What's the proper way to feed a horse? I am talking about style of feeding, NOT type of food.?

Answer 1

feeding a horse at the same times everyday is very important. hay can be fed in feeders or on the ground. grain should be fed in feed tubs but can also be fed on top of hay if they are fed outside.

Answer 2

There is a lot to consider about proper. The horse was designed to eat small amounts often - grazing on pasture. However...a blanket statement of always having hay available isnt' good because for some horses that means weight gain, which is worse than the alternative. What your horse's activity is and what fits in *your* schedule matters more.

However, for opinion what I have done and will set up again - morning they get a flake of hay and grain (some - ponies - might get just a handful but something). At noon another small flake of hay - then towards evening most of their hay (longer time) and evening grain. With all horses getting *something* - individually figured - it fits into other management issues. And, once I get my own place set up that will alter - for my own and customers horses. Clean paddocks for night turnout in good weather - so horses aren't in the heat and the sun doesn't bleach their coats out. They can be worked when it's cooler and being out at night means each horse has some time out of the stall to just be a horse. I feel it keeps them fresher and better minded, and with good pasture it also reduces the amount of hay needed - it reduces the amount of stall cleaning (and bedding) needed. It is more costly in having GOOD fences and there's the occasional owie but I feel it's overall better for the horses. It is their health and happiness that I shoot for. For my own horses I think it keeps them willing to give back and rewards them for what they do. For client horses the same and it's something many don't do - I'm interested in the HORSE and his best interest. I've found - in seeing what other places have done - this the best way of feeding and management. I've seen some show barns where the horse is stalled 24/7 except for 10 minutes every few days where they're worked to lather to sweat for halter. Not surprisingly the horses are idiots to handle and it's not their fault. I find it easier to have a balanced program. I think all horses need time out to keep their minds right JMO.

Answer 3

Well there is a lot to feeding a horse. Is the horse a pleasure horse, competitive horse, breeding animal, etc? Generally you want to give your horse a lot of forage (hay or grass) with some extra nutrition coming from grain. Horses in the wild eat at almost all their waking moments. Their digestive system really wasn't designed for grain, so if they are on a high-grain diet it should be given 3-4 times per day (at least). And they always should have hay in their stall to munch on. Your vet should be able to discuss the best way to feed your horse based on the horse's daily energy needs.

Answer 4

Horses are grazing animals & in the wild the forage all day & most of the night. What ever you feed should be reasonably given to them in as many small feedings a day that you can. It will also keep them busy. People always make the mistake of feeding twice a day for convience & what happens then is the feed is rushed through the system & goes out in the same form it went in, pretty much. Smaller doses more often gives them time to digest. It also cuts down your feed bill as they are getting the full benefit of your feed.

Answer 5

The healthiest way to feed your horse, regardless of it's excersize, how it is kept, and what you are feeding it...... is little and often.

Many people feed their horse just twice a day, but horses are natural grazers. They have 180 feet of gut. In the wild they would forage for up to 18 hours. If you can feed them up to 4 times a day (even if it isn't much) it is far healthier for their system then to feed them two large meals a day.

Just put the hay on the ground. If it isn't wet, in manure, or on sand, the horse can eat and sort it out and it will help slow them down as well.

Answer 6

You have received a lot of good advice, but remember you must also use your head when making decisions on what to do.

In the wild, horses eat all day, so their digestive system is designed to eat all day. If you can't feed 4 times a day, feed twice. If you can only do one, then do a very small amount of grain/pellets. There are a lot of good feeds that can meet nutritional needs in small quanities. Then, you would feed a high quality hay and a lot of it.

The rule of thumb for a hay ration is 10% of your horses weight. So, if your horse weighs 1250#, then you would feed 2 bales of hay per day. The average bale of weighs 65#. If this is high quality hay, you won't even need to feed grain/pellets. Of course, if you have a pasture with a lot of grazing of good fertilized grass, you may not need to feed at all. Or, you can put a big round bale of good fertilized hay out there and not worry about feeding.

I feed pellets because I feel the ability to absorb the nuitrients is increased by the increased surface area of crushing the grain and then forming it into a pellet. The pellet is melted once in the stomach and the surface area is there for absorbtion. The best way to see if your horse is getting the best possible absorbtion benefit from the feed, is look at the manure. If you can see the feed, he probably didn't get as much benefit as you had hoped he would.

As for feeding on the ground, that is a good idea, but often times isn't practical. Many of my horses will paw their pans on the ground. Then they spill their pellets around and stand on them. There is a lot of waste that way. Therefore, I feed my horses at their nose level. None of them have ever suffered from it.

Another thing to consider is a regular worming program. I will not poison my horse daily, so I don't feed a daily wormer. I worm every 2 months with an ivermectrin and pyrantel paste. These 2 ingredients kill every worm. There is no reason to have your vet tube worm anymore since we have these pastes available now.

One thing that a lot of people don't think about is salt. Even in winter a horse needs a lot of salt. When it's cool, a horse doesn't always get thirsty and will dehydrate without realizing it. Dehydrated horses colic. Colic is the number 1 killer of horses. You can sprinkle a little salt on the feed or have a salt block available. Since I can't make my horse licks the salt block, I keep a small brick in his feed bucket. In order to eat, he has to lick it. Hay will make horses thirsty too, but again in winter, some horses don't realize they are thirsty.

One more thing I'd like to throw out for thought. Blood sucking insects don't like the smell or taste of garlic or sulphur. The are attracted to the horses breath, CO2, so there is no way to keep them away. We have to deal with them. You can sprinkle garlic on your horse's feed and add eggs for the sulphur to help with flies and mosquitos. You can also get sulphur in the salt blocks. There are other insect rememdies, but that's for another question.

I hope this has helped. Good luck with your horse and many years of enjoyment to you.

Answer 7

Hay should be put either on the round if using small square bales just throw a leaf or two down and let them eat.
If using big round bales put them into a holder so they do not teart hem totally apart right at first.
Grain or pellet rations for a low sidedpan off the ground.
Horses need to be fed from the groud. This is how they were designed. IF they can not lower their heads like when you trailer them some where of you tie them with their heads up and they can not lower it below their shoulders thay can get sick as they can not snort and clear out their air ways.
We always feed ours from pans on the ground.

Answer 8

well hay and all can be on the ground if the horse will eat it right away but grains are better fed at a more mouth level for the horse. when in doubt refur to the horse!!! If it likes to paw at its food then on the ground in a big berral is the best bet. Oh and ask your vet for there idea of how to best feed the horse.

Answer 9

horses are herd animals. in the wild, horses are used to grazing with their heads down. so, horses feel it's natural to eat on the ground. however, some people put their food in hay racks with grain holders for whatever you feed your horses. this way, the feed isn't mixing with dirt or sand and such, which can easily cause sand colic after a while of feeding like this. some horse owners have stall mats they sweep or wash often so if the horse likes to eat on the ground, its hay isn't getting dirty, which can again cause different colics. so, some have stall mats for ground feeding, tubs with hay (without sharp edges to not cut necks, usually used in pastures), and hay racks. some horses will throw their hay out of their hay racks so they can eat it on the ground. in this case, be prepared. my horse does this, so when i got them i got stall mats and hay racks. if your stalls are not all wood or whatever and they are pipe be prepared if you have hayracks because your horse might throw it's hay out and accidentally toss it out of its stall! my horses have done this so i either put it on the ground or i'll break it up so he can't do this. good luck. judging your horse is easy after a week or few days, you'll know what he likes. asks his previous owner so that you don't have to go through so much trouble. just ask him what the horse has been using before. thanks and good luck!

Answer 10

Variety is very important.

Heres what I do, and I have 2 healthy horses who are ridden once a week:

-Grain in the morning.

-Let out to graze until 14:00.

-A little hay when put back in the stable.

-Grain at 18:30

-When they have finished their grain, they have a bucket of hay and alfalfa mix.

-(Plus any "leftovers" like the outer leaves on lettuce, melon skin etc... but without giving them too much to avoid colic)

Make sure they also have a salt block.

Hope this helps.