Hay IS for Horses

Q. What type of feeding program do you use with your horses that are showing all the time? Or what do you suggest?

Thank you,
Heidi

A. Heidi, in answer to your question about feed, the most important part of a successful feeding program is to have good hay. If you have a good alfalfa or alfalfa mix, in the long run you can actually save money on your grain bill, because with good hay, you can feed less grain. With high quality hay, it’s also easier to get a good bloom, or healthy, shiny, hair coat on your horses. Our horses get a couple flakes of hay 3 times a day. If there is a horse that could use a little extra weight, we’ll make sure it always has hay in front of him. Sometimes we will hang a hay bag with a bale of hay so the horse always has access to hay and doesn’t make a mess of his stall. This is OK to do as long as it’s not a straight alfalfa that’s too rich. My horses are on a special horse mix that our farm had formulated by the grain company but it has a similar composition to many performance pelleted feeds. The horses generally get a standard size grain scoop twice daily.  We add supplements if necessary based on individual needs. What I most often supplement into the feeding program is something for joint health and hair coat although as I said, a healthy haircoat is a result of good feed and good care.

Thanks,

Troy