Horse Nutritional Requirements

With so many feed, supplement, and hay options in stores and on the market it can be overwhelming to decide what is needed and not needed to keep your horse healthy. Feed tags are a good place to start when trying to understand what you’re feeding your horse; but some horse owners do not know what they are reading when looking over a feed tag. So many numbers, names, and percentages; it can all be a little intimidating. This article is going to touch on the basic nutritional requirements of a horse.

Horses have six basic nutrient needs: carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Feed companies manage the first five nutritional needs in formulated feeds but it important that horse owners remember water. A healthy horse can consume anywhere from 5 to 15+ gallons of water a day depending on the temperature and it’s activity level. Clean water should always be available for the horse to freely drink when its thirsty. Horses that don’t drink enough water are vulnerable to dehydration, intestinal impactions and other forms of colic.

The rest of the horse’s diet should be based on its requirement for each of the other five nutrients. These requirements are different from horse to horse and are influenced by the horse’s weight, age, and workload. It is a very useful skill to be able to look at a feed tag and determine if that feed is going to meet your horse’s nutritional needs.

Carbohydrates is likely the largest part of a horse’s diet. Carbohydrates can be split into two different groups: structural (fiber) and non-structural (sugars and starches). Structural carbohydrates are found in the roughage that the horse eats. Structural carbohydrates are the most abundant form of carbohydrates and are digested due to the design of the horse’s intestinal tract. Following digestion in the stomach and small intestine, the horse’s digestive material enters the large intestine or hindgut, which in the horse consists of the cecum and colon. The cecum and colon contain microorganisms that are capable of breaking structural carbohydrates down into an energy source that the horse can absorb. This is why horses get so much nutritional value from grass and hay.

Horses can easily digest nonstructural carbohydrates, mostly in the small intestine. These sugars and starches are primarily found in grains such as corn. Nonstructural carbohydrates provide a more concentrated form of energy than structural carbohydrates. It is important to know if that the horse’s digestive system is developed enough to process a roughage-based diet, and concentrates should be used only to supplement the forage program and meet nutritional requirements that cannot be met by forage alone. Horses should be fed 2% of their body weight in forage. Feeding 1% or less forage can lead to health issues such as colic and ulcers.

Fat is an excellent and easily digestible source of energy. Commercial feeds that are not supplemented with additional fats contain around 2% - 4% fat. Many commercial feeds are now supplemented with fat in the form of some type of stabilized oil and can have fat percentages anywhere from 6% - 12%. When adding fat to a feed increases its energy concentration the horse will require less feed so it is important to be sure that all the other nutrients are being met.

Proteins are broken down in the small intestine into amino acids that are then combined to make proteins that make up muscle, hair and hoof. It is often times thought in the horse industry that high protein is associated with high energy in horses; but truthfully, proteins are the most difficult energy source for the horse to digest and convert to usable energy. Protein requirements for growth and maintenance vary depending on age and workload of the horse. Growing horses need a higher percentage of protein than mature horses. A growing horse needs between 12% - 18% crude protein for proper development and growth. Mature horses will do fine on a lower protein percentage of 8% - 12%, depending on their workload. Horses that are in intense training need more protein than the maintenance horse of about 12% protein feed. Feeding horses higher levels of protein than they need is a waste, the extra protein not used by the horse is excreted in the urine.

Vitamins and minerals are extremely important and often times overlooked. They must be available in the body to ensure important reactions take place that allow the horse to live and function. Vitamins are divided into two categories: the water-soluble group made up of the B-complex vitamins such as B₁, B₂ and the fat-soluble group is made up of vitamins A, E, D and K. The horse is able to synthesizes many of the vitamins it needs and does not typically need dietary supplementation of all vitamins. These vitamins include vitamin C, B-vitamins and vitamin K. Because the horse is able to synthesize these vitamins you will not see these vitamins on commercial horse feed tags. Excesses vitamins are not needed, especially the fat-soluble vitamins. Additional water-soluble vitamins are generally excreted in the urine. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored readily in the horse’s fat tissue and can build up to high levels if fed in excessive amounts. Excessively high levels of vitamins can lead to toxicity, it is important to use good judgment when feeding nutritional supplements that are high in particular vitamins. Minerals are another item that can be found in supplements and feeds. It is important to understand that mineral needs change depending on your horse’s age, lifestyle, and workload. Most commercial feed companies balance their feed to meet the mineral requirements of different classifications of horses. Forage will also provide minerals. In some cases, additional supplementation of some minerals may be beneficial; for example, biotin, zinc and copper supplemented in amounts above normal have been shown to improve hoof strength. Owners show also know that excessive amounts of minerals can also cause toxicities, lead to serious health conditions or interfere with absorption of other minerals.

            Taking all this in mind when looking at feed tags will cut down on some confusion. If there are still questions that need to be answered, calling your vet or asking your local livestock agent is the next best thing. If you are not sure about a feed then don’t feed it to your horse till you find out more about your horse’s needs are and if the feed meets all requirements.