Every owner should learn the rules of feeding horses because a good understanding of equine nutrition is key to ensuring your horse remains healthy and in good condition all year round.

These rules cover the basics when it comes to feeding horses. There’s so much more to learn, but this is an excellent place to start.

Golden rules of feeding horses

These rules can be applied to every horse and will help maintain good health and avoid preventable digestive problems.

1. Provide access to fresh clean water at all times

Water is the most important part of your horse’s diet and is often overlooked. Horses should have access to fresh water at all times, whether stabled or in the field, to prevent dehydration.

An average horse at rest will drink around 25 litres a day and this can increase to more than double this amount if the horse is working hard or a hot environment.

Troughs, buckets and other water containers should also be kept clean.

2. Maintain good hygiene

Store your feed in a secure rodent-proof container within a clean, dry area to prevent damage from pests and moisture. Always use clean buckets, scoops and stirrers, and clean feed bins regularly.

3. Use high quality feeds

Never be tempted to feed dusty, mouldy or old feed. Doing so could cause respiratory problems, allergic responses or digestive upset.

4. Feed little and often

Horses have small stomachs and have evolved to trickle feed rather than eat large meals. If your horse’s bucket feed weighs more than 1.5kg, it must be split into two or more feeds over the course of the day. Splitting rations that weigh less it into multiple feeds is also beneficial.

5. Feed by weight, not volume

A scoop of one feed will not weigh the same as another as they have different densities. To ensure you’re feeding the correct quantities and know that your horse is getting everything he needs, weigh each type of feed you use.

Some bagged feed balancers will come with a cup or cardboard scoop to help you measure.

6. Feed your horse as an individual

When feeding your horse, consider bodyweight, temperament, age and workload. You may need a horse to lose weight or be trying to help a horse gain weight, while some horses need low-sugar and starch options to prevent excitability.

Horses working harder will need more energy and feeding performance horses is a particular art and science. Older horses will have different requirements, too.

When something changes, such as workload due to injury, you’ll need to reassess your horse’s nutritional needs. If you’re unsure what to feed your horse, seek advice from your vet, an independent nutritionist or free nutritional helpline.

7. Make any changes to the diet gradually

Making dietary changes over at least a week will help reduce the risk of digestive upsets, such as colic. This rules applies to making changes to your horse’s bucket feed as well as the type of forage, including grass.

Introduce small amounts of the new foodstuff gradually, while withdrawing the original feed component at the same rate if necessary. This helps your horse’s digestive system adapt to the changes and produce the correct microbes to break down the new food.

8. Avoid exercise for one hour after cereal-based meals

Horses are unable to digest cereal-based meals quickly, so you should not exercise them after giving a hard feed to allow them time to digest it. It is, however, beneficial to feed horses something fibre-based before exercise to reduce the risk of acid splash in the stomach, which could lead to gastric ulcers.

9. Feed your horse at the same time each day

Horses are creatures of habit and thrive on a regular routine. Doing this helps reduce stress and is good for gut motility.

10. Ensure forage is the cornerstone of your horse’s diet

Horses have evolved to live on high fibre diets and good fibre levels will help to stimulate a healthy gut function and reduce the risk of digestive upsets.

Forage should be fed ad lib where possible – here’s more information on how much hay to feed a horse. If your horse struggles with traditional forage options due to poor dentition, check out the best forage replacers.

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A typical warm, wet British summer provides ideal growing conditions – and not just for your grass and weeds. Insects thrive as well.

It’s this time of year – just as our horses go out more – that the amount of hard feed used can drop considerably. This means that it lasts for longer in the storage bin and is fair game for anything small or furry that fancies a nibble.

Residues of winter feed use, the crumbs and spillages accumulated over the past nine months or so, are also manna for insects. Wherever there’s grain, the tiny grain or flour mite (Acarus siro) is capable of setting up residence, not only in farm-stored grain, but also in animal feeds, breakfast cereals and flour. Mites aren’t poisonous, but they do spoil food and make it unpalatable.

When conditions (food, moisture and warmth) are right, a 2,000-fold population growth can occur within a month. Any time from spring to late autumn is breeding time for mites, especially if the feed room is dusty and dirty, spillages aren’t cleared up quickly or feed is at the end of its shelf life.

If your feed room has that stale honey-like aroma, the chances are you have a mite problem. If you open a bag and it contains fine dust or if when you buy it from your feed merchant there’s a light brown dust on the surface or around the stitching, then you, and probably your supplier, have a mite infestation.

Should this happen, a thorough clean in every nook, cranny and window ledge will be necessary, preferably with a vacuum cleaner. A brush just sends the mites up into the air, so they land and re-infest.

Storage and hygiene

• Keep the feed room clean and dry. Leaks or spills should be cleaned up immediately and a thorough clean-out, inside and behind storage bins, should be yard routine.
• Use old feed up before adding new – both forage and hard feeds.
• Check the shelf-life of bought-in products, and alter ordering patterns so that feed is used well within them, especially during summer. Cereals such as oats and barley are harvested in August, so the grain you buy in June is almost a year old.
• If your horse is at DIY livery with communal storage, the risk of mites is only kept low if everyone maintains a clean feed store.
• Keep feed in a dry, well-ventilated area, out of direct sunlight, to prevent both spoilage from mites and the deterioration of vitamins and oils. I have found feed for field-kept ponies kept in metal dustbins at the side of the Field – nothing is more likely to make feed go off than “cooking” it in this way.
• Choose a good feed supplier with a clean, well-maintained store and good stock rotation.

Q: This winter, I have decided to change from hay to haylage. I have never fed it before and I am a little worried about stories I have heard about botulism in haylage production. Can you put my mind at rest?

Nutritionist Christin Smy replies: Botulism is caused by the clostridium botulinum toxin, an anaerobic bacteriathat is found mainly in soil. Modern production methods have made botulism rare in UK-produced haylage.

When haylage was first introduced to horses, it was very wet. Over the years, the market for haylage for horses has increased dramatically and, with this rise in popularity, many farmers now produce haylage specifically for horses, with a dry matter of 50-75 per cent.

Botulism thrives in warm, humid conditions, possibly living in decaying plants or animals, and can be a major problem if incorporated within the haylage. It is important that soil and foreign materials are not picked up when the cut grass is baled.Always buy haylage from a reputable manufacturer or farmer. Word of mouth is important – before you buy,speak to other buyers about quality and palatability.

Having bought your haylage, check the wrapping on each bale. There should be several layers of strong plastic to prevent the entry of oxygen, which can cause secondary fermentation. You must discard and return any bales with holes or tears.

Once opened, haylage has a lifespan of about four days in winter and three days in summer. Many farmers and manufacturers make bales of around 20kg, ideal for owners of one or two horses. This avoids wasting the haylage, and removes the temptation to feed the haylage once it has started to ferment.

Expert advice from HORSE magazine on how to avoid losing nutrients in grain during storage

Q: I have heard that barley and oats lose much of their vitamin content two to threeweeks after crushing. Does the same apply to maize and how important is this when assessing the food value of these grains after storage?Also, what are “naked oats” and will coating them with oil, to exclude the air, help to prevent them losing their vitamin content?

Nutritionist Kate Jones replies The nutrient content of all feed will deteriorate over time, including maize.

Vitamins, in particular, are susceptible to the effects of heat and air, so vitamin content will be adversely affected by the processing and storage of concentrate feeds.

If you are feeding a good-quality prepared feed, at the recommended amounts, then the micronutrient requirements of your horse should be met.Vitamin and mineral content will drop away the longer the bag is open.

Rather than increasing feed levels – your horse’s condition and energy levels will suggest whether this is necessary – you can use a general-purpose vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure your horse is receiving all that he requires.

If you are using ‘straights’, then a multi-vitamin would be recommended. The micronutrient content of straights tends to be poor and unbalanced and, because there is no requirement for consistency, as with coarse mixes and cubes, it varies from bag to bag.

Naked oats are a modern development – oats which lose their fibrous husk during processing to leave a clean grain that is higher in energy, protein and oil than regular oats.As they can contain over a quarter more energy than normal oats, naked oats are primarily designed for performance horses.

If you are thinking of using them, feed small amounts and keep up fibre levels in the diet. Naked oats are just as susceptible to micronutrient loss as other cereals.

Coating with oil is not a suitable way to preserve cereals. Since the natural oil content of grains, such as oats, is largely responsible for their deterioration, additional oil would only encourage rancidity.

To preserve nutrient content, buy concentrates from a reputable dealer who is not likely to have kept processed grains for a long time.

Check the sell-by date on prepared feeds and store them in airtight, vermin-proof containers.

Q: I buy horse feed in bulk from my local feed merchant and often it doesn’t look very fresh by the time I get down to the last bags. How can I prolong its shelf life?

Christine Smy replies: Most concentrates will have a shelf life of between four to six months and many will still have relatively good levels of minerals and vitamins after this date.

However, problems may arise during the hot months or very wet periods, when, if not stored correctly, feed can go off. Grain mites are often a problem during the summer and feed can go damp and mouldy in the winter.

Make sure you store your feed in a cool, dark, dry container which is rodent-proof and store unopened bags on pallets rather than on the floor.

When you prepare meals for your horse, ensure there is good lighting, as mouldy feed cannotbe easily seen in dim light, and the last thing you want to do is give your horse colic by giving him poor-quality food.

Q. I buy horse feed in bulk from my local feed merchant and often it doesn’t look very fresh by the time I get down to the last bags. How can I prolong its shelf life?

Equine nutritionist Christine Smy replies: Most concentrates will have a shelf life of between four and six months and many will still have relatively good levels of minerals and vitamins after this date.

However, problems may arise during the hot months or very wet periods, when, if not stored correctly, feed can go off. Grain mites are often a problem during the summer and feed can godamp and mouldy in the winter.

Make sure you store your feed in a cool, dark, dry container which is rodent-proof and store unopened bags on pallets rather than on the floor.

When you prepare meals for your horse, ensure there is good lighting, as mouldy feed cannot be easily seen in dim light and the last thing you want to do is give your horse colic by giving him poor-quality food.

HHO TOP TIP

Always check the best before date before buying sacks of feed, to make sure there is plenty of shelf life left. The feed may have come to your merchant through several distributors, which takes time.

• Click here to find out the best way to store forage.

Feeding quality forage, free from dust, mould and contamination, plays a big part in keeping your horse in peak condition. Correct storage is vital to prevent nutrient levels from falling.

Hay and haylage should be stored in a dry, well-ventilated environment. Ideally, keep your hay on pallets to prevent any damp or vermin and store it downwind of your stables to help prevent both spores and fire spreading.

When a new delivery of hay arrives, stack the oldest bales at the front so that they are used up first and dispose at once of any mouldy bales you find to prevent contamination.

Haylage and silage can be stored outside, but, if a bag becomes pierced or broken, use the contents immediately so it does not contaminate the other bales.

Storage do’s and don’ts

• Hay is best stored on pallets at ground level to allow air to circulate and stop damp being absorbed into it
• Store in a cool, dry area, preferably covered on three sides
• Allow ventilation around the stack and do not pile too high, so that air can move aroundthe top and sides
• Do not include damp bales or any that feel hot within the stack, as this could result in spontaneous combustion
• If storing hay on a commercial yard, be aware of Health & Safety requirements that necessitate warning signs not to climb the stack
• If the hay is dusty, consider using a dust mask when stacking
• Check regularly to ensure the stack is not becoming hot
• Keep storage site clean and tidy and clear away any loose hay

Q: We protect our hay by keeping it under a plastic cover. A short time after receiving my last delivery of hay, I noticed lots of small brown bugs crawling all over the plastic. After about a month they disappeared.

I don’t know what these bugs were and would like some advice on storing hay.

Janet Rogers, Devon

A: It’s very difficult to say what these insects are without seeing them. They may well have been drawn up from the ground to the warmth from the plastic or they may have hatched from eggs inside the hay.

It would be wise to collect a sample and send it to ADAS (Agricultural Developmental AdvisoryService) who will test it for you and identify the bugs. You can contact ADAS on: (tel: 01902) 754 190.

It is unlikely the insects will damage your hay, but it is possible the plastic will. If there is any dampness the plastic will draw this out and upwards making the hay damp. Your hay may start to overheat and go mouldy.

The hay should be stacked on pallets so it is off the ground. This is going to allow air to circulate.

Hay is the main part of your horse’s diet in the winter and for many horses all year round, so it is preferable for you to buy the best quality you can afford and store it in the best possible environment so it doesn’t deteriorate.

If you do not have good storage facilities you could ask a local farmer to keep it in a barn and then you could go and collect it as and when you need it.

Feeding quality food plays a big part in keeping your horse in peak condition. Buthowever good the ingredients, correct storage is vital.

Most concentrates, such as cereals and coarse mixes, will go stale or mouldy after a week if the bag is left open to the air, which is why manufacturers recommend that feed is stored in airtight containers.

Ideally, storage areas should be dry and well ventilated and kept tidy and clean. Place sacks of feed out of direct sunlight and stack them on pallets to help keep moisture out.

If buying in bulk, make sure you can see the sell-by date easily so that the oldest sacks are used up first.

Once opened, keep the sacks in a vermin-proof container, such as a galvanised feed bin or dustbin. Big yards which feed a number of horses one type of feed will find it easier to empty anumber of sacks into one container.

Old open-top freezers are also a good option. However, if you are using this method, avoid the risk of mould developing by ensuring that you use up the old feed and clean the bin before adding the new product.

The feed store should also be secure so that there is no chance of horses getting in and gorging themselves – particularly dangerous if sugar beet is being kept there.

Storage do’s and don’ts

• Check the product’s sell by date before purchase
• Use within the specified sell by date to ensure freshness
• Do not buy more feed than can sensibly be stored and used within a month
• Store in rodent-proof containers (plastic is often not adequate)
• If using metalcontainers, line the sides with newspaper or leave the feed in its bag to minimise condensation in winter
• Make sure sugar beet pellets are stored separately and labelled
• Do not store bags on the floor or in contact with external walls as this may cause the bags to become damp.

To read more about feed storage see Horse & Hound issue dated 11 October 2001, or click here to subscribe. To purchase a back issue (tel: 020 8503 0588).

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