How do YOU work out how MUCH to feed your horse?

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an9686

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Hi everyone,

Just a curious research question, not needing an answer for my personal use:

How do you work out (be honest) how much to feed your horse? (inc forage)
 
Ill start !!!

2 good doers 15.2 and 16hands - they get a massive (haha) feed in dead of winter of once small scoop hoofkind or equiv. and literally a single handful of pony nuts and small splog of speedibeet - I am feeding this more for my benefit than theirs I suspect as they dont need any feed really - but it does give me a chance to add vitamin supps etc. They have ad-lib forage if shut in on yard/arena either big bale haylage or hay - both of these are put in small hole haynets.

As they come out of winter they are taken off feed and haylage and put on ad-lib hay if shut in but if out on any grass/hedge get token small haynet each to pick at !!!

with me its trial and error ! no weighing just keeping an eye on their weight and the weather and making sure they always have something to nibble on ! most importantly making sure I cut it right down beginning of March so they dont go into Spring Fat
 
out 24/7 on rough grazing (most would call it rough - i call it good as it has plently of trees/bushes/raspberrys etc etc to nibble on ;))

ad lib hay - whatever she wants to eat - throughout the year - usually a leaf a day over summer as added course fibre - mid winter snow covered ground usually a bale a day or more depending on temp/digging through snow etc

then feed to top up to keep her a good weight for what i want her to do - at the mo thats half a scoop of powere and performance a day split in two feeds for stamina - a handful of cool mix and a handful of chaff (the latter two simply to hide her performance vits and mins in ;))

if she has a week or so off i cut out P&P and increase cool mix slightly

over winter - if in work - increase P&P - if low weight add baileys no 4
if out of work - baileys no 4 or fibre nuts - again depending on weight...

the only thing i go on feed weights by is how much to suppliment her feed with vits and mins - ie if she's on more P&P it has vits and mins in so i reduce vits and mins (dengis did an analsys for me so i know the levels needed for different levels of P&P)

god that was conveluted lol! hope it made sense?!
 
Very subjective, depends on the horse. It boils down to if it's getting fat feed less & if it's getting thin feed more ! Amounts vary all the time with weather & excercise.
 
POLLDARK said:
Very subjective, depends on the horse. It boils down to if it's getting fat feed less & if it's getting thin feed more ! Amounts vary all the time with weather & excercise.
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Pretty much this. ALso, if I had a particular problem, I would maybe consult a vet/feed company.
 
Now for something completely different: I am not subjective but scientific. Use either BHS system - see Stage 2 Handbook for example, or Blue Cross "Fat Horse Thin" which is excellent! Basically I feed my horse based on his weight, and then I weigh all of his feed. You only need to weigh his hard feed once, and then use scoops. Check your hay weights periodically.
So my 16h1" good doer is allowed 14kg of feed per day; this is just under 2kg of hard feed; and 12kg of hay split into three haynets of variable size per day.
I think it is really important to get the weights accurate. If it is then not enough, you can move it up; too much you can reduce. One thing to be aware of is that scoop sizes do not equal weight. Mine is one 1/3 Riding Horse II mix and 2/3rds low energy chaff, but by weight, this is way more chaff than the percentage would suggest: it amounts to about half a scoop of mix per day and about 4 scoops of chaff as chaff is very light and mix is much heavier. Good luck!
 
I use my eyes. Not very scientific but it has always worked for me whether it is for broodmares, hunters or anything else.

If the bale is finished I put another one in, if a horse is dropping condition/ needs more energy blah, blah, blah, I up their grain ration.
 
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POLLDARK said:
Very subjective, depends on the horse. It boils down to if it's getting fat feed less & if it's getting thin feed more ! Amounts vary all the time with weather & excercise.
Click to expand...

Agreed! This is where the 'art of feeding' comes against those equations in those nutrition guides which dont take into account horses weight, temperament, workload and appetite.

Feed by the eye is what I tend to do.

Weigh the horse weekly, adjust feed if neccesary for weight gain or loss.

Feed accordinlgy to work done

Ensure the horse always has access to forage, be it grass or ad lib hay and plenty of clean water.
 
If I was presented with a horse in good condition and I had no knowledge of its previous feeding regime, I would start by feeding ad lib forage and a token bucket feed, and would then monitor its condition and energy levels. If it started to lose a little weight or needed more energy then I would introduce higher levels of bucket feed, as appropriate.
 
jaquelin said:
Now for something completely different: I am not subjective but scientific. Use either BHS system - see Stage 2 Handbook for example, or Blue Cross "Fat Horse Thin" which is excellent! Basically I feed my horse based on his weight, and then I weigh all of his feed. You only need to weigh his hard feed once, and then use scoops. Check your hay weights periodically.
So my 16h1" good doer is allowed 14kg of feed per day; this is just under 2kg of hard feed; and 12kg of hay split into three haynets of variable size per day.
I think it is really important to get the weights accurate.
Click to expand...

I think most of us are aware of the 'text book' feeding guides, but have found by experience that they don't suit all individuals and in a lot of cases result in too much hard feed being given. Also if horses have daily access to grazing, this needs to be included in the forage calculation, and you can't weigh the grass! Hence it is better in many cases to feed by eye!
 
Enfys said:
I use my eyes. Not very scientific but it has always worked for me whether it is for broodmares, hunters or anything else.

If the bale is finished I put another one in, if a horse is dropping condition/ needs more energy blah, blah, blah, I up their grain ration.
Click to expand...

Yup . . . this is how I feed Kali . . . although I will add a caveat and that is what's more important is working out WHAT to feed your horse. Because I had limited information from his previous owner ("oh, he'll eat ANYthing"), I had to play around with his feed (safely of course) to work out what suited him best. We've landed on something non-heating, molasses free and he gets far less of it in summer when he has access to good grazing and we supplement with plenty of good forage. If I feel he's losing condition and can't regain it from more grazing and/or forage (without costing me a fortune!), I supplement his hard feed further with Speedibeet. Oh, and I have a weight tape and I use it.

P
 
I just give everything ad-lib forage and then either add hard feed if need more weight and energy or restrict grazing and soak hay if they're looking too well. :)
 
jaquelin said:
Now for something completely different: I am not subjective but scientific. Use either BHS system - see Stage 2 Handbook for example, or Blue Cross "Fat Horse Thin" which is excellent! Basically I feed my horse based on his weight, and then I weigh all of his feed. You only need to weigh his hard feed once, and then use scoops. Check your hay weights periodically.
So my 16h1" good doer is allowed 14kg of feed per day; this is just under 2kg of hard feed; and 12kg of hay split into three haynets of variable size per day.
I think it is really important to get the weights accurate. If it is then not enough, you can move it up; too much you can reduce. One thing to be aware of is that scoop sizes do not equal weight. Mine is one 1/3 Riding Horse II mix and 2/3rds low energy chaff, but by weight, this is way more chaff than the percentage would suggest: it amounts to about half a scoop of mix per day and about 4 scoops of chaff as chaff is very light and mix is much heavier. Good luck!
Click to expand...
I agree, you need to know what you are feeding so you can adjust it!
 
Brill feedback so far thank you ... it nicely leads me to my next question:

Which and why?: 'Art' Vs Science

And for those of you who are more reliant on the 'art' and your ability to observe, do you use any measures such as condition scoring or bodyweight?

Thanks
 
def. use condition scoring as weigh tape can be unreliable and depends on being used in exactly same place blah blah.

If asking why choose certain feed - haylage from local guy because its good quality, good price and he delivers - hay if I have made any from own field.

Feed - If I am being honest - any on offer or cheap low sugar chaff (anything aimed at laminitics !! even though mine arnt ) speedibeet to give it a bit of moisture and bulk (speedibeet rather than sugarbeet as again good for lamanitics so safe ) and own brand local feed shop pony nuts as a token gesture and always useful to rattle in a bucket - vitamin equivite !! not sure why !! I feed so little its not a massive issue
 
TGM said:
If I was presented with a horse in good condition and I had no knowledge of its previous feeding regime, I would start by feeding ad lib forage and a token bucket feed, and would then monitor its condition and energy levels. If it started to lose a little weight or needed more energy then I would introduce higher levels of bucket feed, as appropriate.
Click to expand...

Same.
 
an9686 said:
Brill feedback so far thank you ... it nicely leads me to my next question:

Which and why?: 'Art' Vs Science

And for those of you who are more reliant on the 'art' and your ability to observe, do you use any measures such as condition scoring or bodyweight?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I suppose I do use condition scoring automatically, never really thought about it, that comes, I think, with knowing a horse well.
I still just use eyes and hands.

I do have a weigh tape but only use it on horses that I am consciously trying to manage their weight (up or down)

I also take a lot of photos, all my horses are photographed at least once a week (hardly a chore as I carry my camera about like other people do their phones) so I can pull up photos of any given horse if necessary for comparison.
 
If the horse or pony is in good condition and build for its age, I would go for a bit less than ad lib hay/haylage, and some Fast Fibre or Calm and Condition dependent on workload.
If it is special needs eg needs to strengthen up due to immaturity or fatten up due to old age, then I would measure it, widest [belly] girth and point of shoulder to point of buttock, in inches, G sq times length divided by 300 = weight in pounds.
Then feed 2% of weight [or a bit more if dealing with underweight or TB type].
I weigh two hay nets which would give me his basic [winter] forage intake and make up the rest in a fibre based feed which gives him vits and minerals.
I measure the horse every two to three weeks and adjust diet, obviously an underweight skinny young horse will be increasing in weight, so over winter his basic needs will increase.
I had a mare who had an unplanned pregnancy, she was fed up to 2kgs of Mare and Youngstock plus ad lib forage, once on grass 24/7 she got the 2 kg M&Y for about three months, then less as the foal started on solids.
There is no substitute for observation, but it helps to have a weighed ration, esp with a new horse.
 
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When i got my first horse, TBH the livery yard manager decided on his feed for me, as I learnt more about different feeds on the market, and got to know the horses character more, i tweeked it abit to be more suited to him.
I weighed the feeds, so I know how much I'm giving him.
When I got my elderly boy, the previous owners couldn't tell me what he was fed, so he got ad lib forage, a small token jesture feed (balancer and chaff ), then I added in feeds as his condition needed.
Its winter here, and I don't want either horse loosing weight, so Im adding speedibeet and extra hay to both of them
I weigh tape fairly regularly, but most of the time I do a condition score as I'm grooming.
I also take photos pretty much every week, so I can see if they are looking thinner/fatter
Kx
 
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