Feeding the Horse

You can feed the horse to behave.  Many unknowingly feed the horse to misbehave!

Finding the balance of meeting the horse’s nutritional requirements without exceeding his caloric needs is one of the biggest challenges facing horse owners.

The average, healthy horse, ridden occasionally, rarely needs grain or other concentrates if provided with good quality grass hay at regular, consistent, frequent feedings.  Far too often I see the overly fed/improperly fed horse as being labeled “spooky”, “ill-behaved” or “problematic”.  With changes in feed or feeding programs, MANY of the “problem” behaviors disappear within days or weeks without additional training, equipment or the use of punishment.

Furthermore, the majority of the horse’s food intake should be in the form of roughage (hay), not concentrated feeds like processed grains or sweet feeds.  The lucky horse that is consistently fed free-choice grass hay from the start of his life rarely acquires “piggy” eating habits or other bad “behaviors” that often accompany feeding time. 

Bottom line is that excess calories or unbalanced rations can often cause undesired reactions from the horse.  The horse himself is uncomfortable in a state of “nervousness” and would prefer to function at a level of energy appropriate to the work being performed. 

For example, an adopted BLM mare bucks off her trail-riding owner and acts nervous and jumpy whenever ridden.  Typically, she gawks while under saddle and over-reacts to minor stimulus and refuses to stand quietly.  When the owner simply removes all alfalfa hay and begins an all grass hay diet, the once “jumpy” horse becomes calm and willing with all “problem” behaviors disappearing.  For this horse, changes occurred with 3 weeks of the diet changes and have been permanent.

Yet another nutritional related issue arose with a young pinto gelding.  He had trouble keeping weight on during his yearling and two-year old year.  The owners decided to start feeding him a senior type feed, which seemed to help at the time.  By his three year old year he was so ill behaved that he was difficult to lead/handle and dangerous to ride as he was rearing and kicking out.  I explained to the new clients that young horses nutritional needs change drastically as they mature and this horse did not need the concentrated feed designed for older horses.  In fact, this horse would have benefited from a regular worming program as a youngster and may not have needed any extra feed had worming been consistent.  Once the senior-type feed was removed and a regular parasite management program started, the horse was again easy to lead and stopped the rearing and kicking out under saddle.

The last example involves an Arabian gelding with a history of head tossing/flipping and star-gazing.  The horse was very overweight and fed strictly alfalfa hay, despite being ridden only sporadically.  With the diet change to grass hay and the addition of weekly regular exercise the head tossing/flipping stopped and the horse’s star-gazing became a non-issue.

These examples and numerous others not listed, confirm that many behaviors can be directly correlated to the horses diet.  If you seek advice from 10 horse professionals, you are likely to get 10 differing opinions.  However, the proof is in the health level and behaviors displayed when implementing a specific feed program.  Here are some guidelines:

1.      Keep a journal of how and when behaviors occur during a specific feeding program.

2.      Make any feeding changes gradually.  Especially when increasing to higher levels of calories, protein, etc…

3.      Use a feed program appropriate to the horse’s breed, age, sex and work level.

4.      Feed at ground level.  Raised feeders place a horse in an unnatural position.  The horse is designed to feed with his head low, stretching his neck down and preventing food from entering airways and the gastrointestinal tract en mass. 

5.      Always provide clean, fresh water free of any additives and chemical.

6.      Always provide a trace mineral salt block appropriate to the region and feed source.

7.      Feed at consistent, frequent intervals, versus once-a-day large feedings.  Horses have small stomachs and lots of intestinal tract; a system designed to eat frequently through out the day, not bulk/singular feedings.

These guidelines are for the healthy, typical horse.  Horses requiring special medical treatments or diets should be accommodated with a feeding plan designed by the horse owner with input from an equine professional.