How to Feed Horses

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm Sharon Booth with Goldenrod Performance Horses on behalf of Expert Village and we are now going to show you how to feed a horse. Horse is a large animal and they need a lot of feed and you can't feed them too much or you will make them sick. So basically what you are gong to be looking for are three ingredients. Most horses enjoy grain which is some kind of oats and mixture or the recommended pellet, I would need for you to either consult with a veterinarian or your trainer on what your horse should need for its use because each horse is different. Some barns have a general feed which they feed all horses which is good depending on the use of the horse. We use grain and good forage which is hay. Hay can be either grass hay or alfalfa or timothy hay. There is many different kinds of hay but it needs to be clean and it needs to be soft. There can't be a lot of sticks and stickers or hard stuff in the hay because the horse can't digest it. So with your grain you want to keep the grain where it is clean and dry in bins so that the rats or mice can't get in and also so that it doesn't mold. So if you keep your grain in these bins, make sure that they are capped off every night and that you keep your feed changed at all times. In other words if you are almost out of feed, don't just pour more feed on top of it when you get the new feed. Empty out your bin first and then add more feed. With your hay, keep it in a good dry place so that mold gets in on your hay. Again, you can feed both grass hay and alfalfa depending on your horse's use. Alfalfa is high energy and can cause the horse to be very excitable a lot so make sure that you consult someone if you are not use to feeding a horse that someone that has horses, knows horses or you vet is always a good way and your feed store is there to help you at all times. So in feeding your horse, remember that they have to have water. Good clean water should always be available. Free water is the most important part to a horse along with the trace minerals. Most of the time the trace minerals are included in your feed so that you shouldn't have to worry about that but make sure that it is there for them because they need the salt and minerals as well. "