How to feed horses: types of feed, nutritional rules and diet

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Like other herbivores, horses have a special body structure and character. Someone grows them to participate in races and other competitions, while someone needs these animals for household chores. But whatever the purpose of breeding, the owners are always interested in one question: how to properly feed the horse? To raise a beautiful and he althy animal, it is extremely important to choose the right diet.

In the wild

So what's the feature? To figure out what to feed horses, it would not hurt to find out how these animals eat in the wild. In ancient times, herds of horses simply grazed in the meadows. This was enough to provide their body with all the necessary nutrients. Today, however, horse breeders are creating special diets for their pets. They should include additives that optimize the composition of food.

Food for horses will largely depend on where they live. In the natural environment, the main source of food for them are grasses and bushes. Horses that live insouthern regions, also eat root crops. Individuals from northern latitudes can feed on tree bark, branches and dry grasses. Steppe horses eat plant stems and tall tough crops.

Many are interested in whether a horse can be fed with bread. In this matter, all experts express a negative opinion. Bread causes fermentation in the animal's body, which negatively affects the digestive system. Therefore, the use of this product is highly undesirable.

Feed types

The way of life of horses on a farm differs significantly from wild horses. Therefore, they require a different diet. What can you feed horses? It should be borne in mind that animals do not eat without stopping, so it is necessary to select food in such a way that the individual eats well.

Conventionally, all feeds are divided into three groups:

• juicy;
• rough;
• concentrated.

According to experts, the horse's diet should consist of 70-80% of succulent and roughage. The share of concentrated should not be more than 40%. Otherwise, the horse may begin to have he alth problems. The fact is that the digestive system of these animals is designed in such a way that it involves the use of most of the fiber.

Roughage

What do they feed the horses in the stable? The basis of the diet is usually voluminous roughage.

These include:

1. Dried grass. Horses should always have free access to it. If the hay contains a certainpercentage of fresh greens, do not exclude it from the diet. The composition should mainly include cereals, for example, timothy, cocksfoot, fescue, bluegrass, ryegrass. The plants collected at the beginning of the vegetative period are of the greatest value for the horse. It is at this time that they should be collected and dried.
2. Herbal flour and granules. In fact, these products are cut plants that undergo a drying process under high temperatures. They are then pressed together to form a highly nutritious, low moisture feed.
3. Straw. This type of food is not highly nutritious. After drying, only grass stems remain. Basically, this type of feed is added to the diet of horses only for volume.

If you want to make roughage yourself, then it is extremely important to follow the basic rules for harvesting and storing. This is necessary in order to prevent the appearance and reproduction of fungal rot and bacteria.

Juicy food

What do you need to feed a horse to perform better at the races?

Mostly grazing animals are eaten:

1. Grass: Horses can get this food on the farm and meadows. Also, the breeder can provide feeding with freshly cut grass. However, it should be borne in mind that eating greens on grazing is slightly better. Firstly, in this form, nutrients are stored longer. And freshly cut grass at the slightest violation of the rulesstorage immediately begins to rot. Eating tainted foods can seriously upset the body's digestive system.
2. Root crops and vegetables. Here the main rule is the same as for grass: the main thing is not to give the horses spoiled and rotting foods. Vegetables contain a large amount of fiber, useful trace elements and vitamins. Horses can eat sugar beets, cucumbers, carrots and potatoes, but not germinated. Before giving vegetables to horses for food, they must be washed. The animal needs about 1.5 kg of beet molasses per day. It can significantly improve the taste characteristics of all feeds. This product must be diluted with water before use. Fruit can also be given to horses, but only as a treat.

If access to fresh grass and vegetables cannot be provided, then the question of what to feed the horses is most acute. In this case, you can give the horses haylage or canned grass. This food contains 55% moisture. Horses willingly eat this food, besides, it is rich in sugar and fiber.

Concentrated feed

Usually such food is used if the horse needs to be fattened up or the exterior needs to be brought to the required state. Concentrated feed is used as the main source of nutrients. You can’t do without it if the animal constantly has to experience serious stress.

There are several types of concentrated feed:

• cereal mixes;
• compound feed;
• wholecereals.

Typical diet

Let's dwell on it in more detail. What is the best food for horses? How to choose the right food so that individuals are he althy and beautiful? Most often, these are the questions that beginner breeders ask.

The horse's diet must include:

• Barley. This culture is extremely high in calories. It contains 60% starch. However, giving horses too much of this food is also not recommended, since the fiber content in it is quite low. Before feeding an animal with barley, it must be steamed. So it is better processed by the horse's body.
• Oats. Perhaps everyone knows that horses eat this cereal crop well. Its main difference lies in the high content of fiber. It is impossible to make a proper diet for a horse without oats. It has an excellent effect on the digestive system and is easily absorbed by the body. It is better not to mix it with other foods.
• Bran. This type of food is low in starch. But the content of useful trace elements, vitamins and proteins in it is also insignificant. Basically, bran is used to increase the volume of the diet. Adult horses can eat about 3.5 kg of bran per day.
• Corn. This cereal crop has a high starch content - approximately 70%. It is usually fed to horses before serious physical exertion. In a short time, it is able to provide animals with a large supply of energy.
• Mixed feed. For feedinghorses can use granular or loose. As a rule, it includes milled grain of several types, bran, cake, mineral additives and grass meal. This diet suits horses with different physical needs.
• Cereal mixes. You can either buy them ready-made or make them at home. To do this, simply mix several types of grains, s alt, beet pulp and other ingredients.

Menu for horses

How to correctly calculate the daily norm of a horse? How to feed horses with different physical parameters? When choosing a diet for an animal, factors such as its weight and upcoming loads must be taken into account. For example, if we are talking about an animal weighing up to 50 kg, performing moderate work, then 6-8 kg of root crops, 3-4 kg of concentrated feed, 6-7 kg of straw and 12 kg of hay will be enough for one day. If horses are doing light work, then the amount of concentrates can be reduced or eliminated from the diet.

Food for pregnant mares

What is its feature? During the period of bearing foals, mares require enhanced nutrition. After all, the he alth of the future animal will depend on the diet of the mother. How to correctly calculate the amount of feed? For 100 kg of a mare's weight, it is necessary to give at least 4 kg of high-quality legume or cereal hay per day, up to 1 kg of sunflower cake, up to 6 kg of vegetables and root crops, up to 4 kg of silage. Weakened animals should also include concentrated feed in the diet. Right before childbirthyou need to increase the amount of silage in the feed. During the foal-rearing period, a nutritious diet for the mother is maintained.

What to feed newly born pets?

Young individuals can be given the same as an adult animal. When a stallion is weaned from its mother, grain feed, cake, hay, and bran are introduced into its diet. Also, babies definitely need root vegetables (carrots are best), sprouted grains and molasses.

Race horse diet

Mandatory component in the diet of racers are concentrates and hay. The ratio of these products depends on many factors, including the amount of training, the weight of the animal and the schedule of the competition. What to feed horses during the race? Typically, the diet includes grass meal or pellets, corn, bean or cereal hay, s alt, premixes and molasses.

Conclusion

In this review, we examined the main points related to the nutrition of individuals. Many household owners believe that it is not necessary to make a special diet for the animal, and that bread can be fed to the horse. However, in this case, he alth problems cannot be avoided. Only high-quality nutrition, consisting of greens, root crops, cereals and concentrated feed, will provide animals with all the necessary nutrients.