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Horse Feed

Each horse is different and does different amounts of activities during its days, depending on the age, sex, and size of your horse giving them the proper feed is essential to their health and alos to their survival.  A well fed and properly fed horse is a happy and long lived horse – many who can live past the age of 25 years, with it becoming more common that they live to see thirty years.  The nutrition of a horse is called “Equine Nutrition”.  Horses, by nature, are herbivore, and are a kind of non ruminant – meaning they are most definitely not like cows in their digestive system, and it is in fact similar to humans in that they only have a single stomach.  First off, horses are very sensitive in what they eat, so it is important that you get good food, and never give them anything that has been exposed to mold or other toxins.  A horse will usually eat solid feeds for part of their daily nutrition that they consume throughout the day – and there are three recognized categories.

Forages make up the first of horse feed, and is the most common seen when a horse eats, this is usually hay and grass, then there are concentrates that have pelleted rations or grains for an additional nutritional boost, supplements to help the horse stay healthy with minerals.  Many experts say that horses should have 50% of their food as forages, with the rest being split between the other types.  It is important that the horse have access to forages throughout the day, as that is how they would normally feed rather than eating one lump sum three times a day like humans or other carnivores.  Horses also like treats, such as carrots, sugar cubes, peppermint candies, apples, or horse cookies, which can be healthy for the horse and good for them, however it can be a risk of colic or choke, and kill the horse.  Generally though, carrots and apples are seen as healthy, and not a risk for choking – however human foods should be avoided at all times.  Never let your horse be fed bread, meats, processed sugars, chocolate, and most obviously alcohol.

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Posted in Horse Care | | 2 Comments

2 Responses to ' Horse Feed '

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  1. Willian Ferreira da Silva said,

    on January 18th, 2009 at 2:12 pm

    Tenho um cavalo de 4 anos, ele esta adoentado, falei com o veterinário, dei a medicação correta mas, a raçao q foi recomendada a introduzir em sua alimentaçao, ele esta com dificuldade de comer,gostaria de saber oq fazer, e se possivel outros alementos q possa adicionar a sua alimentaçao para que posso haver um melhora mais rapido.
    Ops, digo “doente” é q ele esta magro e fraco.
    Sem mais…
    Obrigado
    Aguardo resposta

  2. shenron said,

    on January 18th, 2009 at 7:49 pm

    First Suggestion – Try to find another Vet.
    Second Suggestion – Feed him like a baby for a week, and then start introducing new types of food for a month.
    It should work.

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