Weight gain in horses occurs when caloric intake exceeds requirements for growth and maintenance. Horses are designed to eat low calorie roughage 12 – 14 hours daily. Diets that are high in fiber adequately maintain horses and satisfy their appetite. We feed a large variety of products to horses, so it is important to know the difference between high fiber and high energy feeds.
Alfalfa is grown on the irrigated land in the valley for the dairy and beef industries and is commonly used as horse feed. We recommend alfalfa for young, growing horses, nursing mares, and horses at hard work. Alfalfa is a high protein, high energy and moderate fiber feed with protein and carbohydrate levels that are too high for mature sedentary horses. Bermuda grass hay is grown in the valley and is an ideal feed for all horses. Grains, sweet feeds, carrots, and pelleted feeds are usually high in carbohydrates and should be fed with caution. Too much carbohydrate in your horse’s diet can cause behavioral changes, obesity, and serious health problems like laminitis.
If your horse has a crease down his backbone, he is overweight. There is a body score system for horses from 1 to 9 with moderate being 5. All scores over 5 have a crease down the backbone. Other body sites for fat deposition are the crest of the neck, the ribs, and the tail head. Regular work and exercise are also important safeguards against weight gain.
They say that you are what you eat. Likewise, horses are what we feed them. If your horse is overweight, we recommend a high fiber diet with grass hay as the main feedstuff.