Do you want to make sure that your horse has the best diet possible? If so then you need to follow this guide. If you do then you will soon find that it is easier for you to give your horse the boost that they need moving forward.

Provide fresh water

One of the first things you need to do is provide your horse with clean and fresh water at all times. Water is quite possibly one of the most important nutrients that your horse could hope to have in their diet. You should make sure that they have access to clean water at all times. Whether they are in a stable or even out in the field, you have to make sure that you are always giving them what they need.

Feed a little at a time

You also need to make sure that you are feeding your horse a small amount at a time. Horses are designed to eat very little and very often. Even though your horse may look big, you have to remember that their stomach is the size of a rugby ball. If they eat too much then they will struggle, so do not overwhelm them with food. YOu also have to remember that horses in general are flight animals. They are not at all designed to carry very large volumes of food and their stomach works best when it is around 75% full. If you can, you need to keep things like this in mind when the time comes for you to portion their meals.

Use good food

You have to make sure that you provide your horse with good-quality food where you can. You should check to see if the food contains any mold and you should also make sure that it doesn’t have any spores either. The main reason for this is that it will cause a great deal of issues later down the line. At the end of the day, you may also want to put your horse’s food in a rodent-proof tub. If you can do this then you will be able to keep it free from any contaminants. Little things like this can make a world of difference to your horse, so keep that in mind.

Feed to weight

It is also very important for you to feed your horse according to their body weight. It should go without saying that the nutritional requirements of a Shire horse are very different from those of a Shetland pony. Your horse’s nutritional needs are also very dependent on their body weight, so try and keep that in mind if you can. You will notice that the feeding rate on the bag is always shown in KG, so this should give you a good idea of what to expect and how to get the best result out of your horse’s diet in general.

Make changes gradually

If you intend on making any changes to your horse’s diet then you need to do so gradually. You need to know that microbes will exist in the stomach and it takes them a while to adjust to new changes. If you want to help your horse then do so by removing around a quarter of their food and then replacing it with the new product. You need to do this for four days. When you have done this, replace half of their food with the new food, for up to four days. If you can do this and keep going until you have transitioned 100%, it’ll help.

Avoid exercise

It’s also so important that you avoid exercising up to an hour after you have given your horse a meal based on cereals. Horses cannot digest cereals quickly so you need to make sure that you do not work them out after giving them hard feed. Little things like this are beneficial if you want to take good care of your horse and it also helps them in the long run. You may also find that it helps them to adjust. If you know that your horse likes to run after they have been given a meal then you can give them something fiber-based instead. If you do this then you will stop gastric acid from splashing about in their stomach and you can also help their stomach lining as well. This is a very small change but it will help them quite a lot so keep that in mind. Feeding your horse at the same time every day will also help them too, so try and keep that in mind as it could make a major difference to how they feel when they are out and about.

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