Feeding the Horse
                                                                                                        Gwenyth Browning Jones Santagate (c) 1997

August 1997

During this summer I have seen many inquiries concerning what to feed a horse, 
how much to feed, when to feed, plus more. There is a saying for humans ... "we 
are what we eat." Well, I believe that horses are the same. The proper 
nutrition, coupled with the right conditioning for the discipline, causes one to 
have a healthy horse. If there is something lacking in the diet then the body 
cannot function at its peak and therefore problems arise not only in the 
physical realm but also in the behavioral realm. 
Many times I have typed out the general guidelines for feeding horses for those 
asking questions. It is really quite simple and anyone should be able to use 
this for a baseline then alter the diet according to their own horse's personal 
dietary needs. Follow along ...

For every 100# of live body weight of the horse, one should feed 2 - 2 1/2# of 
TOTAL feed during a 24 hour time span. This is for the average horse in average 
work. 

Take a 1200 pound Quarter Horse such as my own (he's 16 hh) who is worked 
regularly 2 - 3 times a week. His teeth are fine. His overall care and 
management is fine. He has no vices other than cribbing which is controlled with 
a collar. So ... we have a normal, 1200 horse. At 2 1/2# per 100# of weight I 
figure he needs 30# of TOTAL FEED, that means grain and hay, per day. I feed 3X 
a day so divide the 30# by 3. So now we have 10# of total feed being fed 3x a 
day. Now, because he is ridden moderately he needs grain to supplement hay. If 
he were not worked, he would get 80% hay and 20% grain during the day or perhaps 
all hay. But in moderate work 75% of his total nutrients should come from HAY. 
The other should come from GRAIN ... preferably a "complete" feed. Now we have 
to figure the percentages out to weight.
Follow this: 30# total feed X 25% = 7 1/2#. OK, he gets 7 1/2# of grain a day. 
Now divide that into 3 ... This equals 2 1/2# each feeding of GRAIN. So, now we 
have to see how much 1 quart of complete grain weighs. The grain I feed weighs 
1.36# per quart. So divide 2 1/2 by 1.36 and that equals 1.83 quarts. Round it 
off to either 2 qts. if the horse is on the lean side or round it down to 1 3/4 
qts. if he is on the chunky side.
Now the balance of the weight in feed needs to come from good quality hay. One 
must know the weight of a flake of hay. Figure an average of 40# bales with 10 
flakes in each bale. So now we know that 1 flake would weigh approximately 4#. 
Therefore, 75% of 30# of total feed would be what? ... 22 1/2# per day of hay, 
divided by 3 feedings, equals out to 7 1/2# per feeding. Because hay is the main 
staple of a horse's diet, we can easily, without worry, round up the weight to 
8# which would mean 2 flakes of hay at each of 3 feedings.

OK, now I know this all sounds really complicated but it is not. Read it over 
again and follow step by step. If you can just remember 2 - 2 1/2# of TOTAL FEED 
per day for every 100# of horse body weight, you can go from there.

There are many brands and types of grain available on the market today. Only you 
can decide which is best for your horse. It would be wise to consult your vet if 
you have any nutritional questions.

Hope this has been helpful. Please do not hesitate to e-mail to me with any 
questions you might have. I will try to answer as best I can. 

HAPPY HORSEMANSHIP!!!

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