Nutrition and Feeding

Whether you’re new to horse farming or a veteran of the industry, there’s always something new to learn. Making sure your horses are getting the right nutrition is essential if you want them to be healthy. On this site, you can learn about pasture, forage, and nutrition management, different grazing systems, special requirements for your broodmares and more.

Horse Feed: Forage, Concentrates, and Supplements

Hay and grass make up a large percentage of a horse’s diet. They are good sources of protein, energy, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Hay quality can vary considerably, so it’s important to understand the different ways you can ensure your horses are getting the right nutrients. Join Penn State Extension's horse hay workshop for more information on cover forage testing, toxin issues, tracking hay prices, and hay storage.

Concentrates or horse grains, such as oats and barley, can also be added to the horse feed occasionally, as well as very limited fat or protein supplements.

If you’ve got broodmares in your stable, they will have different nutritional requirements from the rest of your herd and it pays to be clued up on their needs. If you’re not sure how much drinking water your horse needs Penn State Extension can help with the answer.

Grazing Systems

There are several different grazing systems you can choose for your horses. Continuous grazing, limiting turnout time, and rotational grazing all have their limitations, so choose the one that fits best your operation.

Penn State Extension offers various tools and best practices for pasture evaluation, such as this video series on horse pasture management. Keeping a close eye on residue heights is also a useful strategy to make sure you’re not over-grazing your horses. For more detailed information, check out our knowledge hub on equine pasture and environment management.

Horse Forage Sampling and Analysis

How can you tell whether the quality of your horse feed is suitable for the horses in your stable? The best way to determine the level of equine nutrition you’re providing is to have your horse food analyzed and your forage sampled. Feed analysis can be complicated to understand, but you can learn what to look for.

The correct balance of feed ingredients is essential. The variation between different horse feeds is substantial, and it can be difficult to know whether the correct nutritional content is being provided. This is particularly important when it comes to forages. Forages from the same field can change depending on environmental conditions and cutting time. Penn State Extension provides a range of different materials to help you determine the quality of your forage.

Mold and Mycotoxins in Hay

If your pasture, forage, hay and other horse food are not managed correctly, it can lead to health problems and illness. The risk of botulism, for example, is increased if your hay is wet. Mold and mycotoxins in horse hay could lead to a loss of nutrients but it could also result in heaves, or Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO).

Luckily, it’s possible to test feeds for mold and mycotoxins. Contaminated feed can be dealt with, for example, by a process of elimination, making adjustments to the energy content, or by cleaning grains. There are several other options.

Knowing how to recognize and deal with horse health issues is a vital skill to learn. Penn State Extension has a section that deals exclusively with issues relating to horse health and common diseases.