feeding twice a day enough for racehorses

Question
hello ma'am, we in indian racetracks, feed thoroughbred racehorses twice a day. morning around 9am after exercising gets finished and in the evening at 6pm before grooms leave home. so, is this a correct feed schedule for racehorses? is feeding racehorses twice a day a correct procedure or can we feed them thrice a day?

Answer
Hello Rohit,

Thank you for your question.  How many times per day you should feed really depends on what kind of grain you're feeding and how much of it is being fed.  Hay should be available to horses at all times.  So you will want to ensure that you feed enough at each feeding to get to the next, or add a nighttime feeding at night check.  Cereal grains should not be fed at a rate of more than 0.5kg grain per 100kg of body weight at any one feeding (2.5kg/feeding for a 500kg horse)...so if you are feeding more than 5kg of grain per day you are going to want to add another feeding.  If horses are receiving more than 5kg of grain per day, consider spreading the amount over 3-4 feedings per day.  This will cut down on the risk of colic and improve the efficiency with which your  horse digests feed.

Thanks, Corlena