How much should I feed my full grown horse?

Question

How much should I feed my full grown quarter horse? He will also have hay with him, but need to know how much grain. He is an older horse and only going to be ridden by children, possibly daily.

Answer 1

Horses are grazers, so the primary source of nutrition, should come from forage. (grasses, and/or high quality, clean hay) Everyone has preferences for the type of hay, such as alfalfa, bermuda, orchard, etc., just make sure it's clean, dust and mold free, and make sure your horse will eat it! Some horses don't like certain hays, and won't touch them. Rather than going to high fat items, such as oils, or certain feeds, with added fats, try using good nutrition, instead. Fat equates to fake nutrition, since it adds weight, without any real nutritional value. (A horse's daily requirement of fat, is less than 5%.)

There is a simple formula, for calculating how much to feed a horse, and it will work if you want one to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain it's weight, and it's based on feeding to a "goal body weight", or the weight you want the horse to weigh.

Based on a horse's workload, and it's general ability to maintain weight, a horse should be fed between 1 1/2% and 2 1/2% of it's goal body weight, in feedstuffs. (grass, hay, and grain/concentrates) It's best to start with 2% of it's goal weight, and you can re-evaluate the effectiveness, after 21 days, and make adjustments, if needed.

If you don't have access to a livestock scale, use a weight tape, they are accurate, within 10 to 15 pounds, and keep a record of the horse's weight, for reference.

Example: thin horse, who currently weighs 850 pounds, who should weigh 1000 pounds. This horse will be fed a total of 2%, or 20 pounds of feedstuffs, every 24 hours, for the first 21 days. If you feel a need to use grain, feed a minimal amount, of 2 pounds, 2 times per day, of the best quality feed. I prefer pelleted feed, it digests better than whole grains. Feed 8 pounds, of clean, high quality hay, 2 times per day.

At the 21 day mark, evaluate how the horse is doing, and make any adjustments, up or down, as needed. Slow gain, is healthy gain, and avoids health problems, such as founder and colic.