*Horses are herbivores therefore they eat roughage and grains.*
*DO NOT FEED YOUR HORSE MEAT*
What horses need in their diets:
Five Basic Components:
- Water-can drink up to 12 gallons a day
- Energy-carbohydrates and fasts (i.e. oats and low fat intake)
There are two types of forage(hay and grass):
- Legumes-higher in protein, calcium and potassium than grasses (i.e.alfalfa or clover.)
- Grasses-lower in nutrients, but still a good source of nutrition (i.e. timothy, orchard grass, and fescue.)
Types of feed:
- Hay-comes in different forms: chopped, cubed, pellets and most commonly longstem bales.
- Grains-corn, oats and barley. May be cracked, steamed, or rolled. *IF ground too finely it may cause respiratory problems (i.e. heaves) or colic.*
Types of Grain:
Corn-is used as an energy source, however has highest content in starch. Usually fed to horses in cracked or flaked form.
Oats-most traditionally fed grain, that provides a source of fiber, but energy content is considered low for a cereal grain.They come whole, crimped or rolled.
Barley-is an energy source that has fiber and starch content. They come whole, crimped, rolled or steam flaked. Whole is used in some instances, but not ideal.
*Rolled barley looks similar to rolled oats.*
Supplements:
Are used when something is missing in your horse's diet. Nutrient requirements differ with age, weight and work load. Grains would most likely be added to a horse's diet when worked hard. Hay is fine for a mature horse who is minimally ridden.
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| http://www.equusfeeds.co.za/body-condition-chart_820x579.jpg |
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| Grain Bag http://www.wysong.net/products/images/2011/equine-diet.jpg |
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| Round hay bales and square hay bales (feed) http://d3qjtatx7zcluc.cloudfront.net/images/all-about-horses/haystorage.jpg |
Feeding Chart
FMI:
http://menezesbrosinc.com/images/nutrient%20intake%20chart.gif
4 comments:
Are there organic and non-GMO feeds of corn and grain available? Do you know what the cost difference is? Are you aware of any research on horses who eat organic feed versus non-organic?
What is the difference between a round hay bale and a square hay bale? Why would I choose a square one instead of a round one?
Nancy Sheridan- There are non G.M.O. corns and horse feed. The 50 lb bag of Original Safe Choice by Nutrena costs roughly $17.49 and a 50 lb bag of Non-G.M.O. Horse feed 8% by Hiland Country Store costs roughly $21.65 U.S.D. I am not aware off the top of my head but I found this with research. I found a website and I will put the URL here as well as a few others on the feed prices. http://holistichorse.com/horse-health/nutrition/2227-beware-gmos, http://hilandnaturals.myshopify.com/collections/non-gmo-feeds/products/non-gmo-horse-feed-8, http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/sweetcorn/
Barbara Barton- The square hay bale has less hay bound together, therefore it is best suited to feed for breakfast and dinner even snacks. It generally has less dust. The downfall to buying square bales is they are expensive and go quickly. Buying square bales also means you are buying hay more frequently. Where the round bales are bigger and round. The round bale has a lot more hay bound together, but the downsides are: the horses can waste more than they eat (by peeing on it etc.) and they do not keep a long time, they get dusty quicker and have more dust in general. You would choose a square bale in the instances of breakfast, dinner, lunch, snacks and to keep them busy.
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