Do retired horses need grain?

Unless your horse is a high performance athlete, grass and/or hay and an appropriate serving of a whole food supplement is plenty of nutrition for good health. The hardworking horse's diet should be less than 25% grain to prevent colic.

Do senior horses need grain?

Typically, no grain is required but if desired or needed, choose one with restricted starch/sugar and contains added fat (4-7%). In these horses, forage based pellets or cubes could replace 10 to 50% of the long stem/chopped forages.

What grain should I feed my senior horse?

Good quality grass hay and corn or a complete pelleted ration for mature (not aged) horses are the feeds of choice. Avoid legumes (alfalfa and clover), wheat bran and beet pulp due to high calcium (legumes, beet pulp) or phosphorus (wheat bran) content.

Can horses go without grain?

Many pleasure and trail horses don't need grain: good-quality hay or pasture is sufficient. If hay isn't enough, grain can be added, but the bulk of a horse's calories should always come from roughage. Horses are meant to eat roughage, and their digestive system is designed to use the nutrition in grassy stalks.

How much grain should a senior horse eat per day?

Because most senior feeds on the market today can be fed as a sole ration (ie 16-18 lbs. per day to a 1,200 lb. horse in light work) they have to be formulated in such a way that a horse eating this much of the feed won't be overdoing the concentration of vitamins/minerals, etc.

Why I Don't Feed Grain

What do you feed a retired horse?

There are commercial feeds available specifically formulated to suit the older horse. It is extremely important that the best quality of forage (hay) is fed. It should be clean and dust-free, and a mix of meadow grasses rather than seed hay may prove more palatable for the older animal or those with digestive problems.

Are alfalfa cubes good for older horses?

Alfalfa cubes are an excellent source of nutrition for horses, and can be used for everything from putting weight on a skinny horse, to maintaining weight on a pregnant, nursing, or heavily worked horse, to ensuring an older horse receives the nutrition he needs.

Can I stop feeding my horse grain?

5 Horse feeding tips:

Only feed grain if necessary and then keep it limited. Feed an ample supply of forage; horses typically consume approximately 2% of their body weight in hay or grass. Don't make sudden changes to your horses' diet. Introduce new food slowly.

Are oats good for senior horses?

Yes – if your horse needs them! Of all the cereal grains (e.g. corn, barley, wheat, etc.) oats have the most appropriate nutritional profile for horses. They are an excellent source of calories, and have a better protein and amino acid profile than many other grains.

What does grain do for horses?

Horses are fed grain to increase caloric intake.

Most grain provides one and a half times more energy per pound than hay. Grain feeds typically supply more protein than hay. Working horses perform well on a diet of 12 percent protein; however, for most horses, a minimum of eight percent protein is sufficient.

What do you feed a veteran horse?

Alfalfa, and other chaffs, may be easier to chew, and can be fed as full or partial hay/haylage replacers, whilst Baileys Everyday High Fibre Cubes and Fibre Plus Nuggets are also useful and can be softened with water or soaked sugarbeet pulp for easier consumption. Forage - The Long and the Short of it !

Do older horses need more protein?

Senior horses frequently struggle with a loss of muscle mass or poor topline. Horses with health issues that impact digestion often require additional protein sources to maintain optimal muscling and overall health.

What supplements do senior horses need?

Aged horses can benefit from the addition of a comprehensive omega-3 fatty acid, antioxidant, vitamin and trace mineral supplement that complements a forage-based diet and can help a senior horse to both meet all nutrient requirements and maintain a healthy level of inflammation.

At what age should you feed senior horse feed?

As a general rule, senior feeds usually become appropriate for horses when they reach the age of 15. That said, however, it's possible that a much younger horse with digestive and nutritional challenges will benefit from senior feed.

When should you feed a horse senior feed?

As a general rule, senior feed is appropriate for horses when they reach the age of 15.

Do horses need grain everyday?

For the average horse, this means 15 pounds of hay and five pounds of grain spread throughout the day; double that for the high performance horse. Pasture horses have very little need for extra calories from grain.

Which is better for horses whole oats or rolled oats?

Rolled oats have been completely flattened and are considered easier for horses to eat. Hulled oats have been removed from the husks and are the most nutritious option because everything you're feeding is pure oat seed. Crushed oats have had both the hull and the actual oat smashed into small particles.

Is barley or oats better for horses?

By weight, barley provides more digestible energy and total available nutrients than oats, but it doesn't quite reach the levels of corn. Many horse owners prefer barley over oats because the former is less likely to trigger “hot” behaviour.

Can you feed a horse just sweet feed?

Sweet feed is bad for horses—it's nothing but sugar.”

Can grain cause colic in horses?

Straight grains, like corn, barley, sweet feed or oats, can contribute to the onset of colic in horses. Bagged feeds, which have higher-fiber ingredients, are processed so they are gentler on equine digestive tracts.

Can I feed alfalfa pellets instead of grain?

It's especially helpful for a hard keeper because of its high palatability—horses love to eat it. Feeding alfalfa is an excellent alternative to feeding excessive amounts of grain at meals to get more calories into a horse's diet.

Are cubes better than hay?

The nutrient levels found in cubes tend to be more consistent than hay. Alfalfa cubes are sold with a guaranteed minimum nutrient content. Reduced dust. Cubes have little dust and are therefore a good alternative to hay for horses with certain respiratory problems.

Which is better alfalfa cubes or pellets?

There is no nutritional difference between alfalfa pellets and cubes, so the choice between the two is based on which type your horses prefer and which you prefer to feed and store. Alfalfa pellets, cubes, and hay provide the same essential nutrients per pound.

Can you feed a horse just hay pellets?

Horses often eat hay pellets faster than traditional hay because the smaller, ground particles are easy to chew and swallow. Hay pellets also do not provide any long-stem forage. However, for horses with poor teeth, soaking these pellets can still provide important fiber and nutrients.

How do you keep an old horse healthy?