What's the Right Feed for My Horse?

By Abby Keegan, M.S.

When asked, "What's the right feed for my horse?", we knew only the best explanation would do.

So, we asked specialist Abby Keegan, M.S., from Cargill Feed and Nutrition to give us the lowdown on what to consider when it comes to your horse's feed for the Equine Edition of our Emag.

When selecting a feed, we can be a bit overwhelmed with the choices today. Here's a few tips to help guide you along the way. First and foremost, start your nutrition program with quality forage and lots of it. Horses' digestive systems are designed primarily to digest forage.

How much you ask? They should be fed ~2% of their bodyweight per day in hay for example. Once you understand the forage base of their diet, you then need to determine if you need only to balance the missing amino acids, vitamins and minerals lacking in the forage, or if they need all those nutrients plus additional calories.

An easy way to think about it is if your horses ate only their hay/pasture free choice, would they have a Body Condition Score of a 5 or 6 (see Body Condition Score Sheet).

If your answer is yes, then choose a feed (often referred to as a Ration Balancer) designed to be fed at a low rate (1-2#/day for a 1000# horse) providing very little calories but all the amino acids, vitamins and minerals missing in the forage. Empower Balance is a great example.

If, however, your answer is no and the 1000# horse does need at least a 3 quart scoop of feed or more per day for calories to maintain an appropriate body condition, then choose a standard design feed suited to fit his/her specific needs, such as SafeChoice Original fed at 4-6#/day along with his hay.

You can make your selection from the horse feed we have online, right here.

There are a lot of great feeds available, but what makes them different? You might start by looking at a couple of feed tags. Every feed will have a purpose statement at the top of the feed tag just under the product name that can often guide you as to whether the product is suited for your horse's needs.

I'm often asked why two feeds that are both 14% protein can be priced $5 differently? First of all, they are probably both great feeds, but there is a reason for the difference. Take a look at the feed tags. Some feeds will guarantee more nutrient levels on their guaranteed analysis, such as protein and amino acid levels. At the top of the guaranteed analysis, the minimum protein level will be listed, if you see Lysine, Methionine and Threonine levels listed just below, you know that likely that manufacturer is guaranteeing a better quality source of protein. This may mean better topline support, hoof and hair coat quality for your horse.

You might also look at the fat level and whether starch and sugar maximums are guaranteed to see where the calories are being sourced from and if the starch and sugar are being controlled. Trace minerals such as Zinc are key for immune support, more important than quantity, effectiveness is determined by the source of the Zinc itself. The most bioavailable form of Zinc is attached to an amino acid, often listed on the feed tag as Zinc Methionine Amino Acid Complex.

What about during the winter? As I sit here in the warmth of my home preparing to head out and feed my horses and cattle, I'm reminded of just how many more calories they are burning out there in the cold. I myself; however, don't seem to burn more calories in the winter... how does that work? Just how much more should you feed your horse when it's really cold outside?

Wondering more about what to feed your older horse?

To answer that question, take a look at the following example. A horse's approximate critical temperature with a dry, winter hair coat is ~32 degrees F. For every 1 degree drop in effective temperature, the horse needs ~1% more calories. For example, an 1100# horse with a dry winter hair coat in 10 degree weather with a 10 mph breeze equates to a -1 degree effective temperature. Thus, the horse would need 33% more calories to meet his maintenance requirement. As an example, it would take ~6# more of high quality hay OR ~4# more of SafeChoice Senior to equal that 33% increase in calories.

To help that hard keeper or horse needing additional calories from the hay he eats, you may find benefit in selecting a feed that already contains quality pre and probiotics. The prebiotics are essentially "food for the good bugs" that reside in the horse's hindgut and are responsible for breaking down fiber, while the probiotics are the "actual good bugs" encapsulated and added as viable organisms to the horse. Quality pre and probiotics in a feed can help the horse extract more calories from the fiber (in the hay, pasture, feed) that he eats.

There are also bad bugs that all horse owners will recognize.

Regardless of what feed choice you make, the most common mistake we see is not following the feeding directions on the tag. Grab the tag and make sure you are feeding at least the minimum range of pounds per day for your horse's ideal body weight. If you are below that range and your horse is in good Body Condition, then select a product designed for the range of pounds per day that you feed.

Don't forget, forage and individual horse caloric needs change. Continuously monitor his Body Condition Score throughout the year and make gradual adjustments to his hay and feed (while following the manufacturers feeding directions of course). In addition to his forage and feed, provide free choice water and salt and you'll be well on your way to a healthy, balanced diet for your horse.