Why Are Performance Horse Feed Servings So Big?

A horse owner doesn’t think her horse needs the manufacturer’s daily recommended serving of performance feed. Our equine nutritionist recommends a balanced approach to avoid nutritional deficiencies.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Why Are Performance Horse Feed Servings So Big?
If you’re feeding a performance feed at below the manufacturer’s recommended level, you should consider feeding a ration balancer either instead or in addition. | Photo: iStock

Q. I’ve been feeding my horse, who’s in moderate work, a popular performance feed. I recently decided to weigh how much I’ve been feeding and found it’s 4 pounds per day. In reviewing the feeding directions, I notice that it says I am supposed to feed a horse in moderate work 0.6 to 0.9 pounds per 100 pounds of body weight. My horse weighs 1,250 pounds, so I should be feeding a minimum of 7.5 pounds per day. He just doesn’t need that much of this feed and is in great condition on his current diet. Why do they recommend feeding so much?

A. This is an issue I run in to all the time. In fact, most horses I work with eating performance feeds are fed at levels below the manufacturer’s recommendations. Most manufacturers recommend that their performance feeds be fed in combination with a minimum of 1 to 1.5% of the horse’s body weight per day as forage, such as hay. However, many of the horse I work with receive more hay than this.

Traditionally, horses at maintenance (not working) were fed 1.5 to 2% of their body weight as forage per day. As horses’ exercise levels increased, a performance type feed was introduced into the ration and the amount of hay fed was decreased so that total feed intake remained at about the same level. This approach allows for larger amounts of fortified feed to be added to the ration

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

Written by:

Clair Thunes, PhD, is an equine nutritionist who owns Clarity Equine Nutrition, based in Gilbert, Arizona. She works as a consultant with owners/trainers and veterinarians across the United States and globally to take the guesswork out of feeding horses and provides services to select companies. As a nutritionist she works with all equids, from WEG competitors to Miniature donkeys and everything in between. Born in England, she earned her undergraduate degree at Edinburgh University, in Scotland, and her master’s and doctorate in nutrition at the University of California, Davis. Growing up, she competed in a wide array of disciplines and was an active member of the U.K. Pony Club. Today, she serves as the district commissioner for the Salt River Pony Club.

Leave a Reply

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
335 votes · 335 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!