Are you aware of how much fodder horses consume on a daily basis? Not many can immediately answer this question. However, understanding the amount of food horses eat is essential for proper care. Knowing their feeding volume helps avoid overfeeding treats or underfeeding hay.
This article provides a detailed explanation of how much horses eat in a day. By reading this, you’ll be better equipped to monitor your horse’s health and become a more responsible rider!
What You Will Learn
- How much horses eat in a day
- Changes in feeding amount based on exercise intensity
- What is dry weight
- How to calculate dry weight
Feeding is Based on Body Weight
The most important factor in determining how much a horse eats is its ‘body weight.’ Generally, lighter horses eat less, while heavier horses consume more.
It is said that an appropriate feeding amount is ‘1.5 to 3% of body weight.’ For example, a 500kg horse should be fed roughly 7.5 to 15 kilograms of feed.
Let’s calculate based on the actual weights of the horses you care for!
Different for Riding and Racing Horses
The amount of feed a horse consumes varies depending on the activity. For example, riding horses and racehorses require different levels of energy. Racehorses need more energy due to higher activity levels, thus they require more feed.
In detail, ‘riding horses need 1.5 times the energy of inactive horses’ and ‘racehorses need twice as much energy’ as inactive horses. The detailed calculation formulas are as follows:
- Resting (maintenance) energy: 1.4 + 0.03 × body weight (unit: 1000 kcal)
- Light exercise (lunging, etc.): 1.25 times maintenance energy
- Moderate exercise (riding): 1.5 times maintenance energy
- Intense exercise (racing): 2 times maintenance energy
Reference: JRA Horse Care & Management
Measure Feed by Dry Weight
As mentioned earlier, a 500kg horse should receive roughly 7.5 to 15 kg of feed. It’s important to consider the water content in the feed. The ‘dry weight’ of feed is obtained by subtracting the water weight from the total feed weight. The calculation formula is:
Feed weight – (Feed weight × water content percentage) = Dry weight of feed
For example, if you give 10kg of fresh grass with 80% water content, the dry weight is 2kg.
Calculating based on dry weight is crucial when feeding horses, so make sure to master this method!
Daily Feed Amounts for Different Horse Types
Different horse breeds have varying daily feed amounts (dry weight).
Ponies (body weight 200kg) → 3-6kg
Light riding horses (body weight 450kg) → 6.75-13.5kg
Medium-sized horses (body weight 500kg) → 7.5-15kg
Heavy horses (body weight 1000kg) → 15-30kg
It may seem surprisingly large.
Summary
How was it? Did you understand how much horses eat daily? To summarize the main points:
- The daily intake is about 1.5% to 3% of body weight, depending on exercise intensity.
- Feed weight should be calculated based on dry weight.
Use this guide to become a responsible rider who takes good care of your horse’s diet.
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