Will my new horse need grain?

Question

I am 13 and getting a horse soon, but was stumped on weather or not to feed him grain. He will be in lessons/fun rides about three times a week. On Saturdays he will either be fox hunting, in an eventing show, or in a jumper show. I jump 2'6"-4', and ride pretty hard.

I know some people who feed their horses grain, and some who don't. We have pretty lush grass in the warmer months, and they would have access to quality hay when needed.

How much would grain help him?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Ask his current owners what they are feeding him and then you'll know.

My horse only does hacking up and down the trails, and she gets a half can of food a day.

Answer 2

I would definitely recommend adding grain to his daily ration, as an Eventing connoisseur and jumper myself. Plus, grain would help him A LOT. It gives them extra protein, fiber, fat, and energy so that they can maintain their normal and healthy body weight while having the extra energy to be exercised and enjoyed by you!

Hay and good quality grass are very important parts of the horse's diet, but sometimes they need a little extra nutrition. Actually, it is very important for horses to have MORE roughage (hay & grass) than grain/concentrates, because their digestive systems are not made to handle a large amount of grain.

I'd suggest talking to your veterinarian (or any horse veterinarian) and see what kind of grain they would recommend.

Another thing to look into is making sure the horse is completely healthy, and there are no other causes for it possibly losing weight or not performing (riding) like normal, such as worms or digestive problem.



Basically, YES. I really do believe that adding grain would help your new horse perform at his best!



- Plus, ***Always feed by WEIGHT and not QUANTITY***, feed by your horse's weight, WEIGH out the amount of grain you give them (NOT by measuring in "scoops") because different grains are sized and packed differently, so one type of grain's "1 scoop" is NOT the same amount as a different grain's "1 scoop". So, measure the grain out by "pounds" instead, since this is always how the grain labels list out how much to feed your horse. This is VERY important for every horse owner to know and practice when it comes to nutrition. ***



I've included a few websites that you should take a look at, with a few different horse nutrition things on them. The last one is really great about explaining nutrition. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

I would feed him about 1 to 1 1/2 scoops twice a day and you can always add some or decrease it if you need to. I know a lot of people who don't feed their horses grain. Although its not necessary if you have high quality hay/grass i would feed him grain anyway. Like i said a lot of people say "If grain was a necessity horses would've grazed in corn fields" Just find out which works best for you and your horse(:

Happy Trails!

Answer 4

i would deff feed him grain. my horse is 15.3hh and she gets (i'm pretty sure) 1 or 1 1/2 scoops of grain two times a day, we had to cut her down because she was getting too fat. i would say since you will be doing a lot of jumping 2 scoops two times a day, with breakfast and dinner. if he seems to have too much energy or is gaining too much weight from it you can always cut it down a little.

Answer 5

He shouldn't need it in the warmer months when there is plenty of grass, he could get colic if you feed him when the grass is rich. You can feed him extra food in the colder months when the grass is scarce. Ask the previous owners what they feed him.

Answer 6

Well, I always add grain to my horses meal it's actually something they look forward to. I use Triple Crown, my horse has the performace feed. http://www.triplecrownfeed.com/feeds/14-performance-formula