Like other herbivores, horses have a special body structure and character. Someone grows them to participate in races and other competitions, and for some, these animals are required for the housework. But whatever the purpose of breeding, the owners are always interested in one question: how to properly feed a horse? To grow a beautiful and healthy animal, it is extremely important to choose the right diet.
In wild nature
So what is the feature? To understand how to feed horses, it would not hurt to find out how these animals feed in the wild. In ancient times, herds of horses simply grazed in the meadows. This was enough to provide their body with all the necessary nutrients. Today, however, horse breeders are creating special diets for their pets. They should include additives that optimize the composition of food.
Nutrition for horses will largely depend on where they live. In the natural environment, the main source of food for them are herbs and bushes. Horses that live in the southern regions also eat root crops. Individuals from the northern latitudes can feed on tree bark, branches and dry grasses. Steppe horses eat plant stems and high hard crops.
Many are interested in whether a horse can be fed bread. In this matter, all experts express a negative opinion. Bread causes fermentation in the animal’s body, which negatively affects the digestive system. Therefore, the use of this product is extremely undesirable.
Feed types
The lifestyle of horses on the farm is significantly different from wild horses. Therefore, they need a different diet. How can horses be fed? It should be borne in mind that animals do not eat without stopping, so you need to select food in such a way that the individual ate well.
Conventionally, all feeds are divided into three groups:
According to experts, the horse's diet should consist of 70-80% of juicy and roughage. The proportion of concentrated should not exceed 40%. Otherwise, the horse may begin to have health problems. The fact is that the digestive system of these animals is designed in such a way that involves the use of mostly fiber.
Roughage
What are horses fed in the stable? The basis of the diet is usually bulk feed.
These include:
- Dried grass. Horses should always have free access to it. If a certain percentage of fresh herbs is present in the hay, do not exclude it from the diet. The composition should mainly include cereals, for example, timothy grass, hedgehog team, fescue, meadow bluegrass, ryegrass. The most valuable for the horse are plants collected at the beginning of the vegetative period. It was at this time that they should be collected and dried.
- Herbal flour and granules. In fact, these products are mowed plants that undergo a drying process under the influence of high temperatures. Then they are pressed in such a way as to obtain a highly nutritious feed with a low percentage of moisture.
- The straw. This type of food is not highly nutritious. After drying, only grass stalks remain. Basically, this type of feed is added to the horse’s diet only for volume.
If you want to make roughage yourself, then it is extremely important to follow the basic rules of harvesting and storage. This is necessary in order to prevent the appearance and propagation of fungal rot and bacteria.
Juicy food
How to feed a horse so that it shows the best results at the races?
Mostly animals grazing eat:
- Grass: horses can receive such forage on a farm and meadows. Also, the breeder can provide freshly cut grass. However, it should be borne in mind that eating greens on grazing is slightly better. Firstly, in this form, nutrients are stored longer. And freshly cut grass at the slightest violation of storage rules immediately begins to rot. Eating spoiled foods for animals can lead to a serious digestive upset.
- Root crops and vegetables. Here the main rule is the same as for grass: the main thing is not to give horses spoiled and rotting products. Vegetables contain a large amount of fiber, minerals and vitamins. Horses can eat sugar beets, cucumbers, carrots and potatoes, but not sprouted. Before giving vegetables to horses for food, they must be washed. The animal needs about 1.5 kg of beet molasses per day. She is able to significantly improve the taste characteristics of all feed. Before use, this product must be diluted in water. Also, horses can be given fruit, but only as a treat.
If access to fresh grass and vegetables cannot be ensured, the question of how to feed the horses is most acute. In this case, you can give the horses haylage or canned grass. This feed contains 55% moisture. Riders willingly eat this food, in addition, it is rich in sugar and fiber.
Concentrated feed
Typically, such food is used if the horse needs to be fed or brought up to the desired condition. Concentrated feed is used as the main source of nutrients. You can not do without it if the animal constantly has to experience serious stress.
There are several types of concentrated feed:
- cereal mixtures;
- compound feed;
- whole grains.
Typical Diet
Let's dwell on it in more detail. What is the best way to feed horses? How to choose the right food so that individuals are healthy and beautiful? Most often, these questions are asked by novice breeders.
The horses ’diet must include:
- Barley. This culture is extremely high in calories. It contains 60% starch. However, giving horses too much of this food is also not recommended, as its fiber content is quite low. Before feeding the animal with barley, it must be steamed. So it is better processed by the horse.
- Oats Perhaps everyone knows that horses eat this cereal crop well. Its main difference is the high fiber content. It is impossible to make the right diet for a horse without oats. It has a great effect on the digestive system and is easily absorbed by the body. It is better not to mix it with other feeds.
- Bran. This type of food is low in starch. But the content of useful trace elements, vitamins and proteins in it is also insignificant. Mostly bran is used to increase the volume of the diet. Adult horses can eat about 3.5 kg of bran per day.
- Corn. This cereal crop has a high starch content - approximately 70%. Usually she is fed horses before serious physical exertion. In a short time, it is able to provide animals with a large supply of energy.
- Compound feed. For feeding horses you can use granular or loose. As a rule, it includes ground grain of several types, bran, oilcake, mineral additives and grass meal. This food is suitable for horses with different physical needs.
- Cereal mixtures. You can either buy them ready-made or make them at home. To do this, just mix several types of grains, salt, beet pulp and other ingredients.
Horse Menu
How to calculate the daily rate of a horse? How to feed horses with different physical parameters? When choosing diets for an animal, factors such as its weight and upcoming loads should be considered. For example, if we are talking about an animal weighing up to 50 kg, performing moderate work, then for one day it will last 6-8 kg of root crops, 3-4 kg of concentrated feed, 6-7 kg of straw and 12 kg of hay. If the horses perform light work, then the number of concentrates can be reduced or completely removed from the diet.
Nutrition for pregnant mares
What is its feature? During gestation, foals require enhanced nutrition. After all, the health of the future animal will depend on the diet of the mother. How to calculate the amount of feed? For 100 kg of mare's weight, it is necessary to give at least 4 kg of high-quality legume or cereal hay, up to 1 kg of sunflower meal, up to 6 kg of vegetables and root crops, and up to 4 kg of silage per day. Weakened animals must also include concentrated feed in the diet. Immediately before childbirth, you need to increase the amount of silage in the feed. During the period of feeding the foal, a nutritious diet for the mother is maintained.
How to feed the newly born pets?
Young individuals can be given the same as an adult animal. When a stallion is weaned from its mother, cereal feed, cake, hay, bran are introduced into its diet. Also, children necessarily need root crops (carrots are best suited), germinated grain and molasses.
Racehorse diet
A mandatory component in the diet of racey individuals are concentrates and hay. The ratio of these products depends on many factors, including the number of trainings, the weight of the animal, and the competition schedule. How to feed horses during the race? Typically, the diet includes herbal flour or granules, corn, bean or cereal hay, salt, premixes and molasses.
Conclusion
In this review, we examined the main points related to the nutrition of individuals. Many household owners believe that it is not necessary to make a special diet for the animal, and you can feed the horse bread. However, in this case, health problems cannot be avoided. Only high-quality nutrition, consisting of greens, root crops, cereals and concentrated feeds, will allow animals to be provided with all the necessary nutrients.