What should I feed my horse?
Feeding your foal is not very complicated, but it is important to remember that every foal and horse is different and they cannot be fed in the same way.
FEEDING THE OLDER HORSE
This can be a little tricky sometimes, but this is generally due to poor teeth than anything else. Naturally if the teeth are an issue then you will need to feed a diet that allows for the lack of chewing and grinding and make the feed generally softer. If the horse has had his teeth checked regularly, chances are that the teeth will still be in good condition as he reaches old age. The photos below are of a 30 year old horse that was in poor condition and after altering his unbalanced diet he improved dramatically in just 9 weeks!
Note the change in his coat condition, to have this type of recovery is absolutely wonderful.
His teeth were in reasonable condition, however did have some molars missing so chewing was a little bit of a task for him, but changing from a diet consisting of pellets to a natural diet consisting of whole oats, chaffs, hays, EquiSoy and a good natural therapy formula.
He was being fed the following:
Type of feed
Dipper Quantity (based on 2 litre container)
MORNING
Johnson’s Old Timer
1.5kg (approx. 1 & 1/2 dippers)
Hay grass/Cereal or Lucerene
2 biscuits
EquiSoy GMO free
1/4 - 1/2 cup
Added Formula
CompletaVite
20g once per day
ProflamAid Plus
25g per day to assist joints
NIGHT FEED
Johnson’s Old Timer
1.5kg (approx. 1 & 1/2 dippers)
Hay grass/Cereal or Lucerene
2 biscuits
FEEDING THE HIGH PERFORMANCE HORSE
Horses working hard, between 5-6 sessions per week of solid training require the nutrients to sustain the workload. Eventers for example require an excellent energy intake on a daily basis. Training horses at this level requires great knowledge and understanding of the horse’s anatomy and limitations.
I like to use a combination of whole oats and steamed and rolled barley with many high performance horses, it is a nice mix and only requires a small amount of chaffs, plus a good daily formula and electrolytes added and naturally a good level of hay. But now we have the Johnsons Natural Formula feeds it is much easier to feed any horse. For Eventers who tend to be a little nervous, oils are another option to provide energy without heating the horse too much.
Most of the eventers I have prepared diets for over the years have been Thoroughbreds, and my experience with these horses is that they can be a little tricky due to the stress involved and their fitness campaign, also many have raced previously.
Very often there can be a reasonable amount of travel involved when competing at 1, 2 or 3 day events as most courses are located in country areas. Horses travelling can become stressed so precautions must be taken to ensure the level of stress is reduced.
Using calming herbs or complimentary prescription formulas prior to travel may assist.
The other consideration is preventative measures for muscle or joint pain.
Horses trained to an elite level will experience pain most of the time and this must be managed effectively and safely and can be done by using certain natural pain relieving and healing nutrients. Surprisingly you do not require high levels of these nutrients to manage your horse’s muscles and joints. Any elite athlete horse or human will experience levels of pain and inflammation, either through training or sport.
Performance levels will plummet if preventative measures are not put in place.
The diet I have recommended will suit most eventers who do not suffer from nervousness. For horses that have a tendency to be nervous, reduce the grain content and add oil plus a natural calmative.
Type of feed
Dipper Quantity (based on 2 litre container)
Cup measure based on kitchen cup measure
MORNING
Johnson’s Velocity 2
1kg (approx. ¾ dipper)
Johnson’s Alfalfa Plus
1kg (approx. 1 dipper)
Hay good quality or Cereal/Lucerene
1-2 biscuits
Added Daily Formula
PerformPlus
20g once per day
ProflamAid to assist with muscles and joints
10-20g per day to assist joints
BioEquus will also be of enormous benefit to assist with digestive issues
1 scoop per day 8g
NIGHT FEED
Johnson’s Velocity 2
1kg (approx. ¾ dipper)
Johnson’s Alfalfa Plus
1kg (approx. 1 dipper)
Hay Cereal or Lucerene
1-2 biscuits
For nervous horses you could use the Johnson's Elite and add cold pressed oil and a small scoop of Herba Nerve.
When feed the Johnson's feed, no extra chaff is required.
Sponsored Eventing rider Katja Weimann
There are many factors that may affect feeding and nutrition; these are just a few below
Biochemical Individuality
• The type of work performed ie. dressage, eventing, racing, endurance, showing, halter, breeding
• The number of hours worked per week
• The surface the horse is worked on
• The combined weight of rider and saddle
• Sensitivity to certain types of feeds
• How long you have owned your horse?
• Lack of energy
• Too much energy
• Coat and skin condition
• Condition of the teeth
• Horse’s history
• Climate
• The temperament of the horse
• The location of your horse
• Breed
• The Age of your horse
• Any illness
• Joint or muscle soreness
• A history of weight loss
• Sex
Remember to do your research and be careful about listening to opinion over fact. If you would like a tailored diet for your horse visit our free advice service. Good luck, feeding is possibly the most important part of caring for your horse and it needs to be done according to the needs of your horse. For more information on feeding, diets for your horse and how to choose the right diet, visit our free diet page.
