The guiding principle is simple:

Start with forage. Feed the individual. Add only what the horse actually needs.

That sounds straightforward.

In practice, horse nutrition is one of the clearest examples of why good feeding is not simply about choosing a product.

It is everyday management.

A horse is designed to eat differently from us

Humans often organise food around meals.

Breakfast.

Lunch.

Dinner.

The horse's digestive system evolved around a very different pattern: consuming relatively small amounts of fibrous forage repeatedly across much of the day.

World Horse Welfare describes the equine stomach as relatively small and adapted to “trickle feeding” rather than large meals, while the British Horse Society notes that horses may spend up to around 18 hours a day chewing when forage is appropriately available.

This matters because feeding a horse is not only about:

how many calories enter the animal in 24 hours.

It is also about:

what those calories come from, how they are distributed, and how closely management allows the horse to perform normal feeding behaviour.

That is why forage sits at the centre of horse nutrition.

Forage should form the foundation

Forage includes feeds such as:

pasture grass, hay and haylage, as well as other appropriate fibre sources used in particular feeding programmes.

For most horses, it should make up the majority of the diet.

Forage supplies energy and nutrients, supports normal gastrointestinal function and provides the prolonged chewing and feeding time that are important components of equine behaviour and welfare.

This creates the Academy's core horse-nutrition principle:

FORAGE FIRST.

Before asking:

“Which horse feed should I buy?”

ask:

“What forage is this horse already eating?”

That one question changes the entire feeding conversation.

How much forage does a horse need?

This is an area where generic internet rules need context.

Recommendations vary according to whether quantities refer to forage as fed or on a dry-matter basis, and according to the horse's weight, body condition, health and management.

The University of Minnesota Extension advises that most mature horses should receive at least about 1% of body weight in forage and ideally around 1.5–2.5%, while World Horse Welfare describes total daily intake for many horses in the region of 2–2.5% of body weight, with controlled programmes potentially lower for animals needing weight reduction.

Those figures are useful frameworks.

They should not become an automatic 1KAHU prescription.

A 500 kg horse should not simply generate:

“Feed exactly X kilograms.”

without knowing whether the input refers to:

fresh grass, dry hay, haylage, dry matter or total diet.

Haylage contains more water than hay, for example, so equal weights do not necessarily represent equal amounts of dry matter or nutrients. The British Horse Society specifically notes that haylage generally needs to be fed in greater as-fed quantities because of its higher moisture content.

The safer product principle is:

Record forage type + quantity + dry-matter context where known + body condition + professional recommendation.

Grass can provide a substantial amount of nutrition

A horse at pasture may obtain much or all of its energy requirement from grass.

But grass is not:

nutritionally constant.

Its composition changes with factors such as plant species, maturity, season, weather and pasture management.

And intake can be surprisingly substantial.

The British Horse Society notes research showing that some ponies with unrestricted pasture access may consume up to approximately 5% of body weight in grass on an as-fed basis over 24 hours.

This is why:

“My horse doesn't get much feed.”

can be misleading if the horse spends hours on productive pasture.

Grass is feed.

For horses that gain weight easily or have conditions such as equine metabolic syndrome or increased laminitis risk, pasture management can become a central part of nutritional management.

That may involve strategies such as controlled grazing, track systems or grazing muzzles, depending on the individual horse and professional advice.

For 1KAHU, pasture therefore cannot simply be recorded as:

Turnout: Yes.

Nutrition needs more context:

Pasture access: 8 hours

Season: Spring

Grazing management: Controlled

Body condition trend: Increasing

Now the information becomes useful.

Hay and haylage are not nutritionally identical

When pasture is insufficient, unavailable or intentionally restricted, conserved forage becomes particularly important.

Hay is grass or another forage that has been dried before storage.

Haylage is preserved at a higher moisture content under low-oxygen conditions.

Both can be appropriate feeds.

But neither has a fixed nutritional value.

Two bales that look similar can differ considerably in:

energy, protein, sugar, fibre, minerals and dry matter.

That is why forage analysis can be extremely valuable, especially when nutrition needs to be managed precisely.

The University of Minnesota recommends forage analysis to understand what a horse is actually receiving, while the British Horse Society similarly notes that hay can be analysed for nutritional composition, including sugar.

This changes the feeding question from:

“Is this good hay?”

to:

“Is this forage appropriate for this horse?”

Those are not always the same thing.

Good-quality forage is not necessarily high-calorie forage

A horse who struggles to maintain weight may benefit from more nutrient-dense forage.

An overweight native pony may need something quite different.

“Good quality” therefore should not automatically mean:

richest possible forage.

It should mean forage that is:

hygienically sound and nutritionally appropriate for the animal receiving it.

Mouldy, contaminated or spoiled forage should not be fed.

And when forage composition matters clinically — for example in a horse with obesity, insulin dysregulation or laminitis risk — analysis and professional nutritional guidance can become especially important.

Does every horse need concentrate feed?

No.

This is one of the most useful concepts for new horse guardians to understand.

A healthy horse in maintenance or light work may be able to maintain appropriate body condition largely on suitable forage, with vitamins and minerals balanced where necessary.

Concentrates are additional, relatively energy-dense feeds that may include cereals or commercially formulated mixes, cubes or pellets.

The British Horse Society notes that these feeds are commonly more relevant for horses in moderate or hard work, horses that need to gain weight or those that struggle to maintain condition.

World Horse Welfare recommends meeting increased energy requirements through better or greater forage where practical before automatically adding concentrates.

So:

Horse ownership does not automatically require a bucket of grain twice a day.

The feeding plan should follow the horse's needs.

Not tradition.

When additional feed may be useful

Some horses cannot meet all of their nutritional requirements from forage alone.

This can include certain:

growing horses, pregnant or lactating mares, performance horses, older horses, horses with poor dentition, underweight horses or animals with particular medical conditions.

The solution will not necessarily be the same for each.

One horse may need:

additional calories.

Another may maintain weight perfectly but require:

specific vitamins, minerals or protein.

Another may need:

a completely modified diet because chewing long-stem forage has become difficult.

This is why “needs more feed” is too vague to be useful.

The better question is:

What nutritional requirement is not currently being met?

What is a feed balancer?

A horse can maintain weight on forage and still have gaps in its overall nutrient supply.

A balancer is a concentrated feed designed to provide protein, vitamins and minerals without supplying the same amount of energy as a conventional compound feed.

The British Horse Society notes that balancers can be particularly useful for horses that do not require additional calories but still need their vitamin and mineral intake balanced.

But even here, the word:

balancer

does not mean:

automatically appropriate for every horse.

The existing forage and total ration still matter.

If forage analysis is available, the supplementation strategy can be considerably more precise.

Supplements should solve a defined problem

Horse nutrition has an enormous supplement market.

Joint supplements.

Electrolytes.

Hoof supplements.

Digestive products.

Vitamins.

Minerals.

Herbal mixtures.

The existence of these products does not mean every horse needs them.

The British Horse Society recommends seeking guidance from a veterinarian or nutrition professional when supplements are being used to address nutritional deficiencies.

A useful rule for 1KAHU is:

Every supplement should have a reason.

The horse's profile should therefore record not only:

Supplement: Product X

but:

Reason: [why it is being used]

Recommended by: [guardian / veterinarian / nutrition professional / other]

Started: [date]

Dose: [recorded instruction]

Review: [date/status]

That is far more useful than a shopping list of tubs.

Water is the most important nutrient

Horse nutrition discussions often focus on:

hay, grain and supplements.

But water is fundamental.

Horses should have reliable access to clean, fresh water. Requirements vary significantly according to factors including:

temperature, humidity, workload, sweating, diet and reproductive status.

University of Minnesota guidance notes that many approximately 450 kg/1,000 lb horses may consume around 10–12 US gallons — roughly 38–45 litres — per day under ordinary conditions, with requirements increasing substantially during work or hot weather.

That number should not become a universal daily target.

The important principle is:

Water needs change. Access should not.

A horse eating dry hay may drink differently from one consuming moisture-rich pasture.

A lactating mare differs from a sedentary companion horse.

A horse working in hot, humid conditions can lose substantial fluid through sweat.

So 1KAHU should understand hydration as:

context, not a single fixed number.

Salt and electrolytes are related — but not identical

Horses lose electrolytes in sweat.

As workload and sweating increase, replacement needs may change.

But:

salt

and:

commercial electrolyte supplement

should not be treated as interchangeable terms, nor should every horse automatically receive the same electrolyte product and dose.

The appropriate strategy depends on:

diet, workload, sweat loss, environment and health.

For horses in substantial work, endurance activity, hot climates or other circumstances involving significant sweat loss, an equine veterinarian or qualified nutrition professional can help determine an appropriate plan.

AI Guardian should therefore avoid generating electrolyte doses based solely on:

“Today's temperature is high.”

It can identify context and prompt review.

It should not independently prescribe.

Body weight tells you part of the story

A horse's feeding plan should not be judged only by what enters the feed bucket.

The horse itself provides important evidence.

Body weight — measured directly where possible or estimated consistently — can help track whether the feeding programme is supporting:

gain, maintenance or loss.

But weight alone is incomplete.

A 520 kg horse may be:

appropriately conditioned, carrying excess fat, or heavily muscled.

That is why body condition scoring is also valuable.

University of Minnesota describes the commonly used Henneke system, which scores body condition from 1 to 9 based on fat deposition at several anatomical locations. A range around 4–6 is commonly appropriate for many horses, although the desired condition depends on the individual and context.

The important word is:

trend.

WEIGHT + BODY CONDITION + WORKLOAD + DIET

tell a better story together than any one measure alone.

Do not confuse body condition with muscle condition

This distinction becomes particularly important in older and performance horses.

Body condition scoring primarily evaluates:

fat cover.

It does not directly tell you:

how much muscle the horse has.

A horse can have adequate or excessive fat while simultaneously losing topline muscle.

So 1KAHU should eventually distinguish:

Weight

from:

Body Condition

from:

Muscle Condition

These are related.

They are not synonymous.

A photograph that appears to show a horse:

“looking fine”

cannot replace systematic assessment.

Overweight horses still need forage

Weight management is one of the areas where simple feeding rules can become dangerous.

If a horse is overweight, the answer should not be:

“Remove the hay.”

Forage remains important for gastrointestinal health and normal feeding behaviour.

Instead, weight-loss programmes may involve strategies such as:

lower-energy forage, controlled forage quantities, pasture management, slow-feeding systems and appropriate exercise, depending on the horse's health.

World Horse Welfare recommends making adjustments to concentrate feed before unnecessarily reducing forage and emphasises the importance of maintaining forage opportunities.

The British Horse Society similarly discusses slow feeders and lower-calorie forage options when unrestricted forage would provide excessive calories.

Weight reduction should be:

planned, not achieved through indiscriminate starvation.

For horses with obesity, equine metabolic syndrome, previous laminitis or other relevant conditions, veterinary involvement is particularly important.

Underweight horses need investigation, not just more calories

The opposite problem deserves equal care.

If a horse is losing weight, the immediate instinct may be:

Feed more.

Sometimes additional nutrition is needed.

But unexplained weight loss can also reflect problems such as:

dental disease, parasites, chronic illness, pain, inadequate access to food, poor forage quality or competition within a group.

University of Minnesota recommends investigating why a horse is underweight with an equine veterinarian and nutrition professional before simply constructing a weight-gain programme.

This gives us an important Academy principle:

Weight loss is a finding, not a feeding diagnosis.

Dental care is part of nutrition

A nutritionally excellent ration is not useful if the horse cannot chew it effectively.

Dental problems can reduce a horse's ability to process long-stem forage and may contribute to:

quidding or dropping partially chewed food, slow eating, weight loss or altered food preferences.

University of Minnesota includes routine dental care among its core principles for feeding mature horses.

This becomes particularly relevant in older horses.

A senior horse's nutrition plan may need to change not simply because:

“senior horses need senior feed,”

but because the individual horse's:

dentition, body condition, digestive function, health and ability to consume forage

have changed.

Age alone should not prescribe the diet.

Workload changes nutritional requirements

A companion horse living largely at maintenance has different energy demands from:

an event horse, racehorse, endurance horse or working equid.

As workload increases, calorie and nutrient requirements can rise.

But the first response should not automatically be:

add more grain.

World Horse Welfare recommends first assessing whether increased needs can be met through appropriate high-quality forage before adding concentrates.

If additional concentrated energy is required, the type, quantity and meal distribution matter.

Large starch-rich meals can create digestive and metabolic risks.

University of Minnesota recommends limiting cereal grain per meal, while World Horse Welfare emphasises splitting concentrate feeding into small meals rather than giving large quantities at once.

The nutritional objective is not:

maximum energy.

It is:

enough appropriate energy to support the horse's work while protecting health.

Feed changes should be gradual

The horse's hindgut contains a complex microbial population involved in fermenting fibre.

That ecosystem adapts to the diet.

Sudden feed changes can disrupt it.

For this reason, changes to forage or concentrate feed should generally be introduced gradually.

The British Horse Society suggests making changes over approximately 10–14 days, while World Horse Welfare similarly emphasises gradual transitions because the large-intestinal microbial population needs time to adapt.

The exact transition will depend on:

what is changing and why.

A routine switch between feeds is different from a change required because a horse is ill.

But the general principle is:

Do not change the horse's diet abruptly without a good reason.

And remember that a:

pasture change

is also a:

diet change.

Moving from sparse winter turnout to lush spring grass can be nutritionally significant even if no feed bag changes.

Feeding routine matters

Horses tend to benefit from consistency.

That includes:

when food is provided, what food is provided and how access to forage is managed.

But routine should not be confused with:

two large meals at exactly 07:00 and 17:00.

The deeper biological goal is to avoid unnecessarily long periods without forage and to distribute any necessary concentrate feeding appropriately.

European equine welfare guidance notes that under natural conditions horses generally do not experience long periods without eating and cautions against extended forage-free periods because of potential health and behavioural consequences.

This is particularly important for stabled horses.

A horse can technically receive:

the correct kilograms of hay per day

while still spending:

many hours with nothing left to eat.

Total quantity and feeding pattern both matter.

Group feeding changes what “offered” means

Imagine two horses sharing forage.

You provide enough hay for both.

Technically:

ration supplied ✓

But one dominant horse consumes more.

The subordinate horse repeatedly moves away.

The feeding record says:

adequate forage provided.

The individual horse may still receive:

inadequate access.

This is why nutrition cannot be separated from management.

In group environments, guardians need to consider:

competition, number and spacing of feeding locations, individual body condition and whether each horse actually has sufficient opportunity to eat.

For 1KAHU, this creates another useful distinction:

FOOD PROVIDED TO GROUP ≠ FOOD ACCESSIBLE TO INDIVIDUAL HORSE

Seasonal changes belong in the nutrition record

A horse's feeding plan may change dramatically across the year.

Spring pasture arrives.

Workload increases.

The horse moves yards.

Hay supplier changes.

Winter turnout decreases.

A grazing muzzle is introduced.

The horse is retired from competition.

All of these can change:

energy intake or nutritional requirements.

That means a useful horse nutrition record should not only store:

Current feed

but also:

what changed, when it changed and what happened afterwards.

For example:

March 12 — turnout increased

March 28 — weight +8 kg

April 10 — body condition increased

April 12 — grazing management reviewed

That longitudinal relationship is far more valuable than a static feed list.

Key Facts

A horse's diet should generally be forage-based, using appropriate grass, hay, haylage or other fibre sources as its foundation.

Fresh, clean water should be reliably available, with requirements increasing according to factors such as heat, workload, diet and lactation.

Not every horse needs concentrate feed. Many horses in maintenance or light work can meet much of their energy requirement from suitable forage.

Forage quantity should be interpreted according to body weight, dry matter, forage type, body condition and individual health, rather than a universal kilogram target.

Weight and body condition should be monitored together, and muscle condition may add further useful context.

Dietary changes — including significant pasture changes — should generally be introduced gradually.

Overweight horses still need appropriate forage and should not be managed through indiscriminate food restriction.

Unexplained weight loss should prompt investigation rather than simply increasing calories.

Concentrates, balancers and supplements should be used to meet a defined nutritional need, not simply because horses are conventionally fed them.

Dental health, workload, pasture access, season, group competition and feeding pattern all influence whether the diet works in practice.

When to Contact a Veterinarian

Nutrition should be reviewed with an equine veterinarian when a horse has unexplained weight loss or gain, difficulty chewing, recurrent quidding, persistent appetite changes, recurrent digestive problems, suspected nutritional deficiency, or a medical condition that may require dietary management.

Professional guidance is particularly important for horses with laminitis or increased laminitis risk, equine metabolic syndrome, significant obesity, severe underweight condition, dental disease, chronic gastrointestinal disease, pregnancy or lactation, substantial performance demands or difficulty maintaining appropriate condition despite an apparently adequate ration.

Seek urgent veterinary attention for signs consistent with possible colic, including persistent pawing, flank watching, repeated lying down or rolling, unexplained sweating, abdominal discomfort or marked reduction in appetite, particularly when accompanied by reduced manure production or deterioration.

A horse that suddenly stops eating also deserves prompt attention.

The important distinction is:

1KAHU can identify a change in feeding, drinking, weight or manure. It cannot determine the cause of colic, laminitis, weight loss or another medical condition.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should make up most of a horse's diet?

For most horses, suitable forage such as pasture, hay or haylage should provide the nutritional foundation. The exact forage and amount depend on body weight, condition, workload, health and forage composition.

How much hay should a horse eat?

There is no single universal amount. Common guidance places forage intake for many mature horses in the broad range of roughly 1.5–2.5% of body weight per day, depending on the horse and how quantities are expressed. Dry matter, forage moisture and individual health matter, so percentages should be treated as starting frameworks rather than automatic prescriptions.

Does every horse need grain or concentrate feed?

No. Many horses can maintain appropriate condition largely on suitable forage, with nutritional balancing where necessary. Concentrated feed becomes useful when forage alone cannot appropriately meet the horse's requirements.

What is a feed balancer?

A balancer is a concentrated source of nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals designed to complement the rest of the ration without necessarily providing large amounts of additional energy. Whether one is needed depends on the total diet.

How do I know if I am feeding the right amount?

Monitor the horse rather than relying only on the feed bag. Body weight, body condition, muscle condition, workload, energy level, forage quality and health all help determine whether the feeding programme is appropriate.

Should horses have constant access to forage?

Horses are adapted to eat fibrous food across much of the day, so unnecessarily long forage-free periods should generally be avoided. Unrestricted forage may not be appropriate for every horse, particularly those requiring calorie control, but feeding systems can be designed to extend eating time while controlling intake.

How quickly can I change my horse's feed?

Routine dietary changes should generally be gradual. The British Horse Society recommends transitioning over approximately 10–14 days where practical, allowing the digestive system and hindgut microbial population to adapt.

Is grass enough for a horse?

Sometimes it may provide sufficient energy, but that does not automatically mean every nutrient requirement is optimally met. Pasture composition varies substantially, and needs differ with workload, growth, reproduction and health. The total ration should therefore be considered rather than assuming either that grass is always sufficient or always inadequate.