What types of feed are best for active horses in the winter?

The specific and exact nutrient requirements of horses are poorly understood. However, horses can usually get the nutrients they need from pasture forage, harvested roughages, and concentrates. When selecting feed for active horses in the winter, it’s important to consider factors such as the quality of pasture, the horse’s workload, and any specific dietary needs.

What are the best types of feed for active horses during winter?

During the winter, pasture forage is low in both water and protein and may require protein and vitamin A supplementation. Good quality grass-legume pastures, in addition to iodized or trace-mineralized salt, will supply adequate nutrients to maintain an adult horse at light work or mares during pregnancy.

Roughages

• Hay: High-quality legume hays, such as early bloom alfalfa, are preferred for horses, especially those that are growing or lactating. Grass hays, such as timothy, prairie grass, orchard grass, and bluegrass, were preferred by early horsemen, especially for race horses, because they were usually free from mold and dust and tended to slow down the rate of passage through the intestinal tract.
• Pasture Forage: Late fall- and winter-pasture forage is low in water and protein and may require protein and vitamin A supplementation.

Concentrates

• Grains: Oats are the preferred grain for horses because of their bulk. Corn (maize), barley, wheat, and milo can be used, however, whenever they are less expensive.
• Complete Horse Rations: A large and ever-growing number of horses stabled in cities and suburbs where sufficient roughages cannot be grown provide a large market for complete horse rations, including roughage, which are tailored to the total needs of specific animals according to their particular function at a given time, such as growth, pregnancy, lactation, or maintenance.

Things to Consider

• Moldy or dusty feeds should be avoided because horses are extremely susceptible to forage poisoning and respiratory complications.
• Silages of all sorts should be avoided since horses and mules are extremely susceptible to botulism and digestive upsets.
• Horses will vary from the normal requirement in terms of weight, temperament, and previous nutrition.
• Foals will eat some pasture grass, forage, or hay when they are three days old and grain when they are three weeks old.

People Also Ask

How much should I feed my horse in the winter?

Weanling foals require three pounds of feed per hundred pounds of live weight per day; as they approach maturity, this requirement drops to one pound of feed per hundred pounds of live weight daily. Horses normally reach mature weight at less than four years of age and 80 percent of their mature weight at less than two years of age.

What supplements do horses need in the winter?

Late fall- and winter-pasture forage is low in water and protein and may require protein and vitamin A supplementation.

How can I ensure my horse stays warm in the winter?

While feed is important to keep your horse warm, make sure that they have access to shelter and blankets if needed.

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