Your Trusted Horse Feed Program Digest

What Can Make a Horse Feed Better for Anxious Horses? Choosing the right horse feed for an anxious horse starts with knowing how feed composition can influence behavior , gut comfort, and day-to-day energy levels. Not every feed that supports conditioning or performance is ideal for a horse that is nervous, reactive, or easily overstimulated. The goal is not to remove energy entirely, but to support calm energy through a smarter balanced ration . There ar

Why thin horses need a different feeding strategy Thin horses need something beyond “more food.” The right approach starts with a clear look at the horse’s body condition score , because that tells you whether the issue is minor underconditioning or a serious loss of body weight . A horse with a low condition score may need a change in energy intake , but the right plan depends on age, workload, forage quality, and overall health. Metabolism also plays a r

If you’re trying to help an overweight horse slim down, the right answer is usually not a particular brand of horse feed. It is a feeding plan built around calorie intake, forage quality, ration control, and the horse’s body condition score. The best-fitting horse feed can support weight management, but only if it fits the whole diet and you avoid common energy-dense mistakes. For many horses, weight loss starts with a roughage-based diet, tighter grass access, and a low

What Omega Fatty Acids Do in Horse Nutrition Omega fatty acids are a key part of modern horse feed because they support more than just calories. The most common types are omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids , both of which are considered essential fatty acids in equine nutrition. Horses do not synthesize these fats on their own in meaningful amounts, so they must come from the diet as part of a balanced ration . In practical feeding terms, omega f

Short Answer: Do Horses Need Electrolytes in Feed? Generally, horse feed usually does not need added electrolytes for most horses. Many horses get enough support from a balanced ration, access to free-choice water , good forage, and a practical feeding program. Added electrolytes are more helpful when a horse is losing a lot of fluids through sweating , facing dehydration , or dealing with heavy work and warm weather. For performance horses , the answer

The basic difference between horse feed and hay is this: hay is forage , while horse feed is usually a nutrient-dense ration made to add extra calories , protein , vitamins , and minerals to the feed program. Most horses require both. Hay helps support the digestive system through fiber and hindgut fermentation , while feed helps bridge nutritional gaps based on workload, age, and body condition score. Put simply, hay is the foundation of a horse’s

What’s a ration balancer in horse feed? A ration balancer is a concentrated type of horse feed designed to enhance horse nutrition without adding a lot of calories. Instead of functioning like a full meal, it fills nutrient gaps in a forage-based diet by delivering protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals, and trace minerals in a small daily serving. This makes a ration balancer especially effective for horses that get most of their diet from forage such as hay and

Horse Feed vs Forage: How They Differ The contrast between horse feed and forage is clear: forage is the bulk horses are built to eat on a regular basis, while horse feed is the more nutrient-rich part of the diet that adds extra calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals. In simple terms, forage usually means hay and pasture , and horse feed usually means prepared concentrates or grain products designed to supplement the diet. Most horse owners use ea