BethanT
Well-Known Member
A friend has a horse who is has been a struggle to keep weight on. She has just moved him to the same yard as me so he can get better grazing and eventually more work into him to muscle up.
As we have been discussing his current feed regime, it got me thinking. How do we know if what we are feeding our horses is right for them? What is a "normal" balanced diet for a horse, and how is the average horse owner supposed to know. How would they work it out?
I know you can seek free feed advise from each of the feed makers, but ultimately they are trying to sell you their products, and sometimes may be trying to get you to buy more than you need.
My lad is currently on a very high fiber diet, he gets Alfa A Oil and Grassnuts along with his few supplements as well as ad-lib hay/haylage. He looks and feels well. His coat is glossy, his ridden work is lovely, and he has enough energy (when he wants to shift it), so no need to change it as far as I can physically see. But if I asked a feed company I would assume I would be advised to feed a nut/mix/balancer. A lot of "research" that you can find online is funded by said feed companies and so I don't fully trust it not to be biased. But he may be lacking in something that I am not aware of, but at the same time I don't have unlimited funds to be able to buy feeds and straights that aren't required.
So back to the original question. How do you work out what your horse needs in terms of type of food - protein, fibre etc -, and quantity?
I think forums like this are the best places to ask as there is so much experience among you all!
As we have been discussing his current feed regime, it got me thinking. How do we know if what we are feeding our horses is right for them? What is a "normal" balanced diet for a horse, and how is the average horse owner supposed to know. How would they work it out?
I know you can seek free feed advise from each of the feed makers, but ultimately they are trying to sell you their products, and sometimes may be trying to get you to buy more than you need.
My lad is currently on a very high fiber diet, he gets Alfa A Oil and Grassnuts along with his few supplements as well as ad-lib hay/haylage. He looks and feels well. His coat is glossy, his ridden work is lovely, and he has enough energy (when he wants to shift it), so no need to change it as far as I can physically see. But if I asked a feed company I would assume I would be advised to feed a nut/mix/balancer. A lot of "research" that you can find online is funded by said feed companies and so I don't fully trust it not to be biased. But he may be lacking in something that I am not aware of, but at the same time I don't have unlimited funds to be able to buy feeds and straights that aren't required.
So back to the original question. How do you work out what your horse needs in terms of type of food - protein, fibre etc -, and quantity?
I think forums like this are the best places to ask as there is so much experience among you all!