What Do Horses Eat? A Practical Guide to Forage and Feeding
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By Dr Duncan Houston
A horse's diet starts with grass or suitable conserved forage, usually hay. The difficult part is deciding whether that forage supplies the right amount of energy and nutrients for the horse standing in front of you.
A pony gaining weight on pasture, a mare producing milk and an older horse struggling to chew need different feeding plans. A bigger bucket is not always the answer, and a horse losing weight deserves more than a change of feed.
Quick Answer
Horses mainly eat forage, such as pasture grass and hay, supported by clean water, salt and a balanced supply of protein, vitamins and minerals. Extra feed is needed when forage cannot meet the individual horse's requirements. Choose the ration using body weight, body condition, workload, life stage and medical needs, then make routine changes gradually.
What should make up a horse's diet?
Horses are herbivores whose hindgut microbes break down plant fibre. Forage provides energy and chewing time, so feeding management should spread access across the day and night. The Rutgers overview of equine nutrition explains this digestive system and the nutrients horses need.
- Grass and grass hay: pasture and hays such as timothy or orchard grass can form the foundation of a ration. Their nutritional content varies with growing conditions and harvest.
- Lucerne or alfalfa: this legume generally supplies more protein and calcium than grass forage. It can be useful within a balanced ration, but is not automatically required because a horse is old or working.
- Additional feeds: suitable fortified feeds, fibre ingredients or fat can fill specific gaps. Plain oats, barley and maize are not balanced diets on their own.
- Water and salt: provide reliable access and check that every horse can reach them. Water needs increase with sweating, hot weather and milk production.
How much hay does a horse need?
Start with body weight and the entire ration, including grazing. The University of Minnesota's mature-horse feeding guidance gives a general forage range of 1.5 to 2.5% of body weight daily, while emphasising individual adjustment. This is a starting framework, not a weight-loss prescription.
Check whether your feeding plan uses dry matter or the weight actually fed. Dry matter means the feed after its water content is excluded. For example, if a 500 kg horse's calculated plan calls for 2% of body weight as forage dry matter, that is 10 kg of dry matter. Hay containing 90% dry matter would supply that in approximately 11.1 kg of hay. Fresh grass contains much more water, so the same weighed amount is not equivalent.
Weigh hay and bucket feeds instead of relying on flakes or scoops. Account for wasted hay and forage left uneaten. Where grazing intake is difficult to estimate, changes in weight and body condition help show whether the plan needs adjusting.
Do all horses need grain or supplements?
No. A healthy adult doing little work may obtain enough energy from forage. A horse in harder work, late pregnancy or lactation may need additional nutrients. Feed labels matter: a fortified feed supplies its intended nutrients only when used at the appropriate amount. A ration balancer can sometimes supply missing nutrients without a large calorie allowance.
Ask an equine nutritionist or veterinarian to assess the forage and the whole ration before adding several supplements. A salt block alone does not demonstrate that every mineral requirement is met. Match additional feed to a documented need, rather than choosing a protein percentage or a breed label in isolation.
Use body condition to guide feeding decisions
Assess fat cover with your hands as well as your eyes, especially under a winter coat. Check the ribs, neck, withers, shoulder, back and tailhead. A weight tape helps track trends but does not directly measure body fat. Rutgers guidance on horses that gain weight easily describes useful signs of excess fat, including ribs that are difficult to feel and a thick neck crest.
| What you notice | What it may mean | Action and timing |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable eating, stable weight and appropriate fat cover | The current energy allowance may be suitable | Keep a monthly weight and condition record; review when work or forage changes |
| Increasing fat cover or a prominent neck crest | Excess energy intake; possible insulin dysregulation | Arrange a planned veterinary and ration review before substantially restricting food |
| Weight loss, dropped mouthfuls or difficulty chewing | Insufficient intake, dental disease or another health problem | Book a prompt examination; contact the vet that day if appetite has suddenly fallen |
| Repeated rolling, painful movement or feed coming from the nostrils | Possible colic, laminitis or choke | Call an equine veterinarian immediately |
Which horses need a different feeding plan?
Overweight horses and ponies: reduce excess calories while preserving suitable fibre intake and feeding time. Never use starvation as a weight-loss method. A dry turnout area with measured forage may help; a grazing muzzle needs an individual fitting and monitoring plan.
Horses with insulin dysregulation or previous laminitis: pasture access and forage sugar and starch need particular attention. Hay analysis is more useful than appearance. Soaking can reduce soluble sugars, but its effect varies and other nutrients are lost too. Shorter grazing hours alone may not adequately limit intake. The ECEIM consensus on equine metabolic syndrome supports individual dietary control and follow-up testing. Weight loss does not by itself prove that insulin regulation has normalised.
Older horses with poor teeth: the texture and ease of eating can matter as much as calories. A suitable complete feed designed to replace forage may be needed if hay cannot be chewed effectively. Follow its feeding and soaking directions. Not every product labelled “senior” can replace hay. The University of Minnesota's senior-horse advice links diet changes with dental and physical examinations.
Growing horses and breeding mares: energy, amino acids and mineral balance must support development without simply encouraging rapid weight gain. Horses with kidney, liver or other diagnosed disease need a condition-specific ration.
Why might a horse lose weight despite being fed?
Check what the horse actually eats. Poor forage, wastage or another horse guarding the feeding area can reduce intake. Dental pain may prevent effective chewing, even when the horse approaches food eagerly.
Persistent weight loss can also involve parasites, chronic pain, digestive disease or hormonal illness such as pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, also called PPID. A veterinarian uses the history and examination to choose appropriate dental assessment, faecal testing or blood tests. Poor coat quality or a change in behaviour alone cannot identify a particular nutrient deficiency.
When is a feeding problem an emergency?
Call your equine veterinarian immediately for repeated rolling, flank watching or other signs of abdominal pain; sudden reluctance to move with painful feet; or suspected access to a large quantity of grain. Do not wait for a feed change to solve these problems. Colic has several causes, including intestinal obstruction, and cannot be judged from diet history alone.
For suspected colic, remove feed while obtaining instructions and keep yourself safe around a distressed horse. Do not force exercise or give oil, painkillers or other treatments without veterinary direction. The University of Minnesota's colic guidance explains the signs and veterinary assessment.
Coughing with saliva or food coming from the nostrils may indicate choke, an obstruction of the food pipe. Remove both feed and water and call the vet. Do not try to flush the blockage yourself. Food can enter the lungs, as explained in the MSD Veterinary Manual's advice on equine choke.
A practical feeding plan
- Record the starting point: weight estimate, body condition, daily work, health history and everything offered, including pasture and treats.
- Assess the forage: check each batch for contamination and arrange nutritional analysis when balancing the ration, especially for a horse with medical needs.
- Make routine changes gradually: replace a portion of the old feed with the new over at least a week, allowing longer when advised. Include changes between hay batches and turnout systems.
- Observe daily: note appetite, chewing, water access, manure and comfort. Divide necessary concentrates into small meals and organise forage access across the full day.
- Review the response: record weight and condition monthly in a stable adult, or more often under a weight-management plan. Escalate appetite changes or unexplained weight loss instead of repeatedly adding feed.
Common feeding mistakes
- Assuming unlimited rich pasture suits every horse.
- Treating an underweight horse and an overweight horse with insulin dysregulation as the same nutritional problem.
- Replacing forage with large grain meals or adding oil when extra calories are unnecessary.
- Using digestive supplements to compensate for an unsuitable ration.
- Ignoring difficulty chewing because the horse still seems hungry.
Support health beyond the feed bucket
Keep feed storage secure and dry, provide clean water, and arrange dental care and parasite control with your veterinarian. Give horses safe movement, suitable companionship and enough opportunities to forage. Reduce competition by spacing feeding areas or separating horses when necessary.
Build exercise gradually to suit fitness and soundness. Introduce changes in handling, surroundings and routine calmly. A horse that needs restricted pasture still needs social contact and meaningful activity; prolonged isolation should not become the default weight-control plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can horses live on grass and hay alone?
Some obtain enough energy and protein from suitable forage, but water, salt and any missing vitamins or minerals still need to be supplied. Forage analysis helps identify gaps.
Is alfalfa safe for horses?
It can be a useful part of a balanced ration. Its protein, calcium and energy contribution must fit the horse's needs and the rest of the diet.
Should an overweight horse stop eating hay?
No. Weight control needs a measured, nutritionally balanced forage plan. Ask your vet to set the allowance and monitor progress.
Does soaking hay make it safe for a laminitis-prone horse?
Not automatically. Sugar removal varies, and soaking changes other nutrients. Use forage testing and veterinary advice to choose an appropriate plan.
Does every older horse need senior feed?
No. Base the decision on body condition, chewing ability and health. A horse maintaining condition on its current balanced ration may not need a change.
Feed the individual horse
The right ration supplies suitable forage and nutrients while maintaining healthy body condition and comfortable eating. Measure what you can, watch your horse's response and investigate unexpected changes early.
For support understanding your horse's feeding questions, ASK A VET™ offers a place to start. Work with your equine veterinarian on medical diets and contact them directly when urgent signs appear.
