Horses need different levels of feed and nutrition in their diet depending on age, current weight, activity level and overall health.
An equine's diet is a delicate balance of getting the right proteins, grains, hay, supplements, water intake and proper digestion of these substances. With literally hundreds of different feed types available, this can be quite challenging for a new or even veteran horse owners.
Horses require six main classes of nutrients to survive; they include water, fats, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
Water is the MOST IMPORTANT nutrient; horses can’t live long without it! Always make sure there is an adequate, clean supply of water. Horses generally drink about 2 quarts of water for every pound of hay they consume. In high temperature, hard work, or for the lactating mare the water requirement may be 3 to 4 times the normal consumption.
Energy isn’t one of the six nutrients because the horse cannot physically consume energy, however, it is a requirement for sustaining life. The most dense source of energy is fat (almost three times more than carbohydrates or proteins); however, carbohydrates in the forms of fermentable fiber or starch are the most common source. Horses exercising, growing, pregnant in late gestation or early lactation need increased energy in their diet.
Signs of energy deficiency include weight loss, decreased physical activity, milk production, and growth rate. However, feeding a diet too high in energy can cause obesity increasing the risk of colic, laminitis, and contribute to increased sweat loss and exercise intolerance.
Generally the hoofs and coat are the first to show signs of an inferior diet, as we study the hoofs we often observe signs of a dietary need,
We often make recomdations regarding a horse's diet
However we never require any change in diet we only offer advise based on our years of experiences
Horses were designed to eat slow and often they should be eating forage around 18 hours per day, a fully grown equine with a body score of 5 {Equation: BW (kg) = [heart girth (cm)2 x length (cm)]/11877} should be eating 2% of it's weight in dry matter per day more for Breeding or working Equines.
Please Note: it is not good for the bones & digestive tract to feed growing horses to much and never feed Carbs & Sugars too much or too fast
the quality of hoof is mostly dependant on how the equine eats!