Horse feed: different types and how to select the right food item

Posted by emilioatterson30 on February 4th, 2015

If you have a horse and  worried what to eat your horse to keep your pet  in a healthy  and fit condition, then read this article to know what to feed your house and the fundamental nutritional requirements of  horses.

The food which you feed your horse must meet the seven essential requirements. These  seven requirements include:

Energy

It is important to ensure that the food you feed your pet  must meet their body's energy requirement.  When  the weather becomes  colder or your  pet is used more actively, the amount of food will need to increase. If your  pet is less active, then the amount of food must be reduced  to give your pet a healthy life.

Minerals & Vitamins

Aside energy,  horse feed needs to offer a wide variety  of vitamins and minerals.  These vitamins and minerals are very important for various metabolic activities.

Rich in fiber

 The horse feed  must contain a sufficient amount of fiber. Food items like grain  may provide all the required energy and  minerals, but  doesn’t contain sufficient about of fiber. The amount of fiber, if not fulfilled  can increase the chances of ulcer and other health problems.

Digestibility

It is important to ensure that  the food  you feed your horse is digestible.  If the food digested poorly,  then it can cause  several health issues.  This problem has specifically occurred in the older horses,  where dental reduces the ability of chewing of food.

Continuous feeding

The horse  need to eat food frequently. It needs at least 2  to 3 meals to keep  the digestive  system in a healthy and good condition.  You need to give your horse small meal so that they can easily digest the food.

Stimulation

A horse’s  main occupation and stimulation come from looking  food. The infrequent feeding makes the horse unhappy  and can cause stress related problems  like cribbing or repetitive movements.

There  are several options available in horse feed.  Some of generally used items for Horse Feed include:

Grass

There are  several types and qualities of grass. The nutritional value and the quality of the grasses will be affected  by the type of the soil, the amount of the rain and the amount of sunlight. Aside this, this variation also occurs because of different weather condition at different place.

Hay

There are several types of hays which are widely used for r the feeding of the horse. Some of the popular hays are Alfalfa, Timothy, Bermuda  and Rhodas hay. These types of hay have different nutritional value. They also vary  depending how they is  made, stored and how long they stored.  

Grains

Grains are  also used for the horse feeding.  Grains contain  very less amount of fiber. Therefore, it is used for horse  feed in a very small quantity.

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