc.

Calcium and phosphorus are the two minerals most commonly added to horse diets. Hays and grasses are generally adequate in calcium, but deficient in phosphorus, By contrast, grains are low in calcium and higher in phosphorus. Commercial feeds will typically already have the appropriate amount of minerals and vitamins added to meet a horse’s requirements.

Livestock mineral that has a 1:1 ratio of calcium:phosphorus (such as an 18:18 mineral) can be added to the grain mix, top-dressed or fed free choice. A deficiency in calcium and phosphorus will restrict growth in young horses, and it will reduce bone density and strength in mature horses.

Vitamins
The vitamins usually supplemented to horses are Vitamins A, D and E. Good quality hay often has all the horses’ vitamin requirements. Vitamin A may be deficient in the diet if the horse is not eating green grass. Vitamin A is readily available as a supplement. Read the supplement label.

Hay and grass notes
The horse’s digestive system is made so that the horse needs some long stem roughage (such as hay or grass) in the diet for normal digestive function. Horses need a minimum of 1% of their body weight per day in forage (a 1,000 lb horse needs 10 lbs of hay).

Feed horses hay that is bright-colored, leafy and is free from dust, mold and weeds. Common hays include alfalfa and grasses such as timothy, orchardgrass, bromegrass and native grasses, or a mix of alfalfa and grass hay. However a horse's digestive system can only handle up to 20% alfalfa in its diet, so unless you have a high performance horse that burns the extra calories hay with out alfalfa should be fed. Also Alfalfa is a legume and therefore will not help to manage the natural grinding of the teeth, the more that is feed increases the requirement to see a dentist, natural grass has silica (sand) in it and will help the horse to maintain a healthy mouth, requiring it to see the dentist less frequently.

Feeding management
The horse’s requirements for energy, protein, minerals and vitamins will change depending on the horse’s age, size and workload. Table 1 shows feeding guidelines for different types of horses. Keep in mind that the hay guidelines are for good quality hay and that voluntary intake of hay will decrease as the hay quality diminishes.


Table 1. General guidelines for feeding hay and concentrate (normal, good quality hay). Kg  

Physiological State	hay/100 kg of body wt	Kg grain/100 kg of body wt	Total
Mature Horses
Maintenance	1.5 - 2.0	0 - 0.5	1.5 - 2.0
Pregnancy, 9 - 11 months	1.0 - 1.5	0.5 - 1.0	1.5 - 2.0
Lactation, early	1.0 - 2.0	1.0 - 2.0	2.0 - 3.0
Lactation, late	1.0 - 2.0	0.5 - 1.5	2.0.5
Light work	1.0 - 2.0	0.5 - 1.0	1.5 - 2.5
Young Horses
Nursing foal	0	1.0 - 2.0	2.5-3.5
Weanling foal	0.5 - 1.0	1.5 - 3.0	2.0 - 3.0
Yearling	1.0 - 1.5	1.0 - 2.0	2.0 - 3.0
2-year old	1.0 - 1.5	1.0 - 1.5	1.75 - 2.5

Mature Horses
A healthy, mature, idle horse often requires nothing more than good quality hay, mineral supplementation, free-choice salt and water. Exercising or growing horses will have an increased demand for energy, so you need to adjust feed intake accordingly.

Pregnant and lactating mares
Mares in late gestation (9-11 months) have increased energy, protein and mineral requirements due to the rapid growth of the fetus. Because of the reduced space in her digestive system for hay, the mare will probably need to be supplemented with a grain and minerals or a commercial grain mix (such as a 12-16% grain mix).

In early lactation, the mare’s energy requirements double. Protein and mineral needs also increase substantially. She cannot eat this much in hay alone, and grain needs to be fed to meet her nutrient requirements. If she is on good alfalfa/grass hay, she will get enough protein on hay and oats alone. If she is on grass hay only, she will need a supplement higher in protein, such as a 16% grain mix. As well, the mare’s requirements for water will double due to her milk production. Extra minerals are needed.

Growing horses
Improper feeding of young horses can affect their growth and development permanently. High quality hay and supplements should form the basis of the diet for a weanling to a yearling. Foals should be supplemented with a commercial foal supplement to provide the extra protein and minerals they need for satisfactory growth. Young horses that do not receive enough energy, protein and minerals will not grow well and will have poor, rough hair coats.

Tips for feeding under-nourished horses
Increase the feed gradually over a 2-week period, starting with about 2/3 of the high quality hay needed, and increase to the feeding guidelines in Table 1. At this point, start adding some grain into the diet to increase the level to 4 to 5 lbs per day. Do not give more than 5 lbs (1 gallon) of grain at a time! Also introducing beetpulp with out molasses and black oiled sunflower seeds will help to increse weight.

What is Body Condition Scoring?

Body condition scoring is a method of evaluating body fat in relationship to body musculature. The system developed by Dr. Don Henneke assigns a numerical value from 1 to 9 based on the deposition of fat on horses in the areas of the loin, ribs, tailhead, withers, neck and shoulders (see Figure 1 and Table 1).

The system works by assessing fat both visually and by palpation in each of these six areas. This body condition scoring system is a helpful management tool that can be used across breeds and by all horse people.

The horse's body condition measures the balance between intake and expenditure of energy. Body condition can be affected by a variety of factors:

- food availability
- reproductive activities
- weather
- performance or work activities
- dental problems
- feeding practices

The actual body condition of a horse can also affect its reproductive capability, performance ability and health. Therefore, it is important to achieve and maintain proper body condition.

Excessively thin horses may be ill, heavily parasitized, underfed or have dental problems. As a rough guide, the ribs of a horse that is carrying the right amount of fat are easily felt but not seen. Feeling for the ribs is especially important in the winter. A long, thick winter hair coat may disguise a thin horse.


Figure 1. Six key areas to evaluate fat deposition.

Ideal Condition Scores for Breeding Stock and Performance Horses

Mares
Research has demonstrated that the reproductive performance of non-lactating mares is best when they are maintained at a condition score of 5 or higher. Establishing and maintaining pregnancy becomes increasingly more difficult when the body condition score of mares drops below this level.

Gaining weight while nursing is very difficult for the mare. They simply cannot eat enough. Most mares will experience a small to moderate weight loss during lactation. To ensure mares are at a condition score of 5 or more at the time of rebreeding, they should foal at a condition score of more than 6. This degree of body fatness should be established during the first eight months of pregnancy, since digestive capacity is considerably reduced during the last trimester.

Research has shown that obesity (condition score 9) is not detrimental to reproductive performance and does not increase foaling difficulty. This degree of body fatness, however, severely limits a horse's performance capability and is considered unhealthy.

Stallions
Research has not demonstrated a relationship between reproductive performance and condition score in stallions. However, an extremely thin (condition score less than 2) or an extremely fat (condition score more than 8) condition would be unhealthy.

Some stallions are quite active during the breeding season. As a result, they lose a considerable amount of weight. For these stallions, establishing a high degree of body fatness (condition score of 6 or 7) before the breeding season would ensure that they would not become too thin during the breeding season.

Performance Horses

The level of body fat has been shown to affect performance in human athletes. The effect of body fat on the performance of equine athletes has not been studied in detail. Thus, the optimum body condition score for performance horses is unknown.

Horses competing in strenuous and demanding activities, such as racing and endurance riding, require a high degree of fitness. Horses participating in these types of activities are usually maintained at a body condition score of 4 to 5.

By comparison, activities such as pleasure riding are less strenuous and require only a moderate degree of fitness. Horses competing in these activities usually have a body condition score of 5 to 7.

Table 1. Characteristics of individual body condition scores* Score Description

1 POOR    Horse is extremely emaciated. The backbone, ribs, hipbones and tailhead project prominently. Bone structure of the withers, shoulders and neck easily noticeable. No fatty tissues can be felt.
2 VERY THIN    Horse is emaciated. Slight fat covering over vertebrae. Backbone, ribs, tailhead and hipbones are prominent. Withers, shoulders and neck structures are discernible.
3 THIN  Fat built up about halfway on vertebrae. Slight fat layer can be felt over ribs, but ribs easily discernible. The tailhead is evident, but individual vertebrae cannot be seen. The hipbones cannot be seen, but withers, shoulder and neck are emphasized.
4 MODERATELY THIN  Negative crease along back. Faint outline of ris can be seen. Fat can be felt along tailhead. Hip bones cannot be seen. Withers, neck and shoulders not obviously thin.
5 MODERATE    Back is level. Ribs can be felt but not easily seen. Fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy. Withers are rounded and shoulders and neck blend smoothly into the body.
6 MODERATELY FLESHY   May have a slight crease down the back. Fat on the tailhead feels soft. Fat over the ribs feels spongy. Fat beginning to be deposited along the sides of the withers, behind the sholders and along the neck.
7 FLESHY    A crease is seen down the back. Individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat. Fat around tailhead is soft. Noticeable fat deposited along the withers, behind the shoulders and along the neck.
8 FAT    Crease down back is prominent. Ribs difficult to feel due to fat in between. Fat around tailhead very soft. Area along withers filled with fat. Area behind shoulders filled in flush with the barrel of the body. Noticeable thickening of neck. Fat deposited along the inner buttocks.
9 EXTREMELY FAT   Obvious crease down back. Fat is in patches over rib area, with bulging fat over tailhead, withers, neck and behind shoulders. Fat along inner buttocks may rub together. Flank is filled in flush with the barrel of the body.


*Modified from: Henneke et al. (1983) Equine Vet. J. 15(4):372.