Part 1 of Horse Care Basics was about horse behaviour, Part 2 about stable management, grooming and training. Part 3 tips on horse care are dear to my heart as I am passionate about equine nutrition.
I hope this summarised information regarding feeding horses will be valuable to you and your horse.
Horse feeding
Horses are creatures of habit. Their life is made of events which repeat every day. This daily routine brings them comfort and safety. Feeding is part of their routine, therefore they must be fed at a fixed time. Having had-oc feeding times cause distress to horses. They become inpatient, and sometimes aggressive. It is even more prominent with a horse who has been starved in the past. Once a feed regime has been established for your horse, it should not have any radical or dramatic changes. The program must be very carefully examined and must be changed gradually only if the horse’s response is not satisfactory such as losing weight, showing signs of extreme hunger or putting on too much weight. Horses have a highly sensitive digestive system which digests a fixed set of food items in a well organised digestive cycle. Any sudden change in the horse’s feed may bring about colic and he may die. The introduction of new food (except hay and chaff), should be spread over a two week period, starting from about 50 g or 50 ml (solid or liquid form feed) the first day to increase to the desired amount at the end of the period. It is important to keep the digestive balance in place. read more