How do horses survive just eating eating grass when they are so active?

Answer 1

Actually if you think about it there are plenty of animals with vegetarian diets that are either very active (monkeys) or strong (elephants). Animals that eat meat tend to have bursts of energy but spend most of their time sleeping. My cat gets in a regular 18 hours and she doesn't even need to hunt her food. Digesting meat takes up a large amount of energy...

Answer 2

A domesticated horse that is ridden often should not be forced to survive on just grass. Allmost all horses get hay and food in addition to grass. However, if you have a healthy horse and a good pasture, and he does not get worked, then he can live off of just grass.....but he might need some hay in the winter. Some ponies can get fat eating lush grass.

Answer 3

Well, it depends on how active the horse is. In the wild, horses survive because they conserve their energy, only using it when necessary to escape from something, so the grasses and greenery they eat are enough to maintain their weight. With domesticated horses, pasture and hay are enough to meet the demands of a horse who is not worked much, or one who is no longer able to be ridden. It is important that these horses are on pasture turnout so they can eat continuously throughout the day. The horses digestive tract is designed to eat small, frequent meals. If the horse is used for performance, or you ride everyday, then the horse will need something to supplement his diet such a oats, sweet feed or pelleted feed in addition to hay/pasture. They make these in all different formulas: some for growing horses, some for pregnant mares, older horses and performance horses. It is important to know that a horse's nutritional requirements differ throughout it's life, just like people's do. Hope this helps.

Just a note to something posted below: Yes, grain oats and hay are all grasses. Horses are herbivores, so naturally their diet is going to be filled with all DIFFERENT types of grasses, each having DIFFERENT nutritional benefits.

Answer 4

Horse normally don't just eat grass, horses with regular excercise ussually require grains and other suppliments, and hay. sport horses ussually require a lot. any very active horse would not just eat grass.
in fact a horse, active or not, can starve in the winter if there is nothing in the winter for them to eat besides grass, because even if they est it when its all dead and stuff it has no nutritional value and they litteraly starve to death.

Answer 5

Horses in the wild, eat a variety of different grasses. Their systems are designed to eat a lot of fiber. It is very much like the Panda Bear food, except the Panda Bear' diet is more restricted.

Answer 6

Many animals survuive only eating grass, however it takes their digestive system a while to digest it which is why they eat for such long periods. A horse which is very active, in taking part in races, would be fed animal pellet food, hay and sometimes vegetables to help.

Answer 7

they usually get a mixture of foods dont they? and as for animals eating grass and other plants being very strong or active did you know the elephant eats about 150kg of plant matter a day and yet 60% of that goes undigested, or that koalas spend 20 odd hours a day sleeping because they cannt ghet the nutrients needed to be more active from the eucalyptus leaves they eat? or how about the panda wich is designed to be a carnivor but eats a vegetarian diet and only actually derives a minimal amount of nutrients from the vast quantities of food it eats.

ok so cats, big or small, may sleep for hours each day whilst digesting their food and therefore appear lazy but so are quite a number of vegetarian animals too...unless you aupliment their diet as highlighted by others

Answer 8

Good quality grass has a lot of calories. in the wild, horses are like old people, only run when being chased. So they spend most of their time just grazing. We feed horses extra's like grains, oats, and legumes when in captive to make up for the diet they are missing from their natural grazing land being turned into shopping malls and housing developments.

Answer 9

there's a sturdy danger they are going to colic. A pile of grass clippings it extremely is rotting away should not be your horses' first decision of a few thing to consume. If there's a lot sturdy grass obtainable chaces are actual sturdy that the pony is going to consume that rather. To be secure if my horse is going to be allowed to graze in a community we've mowed my husband makes use of the bagger and we watch for clumps laying approximately and unfold them out. The chickens help with this chore on account that they desire to seek for bugs.

Answer 10

well to keep it simple...
they only eat grass in the wild ...they are made to eat that way but horses who are worked like show or lesson horses need to be fed grain or hay or both.it also depends on where you live... in Florida we have to feed the horses because there is not nutritious enough to support a horse who is working.