| A horse needs care 365 days of the year come rain | | | | horse the time to digest his food before exercising |
| or shine. Any horse whether young or retired should | | | | him(wait an hour or more) |
| be taken care of with respect. When you buy a horse | | | | One of the most important ways to avoid colic is to |
| consider who is going to take care of the horse. Are | | | | feed your horse regularly. Feed good quality fiber (hay), |
| you going to be the one to go out in the rain or snow | | | | make sure you open a bale and smell it before |
| to feed him and make sure he has water? If the | | | | offering it to your horse. If the hay smells moldy or |
| thought sends a chill through your bones, you may | | | | looks dusty do not feed it to your horse. Ingesting bad |
| want to board your horse at a facility, so someone | | | | hay can be fatal to animals. |
| else has the responsibility to care for your horse. | | | | On average most horses can consume three flakes |
| A horse/pony needs approximately 2.5% of its body | | | | of hay per day. When riding your horse only on |
| weight in food per day. Horse feed mainly consists of | | | | weekends or sporadically buy a food that is |
| hay(grass) and hard feed. Your horse should be fed | | | | non-heating and formulated for low energy. Few |
| according to his workload. A horse that has free | | | | pleasure horses need more than a cup of grain or |
| access to a field 24 hours a day and is seldom ridden | | | | horse feed several times a week. If your horse is |
| can maintain his weight with a small amount of hard | | | | looking pudgy you may need to cut back on his hay or |
| feed versus grass. Where as a horse which is stabled | | | | check with your veterinarian to make sure he is getting |
| most of the day and ridden daily will require more hard | | | | the correct quantity of hard feed (grain/pellets). |
| feed. | | | | If your horse competes in shows or you go on a lot of |
| Here are some feeding Tips:o Feed only good quality | | | | arduous trail rides, you will need to feed more grain or |
| hay and feed | | | | pellets. Talk to your veterinarian about how much grain |
| Store your feed away from water to prevent moldo | | | | your horse should have before you give him this type |
| Feed your horse plenty of fiber (bulk)o Provide a | | | | of feed on a daily basis. Professional advice can |
| constant supply of clean, fresh watero Make any | | | | prevent a very pudgy horse or a difficult horse to |
| feeding changes graduallyo Feed according to the age | | | | handle due to overfeeding. |
| of your horse and the amount of exercise he gets | | | | It is important to your horses performance and health |
| Overfeeding grain to a horse can lead to a serious | | | | that you know what to feed him and how to feed him. |
| case of gas colic and cause your horse to suffer | | | | Talk to your veterinarian about giving your horse |
| from severe abdominal paino Wash feeding mangers | | | | vitamin and mineral supplements to be sure all of his |
| and buckets regularlyo Horses should have three | | | | nutritional needs are being met. |
| meals a day instead of one large mealo Allow your | | | | |