Natural is best.A horse’s stomach can only hold 2-4 gallons of

food at a time, and it takes about 30 minutes to get from there to the small intestine…

SOHow do you think this will effect how you feed?

A human’s stomach can hold up to 4 liters or 1 gallon

What's important?FatProteinEnergy (carbohydrates)Vitamins and mineralsFiberPlenty of fresh water

General requirementsFat: 8-12%Protein: 8-14%Carbohydrates: 30%Fiber: 50%6-8 gallons of water a day/1000 lb horse

Who needs what?For idle horses or horses in light work (maintenance)

generally all of the nutritional requirements can be met with good quality hay and/or pasture.

Animals who may need to have grain/pellets supplemented:

-Moderate->hard work-Young growing horses-Broodmares in the last trimester-Lactating broodmares

General feeding rulesHorses need 1-3% of their body weight in food

daily.Of that, 50% should come from foragesAssuming the hay is good quality, a horse

should eat 1 lb of hay for every 100 lbs of body weight

Pasture time is always a positive, helps the horse’s digestive tract as closer to how it would in the wild.

If that is not an option, small meals through out the day is best

What is a forage?Forage is a plant material (mainly plant

leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animal directly from the ground, but it is used more loosely to include similar plant cuts for fodder and carried to the animals, especially as hay or silage. Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock

General rules con’tDon’t work your horse right after eating, give

him at least an hour.Don’t feed right after work, give him at least a

half hour.However, it is fine to work a horse that has been

out eating in the pasture.Watch how your horse eats. Observe.Why do you think this is?

Hay AnalysisWhen you get an analysis back, there will be 2

columns of information, one ‘As Sampled’ and ‘Dry Matter.

As Sampled= in its natural state, with water included.

Dry Matter= nutrients with the water removed

Either can be used for balancing, but its very important to stay consistent and use the same one always!

Key termsMoisture: Optimum between 10-17%Lower can be too dry, making it brittle and dusty.

Over makes mold more likely. Over 25% is a fire hazard

Dry Matter: How much of the sample is left after the water (moisture) is removed.

Crude Protein: A measure of the protein concentration of the hay. CP can range from 8-14% in grass hays, 14-17 % in mixed hays and 15- >20% in legume hays.

Key terms con’tAcid Detergent Fiber (ADF): composed of

cellulose, lignin and other poorly digested components. The lower the ADF value, the more digestible the nutrients in the hay are. 30-35% are normal, above 45% is of little nutritional value.

Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF): Measures the insoluble fibers (including hemicellulose, cellulose, ligno-cellulose and lignin) These are classified as cell walls or structural carbohydrates, they give the plant structure. Higher the NDF, the less the horse will consume. Between 40-50 are fine, above 65 will not be palatable.

Relative Feed Value (RFV)Used for selecting dairy hayScore of 100 is normalThe higher the score the betterNot generally used when balancing a horse’s

ration but still a good indicator of high quality hay

Key Terms con’tFat (Crude fat): A measurement of fat content.

Fat is an energy dense nutrient and contains about 2.5 times the energy found in carbohydrates. Fats are added to boost energy levels.

Non-fiber Carbohydrate (NFC): a mathematical estimate of starches and sugars. Not also dead on but good indicator of the levels of starches and sugars.

Key terms con’tEquine Digestible energy (DE): Measure of

the digestible energy in the hay. Used to balance the energy portion of a diet. Light working horse; 20 Mcal/day. Most hays range from 0.76 to 0.92 Mcal/lb of DE

Equine Total Digestible Nutrients (Equine TDN): This is a measure of the total digestible nutrients in the hay OR its energy value; it may be used in the place of DE or in addition to DE. Can range from 40-55%

Reading a forage analysisUsing the terms you have just learned, write a

paragraph about the sample analysis you have been assigned. This paragraph will be expanded next class when we learn more of how to translate an analysis.