Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most common mistake people make when feeding horses?

The most common mistake made is probably not feeding enough hay. Daily feeding recommendations for an inactive, mature horse are 0 to .5% of body weight of complete feed and 1.5 to 2% of body weight of forage, which is hay and pasture. For a 1000 lb horse this would be up to 5 lb of complete feed and 15 to 20 lb of forage per day.

The problem with pastures in Florida is that you need a minimum of 2-3 acres per horse to supply a majority of the forage needs, and this will only occur in spring and early summer, with drier and colder conditions usually preventing adequate pasture growth of bahia grass and bermuda grass for the rest of the year, and most horse owners don't overseed for winter pastures. So, most horses don't have enough pasture to meet their forage needs and must rely on hay.

Hay is difficult to weigh, and hay bales come in different sizes and weights. A typical flake or pad of hay will only weigh 2-3 lbs, so feeding one or two flakes of hay after providing some feed twice per day will not provide enough forage if there is inadequate pasture. The horse won't maintain weight and most people will assume they need to feed more grain.

The level of grain feeding may become so great that the horse can develop colic from starch overload in the hindgut. A good rule of thumb is to feed a minimum of 1% of the horse's body weight as hay, which would be 10 lb for a 1000 lb horse.