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Most horsemen rely on both forage and concentrates to fuel the performance and breeding goals of the horses and ponies in their care. Forage requirements are easily met, especially if horses are allowed free-choice access to good-quality pasture or hay most of any day. How much concentrate to offer can be a trickier question, especially if a horse owner is unaccustomed to weighing feed.

“To ensure horses are receiving proper nutrition, carefully read the feeding directions provided by the manufacturer,” advised Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., nutrition advisor at Kentucky Equine Research (KER). “Required by most regulatory agencies, feeding directions provide a sound jumping-off point for the proper use of any product. Recommendations are typically provided as a total weight per day.”

To get an accurate idea of how much of any product to feed, it is necessary to weigh a filled scoop, and then subtract the weight of the empty scoop. Horse owners sometimes speak in volumetric slang—“My fat gelding only gets a quarter scoop of pellets at each feeding,” or “Give Belle one and a half coffee cans of sweet feed twice a day.” This is commonplace the world over, but it’s imprecise. What size scoop does the gelding’s owner have—a one-quart scoop or a larger one? What kind of coffee can does Belle’s caretaker use as a feed dipper? Because of the inconsistencies that inexact verbiage may produce in managing horses, it is always best to speak in terms of weight.

Feed form will affect the weight of feedstuffs. Check out the differences in these one-quart weights of common feedstuffs—some are much lighter than others!

FeedstuffPounds per quart
Beet pulp, dry0.43
Corn, cracked1.25
Hay cubes1.13
Oats, steam-crimped1.0
Pellets, 1/2-inch1.0
Pellets, 1/8-inch1.13
Textured feed1.0
Wheat bran0.46

Feeding at least the minimum recommended by the manufacturer ensures the horse consumes the daily recommended requirement of many important nutrients, including several vitamins and minerals. Feeding within the recommended range allows horsemen to adjust energy consumption, said Whitehouse.

“If a horse becomes too heavy on the minimum amount of feed recommended by the manufacturer or too lean on the maximum amount suggested, a different product is probably in the best interest of the individual horse,” explained Whitehouse.

For heavy horses, this might mean a switch to a balancer pellet, which is a concentrated source of protein, vitamins, and minerals, or a well-formulated supplement such as Micro-Max. For lean horses or hard keepers, this could indicate that a high-fat formulation is necessary to help achieve weight gain. For horse owners in Australia, choose Gold Pellet or Perform.

Feeding by weight according to the manufacturer’s suggestions will help provide horses with optimal nutrition. Break out a scale and weigh your horse’s meals. You might be surprised how much you’re actually feeding!

Do you have a question about your horse’s diet? A nutrition advisor at Kentucky Equine Research (KER) is ready to help you. Contact us today!

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