Four Foods To Feed Your Horse

If you are considering buying a horse, you will need to understand a horse's dietary needs. These beautiful animals are herbivores, but not just any plant will do if you want your horse to stay healthy. Horses require a diet that is high in fiber and that is consumed in small amounts over long periods of time. In order to meet the dietary needs of your horse, you'll want to feed your horse these four foods.

Grains

When it comes to feeding your horse grains, you'll need to ensure it's the right kind. Certain types of grains, like wheat, aren't good for horses. Oats, on the other hand, are the safest kind of grain to feed a horse. Other safe grains include barley and corn. You should be careful not to feed your horse too much grain or they may end up getting colic.

Salt and Minerals

If you've ever been around horses, you'll probably notice a block of salt nearby. This is one way a horse can get salt and other minerals, but having just a salt block available for your horse to lick isn't going to provide all the minerals your horse needs. For optimum health, your horse will need at least 10 grams of sodium a day.

Other essential minerals horses need include:

  • Calcium
  • Magnesium
  • Phosphorus
  • Chloride
  • Potassium
  • Sulfur

To ensure your horse gets enough salt and minerals, you'll want to include a vitamin/mineral supplement in your horse's diet.

Grass

Grass is considered a horse's natural diet and contains most of the nutrients your horse will need. Some horse owners prefer to use horse pasture seed that gets formulated with different species of grasses and hay for optimum health.

There are different types of horse pasture seed that you can grow and some of them contain fescues, ryegrass, Timothy grass, and Kentucky bluegrass. The type of seed you choose will largely depend on the type of climate in which you live and how much ground coverage you'll need.

Plenty of Water

Like most mammals, horses need plenty of water. The amount of water your horse gets on a daily basis will depend on what season it is and how much your horse has worked that day. Typically, however, your horse will drink anywhere from 5 to 10 gallons of water a day. Just as you prefer good, clean water, so will your horse. Most horses do not like drinking water that is too cold, however.

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