Feeding, Weight & Grazing
Understand forage-first feeding, hydration, body condition, pasture and common nutritional decisions.
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Forage first: the foundation of feeding a horse
Forage should shape the ration from the start. Grass, hay, haylage or an appropriate fibre replacement matters because horses are adapted to digest plant fibre and forage daily.
Read article →Horse water, salt and hydration: a practical year-round guide
Support hydration by giving every equid dependable access to clean, palatable water, checking that the supply works and learning what normal drinking looks like for that individual. Water use changes with forage, weather, work and health, so a trend is more useful than one universal daily figure.
Read article →How to body condition score and weigh-tape your horse
Track condition with a bundle of repeatable measures: hands-on body condition scoring, the same weigh tape used in the same way, standard side and rear photographs, and a weighbridge when available. No single method tells the whole story, but a consistent record makes gradual change much harder to miss.
Read article →Preventing horse obesity and reducing laminitis risk
Reduce obesity and laminitis risk with an individual, welfare-minded plan built around weight trends, the whole diet, grazing, safe movement and professional review. There is no single turnout timetable or restriction device that suits every horse, and suspected laminitis always needs an immediate veterinary call.
Read article →Changing horse feed safely: a gradual, observable process
A new bag is only one kind of diet change. New hay, richer grazing, longer stabling, reduced work or a different water source can alter the whole feeding picture. Set the destination with an appropriate professional, make measured steps and pause if intake, droppings, comfort or condition changes.
Read article →How to read horse feed labels without being misled by the front of the bag
The front of a feed bag is an advert; the useful comparison usually begins on the back. Product description, intended animal, ingredients, analytical figures, feeding directions and batch details each answer a different question. None of them, alone, tells you that the product is right for a particular equid or balances its forage.
Read article →Does your horse need a supplement? Questions to ask before buying
A supplement should answer a defined need, not simply a persuasive label. Start with the whole ration and the individual equid, then examine the proposed benefit, evidence, directions, interactions, quality controls, cost and a clear point for review.
Read article →Storing horse feed safely: damp, mould, pests and contamination
Good storage starts before a bag or bale reaches the feed room. Check condition and traceability at purchase, keep feed dry and protected from pests, inspect it at every use, and quarantine anything suspect rather than trying to rescue it by smell, sorting or dilution.
Read article →Restricting horse grazing safely: options without compromising welfare
Grazing restriction is a balancing job: reduce an identified intake risk while preserving safe forage time, movement, company, water and comfort. Start with condition trends and professional advice, then choose the least restrictive workable combination and monitor the whole animal.
Read article →Feeding donkeys and mules: where horse-feeding advice may not fit
Donkeys and mules need an individual, forage-led feeding plan, but ordinary horse calculations and condition charts may not fit them. Use species-specific evidence, measure trends and involve a vet and qualified nutrition professional before restriction, weight gain or clinical feeding becomes urgent.
Read article →Horse losing weight? Check the trend and involve the right professional
Contact your vet promptly when an equid is losing weight unexpectedly, especially if appetite, droppings, comfort or behaviour has changed. Confirm the trend, preserve evidence about actual intake and access, and let the veterinary, dental and nutrition team decide what should change.
Read article →Feeding a senior horse: forage, weight and changing dental needs
Age alone does not dictate a special feed, but it makes regular review more valuable. Track condition, muscle, appetite, chewing, water and access, then adapt forage form and the full ration with the vet and nutrition professional when the senior's needs or abilities change.
Read article →Hay, haylage or straw? Choosing forage for the horse in front of you
Hay, haylage and suitable straw are not interchangeable by scoop, bale or appearance. Water content changes the weight needed for the same dry matter, batches vary, and poor hygiene can make useful forage unsafe. Choose from analysis, the horse’s needs and storage with a veterinary or nutrition professional.
Read article →How much forage does a horse need? Understand the estimate without guessing a ration
A forage estimate is a starting point, not a prescription. It needs credible bodyweight, forage dry matter, an allowance for grass and waste, and the horse’s health and condition. Use it with a veterinary or nutrition professional, then monitor the individual instead of defending one percentage.
Read article →Horse forage analysis explained: when testing helps and what it cannot tell you
A forage report turns a representative sample into nutrient estimates. It can compare batches and support ration design, but it cannot fix a poor sample, guarantee every bale is hygienic or select a ration by itself. Test the right lot and interpret the result with a qualified professional.
Read article →Electrolytes for horses: when they may help and when water and salt come first
Electrolytes replace minerals lost mainly in sweat; they are not an energy boost or treatment for a sick, dehydrated horse. Start with suitable drinking water and the ration’s salt, assess real sweat and workload, then choose any product with a veterinary or nutrition professional and its current label.
Read article →Check hay and haylage before every feed
Check the forage you are about to serve, not just the bale when it arrived. A changed smell, visible growth, unusual heat, excessive dust, foreign material or damaged haylage wrapping means pause and set the affected forage aside. Sensory checks cannot prove nutritional value or microbiological safety.
Read article →Soak or steam hay? Understand the aims, trade-offs and professional boundaries
Soaking and steaming are processes, not interchangeable cures. The right question begins with the aim—respiratory exposure, dietary composition or practical hygiene—and the individual horse. Evidence is mixed, hay varies and neither method turns poor forage into safe forage.
Read article →Choose a slow-feeding setup without creating access or entrapment problems
A slow feeder is successful only if the horse can eat suitable forage safely, comfortably and without harmful competition or frustration. Choose by the individual horse, equipment and setting, then trial under observation. No mesh size or product is universally safe.
Read article →Measure an individual horse’s water intake without false precision
There is no single daily volume that proves every horse is drinking enough. Forage, grazing, weather, exercise, health and the measuring set-up all influence the result. Build an individual baseline, and contact your vet promptly if a change accompanies illness, pain, reduced appetite, abnormal urine or manure, weakness or altered behaviour.
Read article →Keep water available and encourage normal drinking through winter
In winter, a full-looking trough may be frozen, a heater may have failed and one horse in a group may not be getting access. Check function as well as appearance, learn each horse’s usual pattern and respond early when drinking, appetite or droppings change.
Read article →Loose salt or a salt block? Compare access, intake and monitoring
Loose salt and a block can contain the same basic ingredient yet behave differently in a stable or field. Compare the exact label, how the horse can reach it and whether intake can be observed; leave individual amounts and electrolyte plans to the horse’s professional team.
Read article →Audit starch, sugar and meal size before changing bucket feed
A feed label gives percentages; the horse eats weighed portions across a whole day. Before changing bucket feed, capture the exact products, weigh every real meal, record forage and ask what each percentage means so a vet or nutrition professional can assess the complete ration.
Read article →Soaked feeds: control hygiene from mixing through to leftovers
Once water is added, a bucket is harder to identify and may change quickly with time, warmth and contamination. Anchor every feed to its current label, use clean measured equipment, mark who and when it is for, and discard anything outside the agreed product-specific plan.
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