We all understand that a horse is a grazing animal - grass and occasionally ‘goodies’ from the hedgerow – and, as such, he eats for around eighteen hours per day. Food provides the horse with nutrition to help maintain his condition and allows him to repair damaged tissue and provide energy for exercise or work.

Your horse actually has a small stomach (about the size of a rugby ball),which is why it is best to feed him at least twice a day, or better still, more frequently. The size of a horse’s feed also needs consideration when you’re working out what should go into each meal. The stomach is a fixed size and overwhelming this with a huge feed can cause problems as undigested food can move through to other parts of the digestive system. If your horse needs to gain weight, it is better to split big feed into smaller ones, so feeding four smaller meals a day is much better than two big ones.

It’s important that we feed him correctly by mimicking his natural feeding pattern as much as possible.Feeding in this way helps ensure that his food is properly digested, can help prevent some digestive issues and can even break boredom. We all know how sensitive the horse’s digestive system can be and, as horse owners, it’s our duty to do all we can to work with this very long, complex system. We also know of the issues that can be caused by incorrect feeding, and that’s why it’s so important to adhere to the ‘rules of feeding’, including feeding little and often.

Now, feed isn’t just hard or concentrated feed, it includes hay, grass, haylage and hay replacers too. Forage takes longer to chew and consume than concentrated feeds, and with most people feeding a combination of the two, providing feed for long periods of time whilst ensuring your horse takes on those all important calories can be achieved.