Should I Feed My Horse Grain?

When it comes to developing a feeding program for your horse always keep in mind that high quality forage (pasture + hay) should always come first.  To answer the title to this blog post you first need to know the nutritional requirements of the horse in question.  Nutritional requirements are based on several factors including:

• Class of the horse
• Body weight
• Body condition
• Stage of production
• Age
• Activity level
• Growth

 For example, high quality forage alone should meet the nutritional requirements of horses in maintenance or light work.  In contrast, a horse that is in lactation or heavy work will almost always require supplementation in the form of grain to meet nutritional requirements.

How do you know if your forage is high quality and meeting your horse’s nutritional requirements?  The best way to know what you are feeding is through a forage test.  You can test fresh forage (pasture) and you can also test hay for nutritional value.  Then, you have a basis for your horse’s feeding program and can go from there if you need to supplement.  As you can see from the charts below, high quality forage can go a long way in meeting nutritional requirements:

Chart by: Dr. Paul Siciliano, NCSU

 

Chart by: Dr. Paul Siciliano, NCSU

Lastly, don’t forget the minerals!  All horse feeding programs need mineral supplementation year-round, especially trace minerals.

In summary, try to maximize high quality forages as much as possible to ensure a healthy gut and avoid unnecessary supplementation.  Not only will this save you time in feeding but also money!  Whenever forages do not meet nutritional requirements that is when you need to feed a supplement, usually in the form of grain.

For more information about feeding horses check out this article.