Feeding for work, type and age

There's no single right diet for a horse. The government's code of practice says a horse's diet should reflect its age, type, weight, condition, health and level of work, and World Horse Welfare says every horse should have its own feeding plan. The basics in forage first apply to all of them. This guide covers what changes.

Workload

World Horse Welfare splits horses' workloads into four categories. The harder the work, the more energy the horse needs.

These categories are only a guide. World Horse Welfare's advice is to meet any extra needs with more good-quality forage first, and to add concentrate feed only if your horse's body condition and energy levels show it's needed. The BHS asks owners to be honest about how much work their horse really does: most leisure and grassroots horses can keep their energy and a healthy weight on a high-forage diet.

Horses in hard work and competition

Energy. Horses in hard work normally need extra calories from concentrates, says World Horse Welfare. Its nutritionist's guidance adds that a moderate amount of starch can be very useful for very hard-working horses, as long as each meal stays within what the gut can digest: no more than 1g of starch per kg of bodyweight. See hard feeds, balancers and supplements.

Condition. Fit horses look lean. The BHS says most fit racehorses and eventers have a fat score of about 2 out of 5, rather than the 2.5–3 that's ideal for most horses: they're physically fit, with well-developed muscles.

The stomach. Gastric ulcers are common: the BHS says they can affect one in three horses. Risk factors include long periods without forage, including during exercise and travel, high-concentrate feeds, intensive exercise and stress. During exercise, stomach acid can splash onto the unprotected upper part of the stomach. The BHS suggests feeding a scoop of chaff, or about 2kg of hay or haylage, about 30 minutes before exercise, and splitting any concentrate into as many meals as possible.

Sweat and electrolytes. Horses can lose several litres of fluid in a single session in hot weather, the BHS says, along with electrolytes. It suggests daily electrolytes may help horses in medium work or harder, with plain water always available. A salt lick may be enough for a horse in light work.

Clean sport. If you compete, feeds and supplements need care to avoid prohibited substances. See competing.

Good doers: native ponies, cobs and heavy horses

A good doer is a horse or pony that keeps or gains weight easily. The BHS says draught types, cobs and native breeds are more likely to be overweight or obese than Thoroughbreds. They evolved to survive harsh, wet winters on poor grazing, but today many have good grazing all year, milder winters, rugs and stables. The BHS says up to 50% of horses in the UK are obese, and up to 70% in some native pony breeds.

World Horse Welfare says most leisure horses get more calories than they need from grass alone, so many good doers need their grazing restricted, while still getting vitamins and minerals. For these horses:

• Forage still comes first, but lower in calories: soaked hay, some straw, slow-feeder nets and restricted grazing. See weight, fat scoring and weight loss.
• A balancer, not a mix. A balancer supplies vitamins and minerals without many calories.
• Watch for EMS. World Horse Welfare says insulin testing is a valuable tool for native breeds, to assess their risk of laminitis and equine metabolic syndrome (EMS).

For more on looking after these types, see native pony care and heavy horse care.

Thoroughbreds and ex-racehorses

Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) says a racehorse in training is typically fed a high-energy, low-fibre diet, with upwards of 7kg of concentrates a day and much less hay or haylage than other horses. Together with the stresses of racing, that diet can lie behind ulcers and colic.

After retirement, its racing muscle wastes away, so a former racehorse can look underweight until it gains condition on its new diet. RoR's advice:

• Feed good-quality forage, ad lib if possible, for weight gain, gut health and wellbeing.
• Split concentrate feeds into two meals, ideally three, and keep each to around 2kg.
• Make all changes gradually, over at least a week.
• For weight gain without extra fizz, increase the oil in the diet. RoR calls micronised linseed one of the best sources.

RoR says a Thoroughbred can gain weight and carry condition as well as any other horse. If it doesn't, look for a cause: RoR says that if a new horse isn't gaining condition within a few weeks, worm it again, and if there's still no improvement, rule out ulcers. Its teeth should be checked too. Signs of ulcers include a dull coat, losing condition, grumpiness and sensitivity around the girth.

Horses that struggle to keep weight

World Horse Welfare says an underweight horse may have an underlying problem such as a heavy worm burden or dental issues, and that you should ask your vet if a horse gains or loses weight for no obvious reason.

Once your vet has ruled out health problems, the BHS suggests increasing the daily ration to 2.5–3% of bodyweight. If that isn't enough, it suggests higher-calorie forage, then concentrate feeds. Oil adds calories without starch. The BHS's winter advice says older horses, and horses that lose too much weight in winter, may benefit from concentrates, and suggests talking to a nutritionist so you don't overfeed.

Older horses

The BHS says a healthy older horse at an ideal weight needs much the same diet as a younger adult. Things change when its health does:

• Teeth. Worn teeth make grain, mixes, rough forage and even grazing harder to chew. The BHS suggests soaked, softer feeds as a fibre replacement, split into four or five smaller feeds a day, because soaking adds bulk.
• Losing weight. For an older horse that loses weight easily, the BHS suggests high-fibre, protein-rich feeds, with vegetable oil for extra calories, introduced over 10–14 days.
• Gaining weight. Aim for a fat score of 2.5–3 out of 5. Extra weight raises the risk of laminitis and strains ageing joints.

See caring for an older horse for more.

Broodmares and foals

Pregnancy. The RVC says that until month 9 of pregnancy, a mare can be fed according to her condition and work, like any other adult horse. From month 9 she needs extra protein and calories, often from a broodmare and youngstock mix. Make any change slowly, over seven days.

The Shire Horse Society's advice for broodmares:

• Keep the mare in moderate condition: too much weight raises the risk of laminitis, hyperlipaemia (a dangerous metabolic disorder) and a difficult foaling.
• In the last three months, the diet should have 8–12% protein, with calcium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese and copper. Stud mixes and cubes are balanced to provide these: follow the maker's feeding guide.
• Vitamin E supplements from 30 days before foaling can help pass antibodies to the foal.
• Keep feeding at the same level while she's feeding her foal, then reduce it gradually before weaning, to help her milk dry up.

Foals. The Shire Horse Society says a well-fed mare's milk supplies everything a foal needs for its first few weeks. Milk is most nutritious for the first 8 weeks, and by then the foal should be nibbling grass, its mother's feed or a creep feed of its own. The society says creep feed should contain 14–16% crude protein, and that by 4 months old, a foal will eat ½–1kg of feed per 100kg of its bodyweight.

The code of practice says foals, pregnant mares and older horses all have special dietary needs, and suggests talking to your vet or an equine nutritionist. See breeding and foaling and foals and youngsters.

Health conditions that change the diet

Poisonous plants. Check grazing and hay for poisonous plants. The BHS says foxglove and hemlock stay poisonous when dried, so they're dangerous in hay as well as in the field. Ragwort is common and toxic, and yew can be deadly. Sycamore seeds and seedlings cause atypical myopathy, which the RVC says is fatal for around three in four affected horses.