Today's post will be about simple horse nutrition, we will get into some more complex things later. This is just basic stuff. So, right off the bat, horses need: protein, startch, forage or roughage (i.e. grass, or alfalfa), water, minerals, fats, fiber, grain (about 0.5% of the horses body weirght per feeding), and hay (should be no more that 2% of the horse's body weight per day).
Now, for the grains, there are several types of grains, each with a various amounts of startch, fiber, fats, and protein. First of all, there are oats which are more balanced and it has low starch, high fiber, high protein, and high fats. Next is corn, which is very fattening, it contains high starch, low fiber, low protein, and high fats. Then there is wheat. Wheat has limited nutrition, with high starch, low fiber, high protein, and low fats. Also, we have Barely which has lower energy. It contains very high starch, low fiber, very high protein, and low fats.
Now for the hay. Hay in general is a good source of phosphorus, protein, and calcium. Alfalfa, by itself, is high in protein. grass by itself is low in starch and carbohydrates. When feeding your horse you should make sure that the hay is green, mold, bug, and dust free, and fairly leafy.
Next time i will be talking about supplements and what supplements can be used for what. until next time. :)
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