How do you know what to feed your horse?

How do you know what to feed your horse?

• I got my first horse she is a quarter horse cross 17 yrs old 14 hands and weighs 985lbs. she is just a pasture ornament right now to wet to ride her this winter. I am wondering if someone could suggests to me how much of what to feed her since I have never done this before ? Also just got a three sided stall for her and filled it with straw as bedding but she is eating the straw is that bad for her? what can i do to stop this ?

• Answer:

  Feed her a good mixture of grass hay- timothy and orchard grass is excellent. She doesn't need alfalfa- too fattening and messes up calcium phosphorus ratios. Feed at least 2% of her body weight in hay per day. I feed mine around 17 pounds- they are Morgans. Leaving it out for her to eat free choice is ideal, but not always possible. Avoid sweet feed or heavy molasses laced food- horses do not need all this sugar and may founder as a result of it, or get too fat. Many become insulin resistant, or "IR" for short. If you want to give her a little grain or pellets, try a brand called Triple Crown Low Starch, or investigate other feeds by Triple Crown at your feed store if they carry the brand. Always provide her with lots of clean, fresh water (they can drink up to 20 gallons a day in the heat), and a pure white salt block. Avoid mineral blocks because your feed will already have minerals in it. I put one Tablespoon of iodized table salt in my horse's feed a day. That way you know they are getting it. Make sure they drink plenty of water in winter, to keep the fiber moving through the system. Too little water can cause an impaction colic, which can be serious. (Please read up on the symptoms of colic and what to do.) The straw is not harmful to my knowledge, but she will stop eating it when she has enough good hay in front of her.