Providing your horse with the right diet is essential for your horse’s well-being. To maintain the best relationship between you and your horse, it is so important for your horse to be healthy and happy. Much of this well-being will stem from the horse’s diet improving both the horse’s physiological and psychological well-being. So how can you provide your horse with the best possible diet?

Water

This may seem obvious but is the most important part of any horse’s diet, without water, horses will not live long. An adequate and clean water supply should always be provided to horses in their stables so they can drink whenever they want. A water supply should also be provided to horses on rides longer than an hour or if it is a hot day. Horses typically consume two quarts of water for every pound of hay they consume. This consumption can spike to three or four time the normal amount when in periods of high temperature, during hard work, or when the mare is lactating.

There are a few signs to look out for to show if your horse is dehydrated. The horse may eat less, there may be a reduction in physical activity, dry mucous membranes in the mouth, decreased capillary refill time and dry faeces. It is important to always be on the lookout for these signs to make sure your horse is always properly hydrated.

Fat

Fat can be added to a diet to increase the energy density of the diet. Fat is the densest source of energy being almost three times more than that of carbohydrates or proteins. In most pre-mixed feeds, fat is found to account for 2 to 6% of the feed. However, higher fat feeds can contain up to 12%. It is recommended that when the horse is exercising, growing or pregnant that more energy is provided in the horse’s diet. Typically, fat levels are increased to do this.

Fibre

Over years of evolution, horse’s digestive systems have adapted to become most suited to the diets consisting heavily of fibre. A high fibre diet will most closely replicate the natural diet of horses in the wild. High fibre sources of food with the correct nutrient levels are important for providing energy to the horse as well as putting them in the best health. On the other hand, a diet with low levels of fibre can lead to poor mental health of the horse as well as many significant health issues such as stomach ulcers and colic.

The most common forms of fibre are fermentable forms such as starch. These are the most common forms of energy in a typical horse’s diet.

At Hive Equestrian, our main aim is to provide clients with the best possible relationship with their horse. In order to have a good relationship with your horse, it is extremely important that your horse is healthy and happy. It is critical the horse has a good diet to ensure this. Within our Pegasus Package, we arrange nutritional advice from experts tailored to your horse. This can be a huge pain and with the Pegasus Package, this and so many other problems that come with owning a horse will be solved for you hassle free. If you would like to learn more about how the Pegasus Package can help to solve or improve many of your equestrian related problems, click here now. We also offer various other additional services to make your equestrian life as easy as possible. A list of our additional services can be found here. All Pegasus Package members will receive a 10% discount on these services.