Equine Nutrition Basics - Feeding Your Horse A Healthy Diet

A lot of care and attention is spent on feeding a horse. For a new horse owner, choosing feeds can be a little overwhelming. Fortunately, years of horse ownership has simplified the process a little bit and a horse owner can find a wealth of information on nutrition starting with their equine veterinarian.

A balance and healthy equine diet is break down into six essential components:

Water

Water should be your very first concern when thinking about your horse's nutrition. Water regulates every system in a horse's body and without water or if the water has dangerous ingredients in it, a horse can become dehydrated and experience serious and debilitating conditions. A horse will need to take enough water to match its activities level. A working horse and a horse kept for leisure will have different water intake requirement. Horses sweat like humans do, and this loss in water must be replaced accordingly.

Protein

This nutrient is found in every food substance that grows on earth from cattle to dandelions. Even though humans generally associate protein with meat or dairy, a horse will get its protein from vegetable sources. Alfalfa, especially the second and third cut, provides excellent protein.

Protein is an important part of a horse's diet as it aids muscle development, especially so for young horses. A great sign that a horse might not be getting enough protein is the development of a rough coat of hair.

Carbohydrates

This nutrient is the basic energy unit that you will find in most forms of horse feed. Carbohydrates are easily digestible and provide ready and quick energy. A horse left to graze all day will consume all its necessary carbohydrates, but since most horses do not have this luxury, they must be fed a grain such as corn, oats, or barley.

It is vital to control the amount of carbohydrates in a horse's diet. Giving a horse a sudden burst of carbohydrates such as sugar could cause a form of colic.

Fat

While most fats are not present in large quantities in a horse's natural diet, they do have nutritional value. A measure of fat can be added to a horse's feed if the feed is not dense enough with energy. Fat should be given only in limited quantities however to prevent disease and obesity. A horse's body has simply not developed to handle a large amount of fat, so a horse owner must be careful when adding it to avoid colic or gastrointestinal distress in their animal.

Vitamins

Because we feed horses foods other than their natural foraged diet, their feed will lack certain essential vitamins. Horse owners typically care a lot about their animals and do not wish to see any part of their life made less tolerable, especially by something as simple as a lack or imbalance of vitamins.

The only way to know if your horse is receiving the right vitamins is to examine the vitamin content of the various foods they may consume. Diets with plenty of grains tend to have lesser vitamin nutritional value. Horses on this diet, especially horses under stress are encourage to take more vitamin supplement. You can seek advice from your veterinarian to decide the types of vitamins and supplements that are suitable for your horse.

Minerals

Minerals are necessary for the correct growth and regeneration of many parts of the body. These minerals are often present in forage, but again may be lacking in a high-grain diet. A horse on a diet that is low on minerals may not show obvious signs, however it may affect its health over time.