If you're lucky enough to be a horse owner, you may have some questions about the best way to feed them. That's why we're going to break it down for you so that your horse can have the best most adapted diet!
At the same time each day
First of all, you should give your horse their food at the same time each day, in a calm and quiet environment, 3 to 5 times a day (depending on their lifestyle). If your horse works, is ill or is pregnant, you should lean towards feeding them more often. If they have become less active, the change in diet should be done slowly so that your horse can get used to it. You should always give your horse water and hay before their food.
Horses have specific needs: 20l to 60l of water per day (to digest their fibre), protein, minerals and vitamins. You should make sure that all these food groups are in their food so that they can stay healthy and develop correctly.
A horse's diet
A horse's diet should be composed of vegetation such as straw, hay, grass - they are a herbivore after all!
Be careful: when left to their own devices, a horse will graze constantly, so make sure that they don't devour all of their litter! You should also make sure that they have good teeth - as said above, abrupt changes in diet can disturb digestion and make your horse suffer.
In addition, horses are incapable of vomiting - if the digestive troubles are serious enough, your horse could die. You should be careful as to checking how clean your horse's food is and if the food from the last meal has been eaten.
Your horse loves grains: oats, barley (without the sheath), corn (in small quantities), rye (cooked), wheat (in small quantities), beans, buckwheat or bran. Whole grains are better for them, in dry form in order to make them drink, as well as hay and stray. Barley wheat (less than 5 kilos per day), carrots and beetroots are also enjoyed by horses.
Here is a final top tip for your horse:
Avoid making them excercise after having eaten as horses also need to digest!
We hope to have answered all of your questions - if not, ask the community on the forum!