How to Choose the Best Horse Feed: It’s All About Balance
By the High Horse Team
September 10th, 2024
Choosing the right feed for your horse is essential to their health and well-being. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to find the perfect balance of nutrients that meets your horse’s unique needs. Rather than just focusing on labels, the key is to assess your horse’s body condition, workload, and overall health to choose the right feed.
In this article, we’ll guide you through the considerations for selecting the ideal feed, including how to assess your horse’s body condition using the Australian Body Condition Score (BCS) system and how High Horse Performance feeds can provide the balanced nutrition your horse needs.
Assessing Your Horse’s Body Condition
Before making any changes to your horse’s feed, it’s crucial to evaluate their current body condition. In Australia, we use a Body Condition Score (BCS) system to assess fat coverage and general health. This system ranks horses on a scale from 0 (very poor) to 5 (very fat), helping you determine whether your horse is underweight, overweight, or in optimal condition.
Here’s a quick overview of the BCS system used in Victoria:
- 0 (Very Poor): Emaciated, with no fatty tissue, ribs, backbone, and pelvic bones easily visible.
- 1 (Poor): Bones visible, very little muscle covering. Ribs, spine, and hips are prominent.
- 2 (Moderate): Ribs visible but not protruding. The horse appears healthy with some fat cover.
- 3 (Good): Ribs can be felt but not seen. The horse has a good muscle tone and a rounded appearance.
- 4 (Fat): Difficult to feel ribs. Fat deposits around the tailhead, neck, and shoulders.
- 5 (Very Fat): Extremely overweight, with large fat deposits and a heavy crest on the neck.
Use this scoring system to determine whether your horse needs more calories to gain weight or a more controlled diet to shed excess fat. This will help you select the right type and quantity of feed.
For more details, you can refer to the full guide on condition scoring and weight estimation from Agriculture Victoria.
Matching Feed to Workload with High Horse Performance Feeds
A horse’s energy needs vary based on their workload. Horses in light work or those that are retired require less energy, while horses in full-time training or competing need more calories to sustain performance. High Horse Performance offers feeds that cater to a variety of workloads.
For Maintenance and Light Work: Everyday+
For horses in light work or those simply being maintained, Everyday+ is an excellent choice. It’s a balanced, grain-free feed that prioritises gut health and provides essential nutrition without excess energy. With a low sugar and starch content, Everyday+ is ideal for horses prone to metabolic issues or those that need to maintain a healthy weight. It’s designed to keep your horse in optimal condition without risking weight gain.
For Moderate to Heavy Work: Ultimate Daily+
If your horse is in moderate to heavy work, Ultimate Daily+ is a high-performance, complete feed designed to meet the demands of active horses. With a blend of highly digestible fibres, omega fatty acids, and essential vitamins and minerals, Ultimate Daily+ provides the energy, muscle support, and gut health benefits that working horses need. It’s perfect for horses in regular work, helping to sustain energy levels and support muscle recovery without the high sugar or grain content found in traditional performance feeds.
Whether your horse is lightly exercised or in intensive work, High Horse Performance feeds offer the right balance of nutrients to support their health and performance.
Understanding the Key Nutrients
When choosing a feed, it’s essential to consider the nutritional balance it provides. Horses require six key nutrients to thrive: water, protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Here’s how High Horse Performance feeds support these essential needs:
- Fibre: Horses are grazing animals, and fibre is the foundation of their diet. Everyday+ and Ultimate Daily+ both provide high-quality, fibre-rich ingredients like hеmр hulls and almond meal, which promote healthy digestion and gut function.
- Protein: Protein is crucial for muscle repair, particularly in growing horses or those in work. Ultimate Daily+ includes a balanced protein profile to help maintain muscle tone and support recovery.
- Fats: Fats offer a dense source of energy. Both Everyday+ and Ultimate Daily+ include healthy fats like omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which not only provide cool, sustained energy but also support coat condition and joint health.
- Carbohydrates: While carbohydrates provide quick-release energy, it’s essential to limit the intake of sugars and starches, especially for horses at risk of laminitis. High Horse Performance feeds are formulated with low sugar and starch levels, making them safe for metabolic and insulin-sensitive horses.
- Vitamins and Minerals: Balanced vitamins and minerals are necessary for bone health, immune function, and overall vitality. Both Everyday+ and Ultimate Daily+ are enriched with a complete vitamin and mineral mix to ensure your horse receives all the essential nutrients they need.
Tailored Feeds for Different Needs
Selecting the right feed depends on your horse’s individual requirements. High Horse Performance offers a range of feeds to suit various needs:
- Complete Feeds: Ultimate Daily+ is a complete feed that delivers balanced nutrition, eliminating the need for additional supplements. It’s perfect for performance horses or those needing extra energy and muscle support.
- Maintenance Feeds: Everyday+ is an ideal choice for horses in light work or those needing a balanced diet for maintenance. It provides all the necessary nutrients in a low-energy, grain-free formula.
- Supplements: For horses with specific deficiencies, High Horse Performance also offers targeted supplements to support gut health, joint care, and digestive function.
Adjusting Your Horse's Feed Over Time
A horse's feed needs to be regularly adjusted depending on changes in workload, age, and condition. Monitoring your horse’s BCS using the Australian system will help guide you in making these adjustments.
For instance, if your horse is moving from light work into more intense training, switching from Everyday+ to Ultimate Daily+ will provide the additional energy and protein needed to support performance and recovery. Likewise, older horses or those with dental issues may benefit from softer, easy-to-digest feeds, while horses in heavier work may need increased portions of Ultimate Daily+.
Seasonal Considerations
In Australia, pasture availability and quality can change dramatically between seasons. During dry spells or winter, when pasture is limited, your horse may require more fibre from hay or additional feed. Everyday+ provides a fibre-rich base for horses in lighter work, while Ultimate Daily+ can help meet the higher energy demands of working horses during these periods.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right horse feed is about finding balance. By assessing your horse’s body condition using the Australian BCS system and understanding their workload, you can tailor their diet to meet their specific needs. High Horse Performance feeds like Everyday+ and Ultimate Daily+ are designed to offer balanced nutrition, supporting your horse’s overall health and performance, no matter their activity level.
Regularly monitor your horse’s condition, consult with your vet or an equine nutritionist, and adjust their feed as needed. With High Horse Performance’s range of premium, Australian-made feeds, you can rest assured that your horse is receiving the highest-quality nutrition.
Author Bio:
The High Horse Team is committed to providing expert advice and premium equine nutrition products to horse owners across Australia. Visit High Horse Performance to explore our range of feeds and supplements, designed to support your horse’s health and well-being.
