This is the area of most controversy in a variety of barns. You have just learned about the various feed options, but in what combinations should they be fed to the horse and how much should the horse receive?
The truth of the matter is that each horse will need to be fed according to his weight, size, age, type, temperament, state of health and the amount of exercise that he receives. When you receive a new horse it can be difficult to determine what and how much to feed the horse and many horses will go off of their feed when they arrive in a new home or environment. It will take them some time to relax and adjust. Be sure to speak with the previous owner or trainer about the horse’s feeding program.
In most stables, hay is either thrown to horses at various times of the day, horses are allowed to munch on hay at will or they are given hay with their daily rations. Ideally, a horse should have hay available to him at all time, especially if they are stalled. This will occupy their minds and keep them busy. Hay will also help to eliminate stable vices from developing. Horses may receive about three to four “flakes” or “sections” of hay per day.
Grain amounts are more variable. Depending on the amount of hay and type of hay the horse receives, you will adjust the grain ration accordingly. Horses that do very little work and are mature do not require a high protein grain and will survive happily on an 8% protein ration. If the horse is fed a good alfalfa, they will need very little grain and may do well on none at all. Conformation and body condition should be considered when deciding how much to feed the horse. “Hard keepers” may eat all the grain you can safely feed them and still not gain a pound. On the other hand, there are horses that could eat barbwire and stay fat. The amount of feed depends on the horse.
As a rule of thumb, the adult pleasure horse who does an hour or so of exercise per day will receive one pound of grain and one and a half pounds of hay for every one hundred pounds of body weight. To get a rough idea of your horse’s body weight, there are weight tapes available at most feed stores and tack shops. To find the weight per quart of your grain, ask your feed store for the test weight per bushel of the feed he provides you and then divide the number by thirty-two. For example, forty pounds of oats to a bushel, a quart will weigh one and a quarter pounds and a quart of bran weighs about one-half pound.
The average horse that is ridden on a daily basis will do quite well on eight to ten quarts of oats. You will want to give him less if he is not working. To determine how much protein your horse requires, consult a nutrition chart from the USDA. This will show you how much work a horse does and how much protein they will require for maintenance and weight gain. If your horse seems to be losing some weight on your ration, increase it slightly. If your horse seems to be gaining weight on your ration, decrease it slightly. If you feel that your horse requires more energy, simply feed the horse more of his ration. Any increases in a ration should be spread over the day and not provided to the horse all at once. This is also true if you feel that you should give your horse an increase in feed for extra hard work by adding a meal to the day. Horses will do much better if they receive their grain rations spread through multiple meals throughout the day.
Because the horse’s stomach is so small, the horse should be fed small amounts of feed throughout the day. The daily feed should be spread into several meals. Most horse owners are only able to feed twice a day, usually at 7 am or 8 am and then again at 5 pm or 6 pm. Some riding stables feed three times per day with one meal at 7 am, noon and 7 pm. Four feedings are even better and the Calvary once fed their mounts five times per day.
Adapted from NRC (1989) and E. A. Ott, Dietary Nutrient Allowances for Horses. 1984 Feedstuffs, Vol. 56, No. 30, P. 72.