Question

I want to keep my horse fit, but I don’t get to ride as often as I would like and I don’t want him “high” and “crazy” from too much feed and not enough exercise. What do you recommend?

Answer

Being able to control the mood of a horse through changes in nutrition is still being investigated in the scientific community. The key to successfully feeding your horse is to remember that horses are anatomically designed to digest fiber (hay and/or grass). Therefore, a horse’s diet should maximize the amount of fiber. By maximizing the amount of fiber in the diet, horsemen can decrease the amount of simple carbohydrates (sugar) the horse is eating. The best hay source for providing plenty of fiber without much sugar is grass hay. If the horse is unable to maintain body weight on a straight grass hay diet, grain, fortified with vitamins and minerals, can be added gradually to satisfy his energy requirements. Any grain fed should be divided into at least two feedings per day. The addition of fat (vegetable oil or rice bran ) to the diet is also a proven way to provide non-sugar calories to horses.