How to Feed a Stabled Horse

Know how to properly feed your horse and she'll maintain her lustrous coat and confident canter. When caring for your animal - be it an Arabian or a Tennessee walker - nothing is more important than maintaining your horse's good health through proper nutrition.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Livestock Salt And Minerals
• Sweet Feeds
• Water
• Water

1. Determine what type of hay your horse needs. Grass or timothy hay is a good place to start, and most horses do extremely well with only high-quality grass hay for forage. If your horse has trouble holding good body condition, seems to need more energy, is a young, growing animal or is in heavy work, you might want to consider adding a flake or two of alfalfa to your feeding program.

2. Know the approximate weight of your horse. Horses requre 2 lbs. of hay for every 100 lbs. of body weight - more if your horse is extremely active.

3. Feed your horse three times a day rather than just once. Multiple feedings mimic the grazing nature of your horse's natural digestive state, and frequent feedings can also eliminate boredom for stalled animals.

4. Supplement your feeding program with one of the many grains, sweet feeds, and combination mixes available at your feed store if your horse has additional nutritional needs.

5. Provide an unlimited supply of clean, cool drinking water for your horse at all times. Buckets and automatic waterers work well for stalls, and large troughs should be provided in turnout areas.

6. Free choice minerals - especially salt blocks - are essential for your horse's health. Keep salt and mineral blocks in stalls, or in turnout areas where rain can't reach it.

Tips & Warnings

• Your veterinarian is the best source when it comes to reliable feeding information. Consult them with any questions on your current herd, or when you add new horses to the mix.
• Choose good hay by looking for lots of green leafy stalks. All hay should be free of dust, mold and weeds and should have a pleasant, fragrant aroma.
• Moldy feed can make your horse extremely ill and cause digestive ailments like colic. Moldy hay smells musty. Flakes and bales of hay that contain mold will often be much heavier than expected.
• Even the best feeding program can be derailed by parasites. A regular worming schedule is essential to your horse's well-being.
• Don't feed your horse silage. It will ferment, causing the horse gas and pain.
• If you find any mold in your hay, throw out the entire bale and check the other bales in that load.
• Avoid giving your horse pelleted feed mixtures - complete rations - instead of hay. Complete rations satisfy the dietary needs of your horse, but will leave her craving something to chew, which - unless you give her hay - may end up being your wood fence.

[RowdySpurs]

on 8/15/2007 Just another comment on this article about the statement on corn -- during the winter (for the last two years) we feed shelled corn -- with the exception to the picky eaters - and they look good! Some of them are even fat come spring! It doesn't hurt them at all! I haven't had any instances of colic or anything else from the corn, and we have horses which range in age from 2-20. We started feeding corn in the winter after much discussion and seeing some horses which have been raised on corn and sometimes oats. The guy who has them always has nice looking horses - well filled out, etc.

[jvonhaas]

on 6/11/2007 The myth that alfalfa hay is bad is proven by these comments. Studies from the University of Kentucky and University of California, Davis show that protein is not hard on the kidneys, but a horse eating a higher protein content tend to drink more water and typical back yard horse owners just don't provide for this. The smell in urnine is excess nitrogen being excreted. Protein is made up of amino acids, composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, all used for energy. There is no reason to believe the kidney's will be damaged when a horse drinks more water. BTW, more water intake means more urination. Before you start spreading rumors and hearsay, please check the facts first, you are doing the horse industry harm through your ignorance.

[barnbiz]

on 6/4/2007 I realize that the author of this artcle means well, but she/he is wrong. As Hailey said, there is no waiting period for feeding hay, in fact it's nutritional content and flavor is at it's best the earlier it is fed! Watch out for sweet feeds - they contain corn which is absolutly not good for your horse (horses are unable to digest the type of starch it contains) and the molassas is unnessesary, your feed should taste good enough without a sweetener! Try feeding whole or hulless oats with a good mineral supplement. Your horse can get all he needs from an all natural source, his condition, performance and your feed bill will please you.

[casey]

on 4/4/2007 I like to dunk my hay in water.
Put the hay in a hay net and dunk it in and out of the water once or twice..let it drip then feed to your horse. Notice how dirty brown the water flows from the hay?
It gets rid of some of the dust and dirt. Dunking the hay in a water moistens the hay and is easier for the horse to consume.
My horse loves it.

[hailey01]

on 2/28/2007 This article is AWFUL!!!!! Feed requirements are driven by activity. This article does not address protein contents of feed/hay, activity levels, age of the horse, medical issues etc. ALL hay can be moldy if not properly cured. Hay (anything grown that is cut) can be fed after it is cured & baled. There is no waiting period for hay to age until it is appropriate to feed. Most horses love alfalfa and prefer it to any hay. Alfalfa is high in protein and can harm kidneys if fed exclusively. Does your horses urine have a stron ammonia smell? If so, they are excreting excess protein from their feed in their urine. Please consult your vet immediately if you base your horse's feed schedules on this article.