When feeding horses, it is important to recognise the six basic nutrient categories that must be met: carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water.
Often, feed companies will balance the first five nutrients for us. However, it is critical not to forget water.
A normal, healthy horse will consume 18 to 56 litres of water daily depending on temperature, humidity and activity level. Clean water should be available at all times. If this is not possible, horses should be watered a minimum of twice daily and be allowed several minutes to drink each time. Horses that do not drink enough water are more susceptible to conditions such as dehydration, intestinal impactions and other forms of colic.
The rest of the horse’s diet should be formulated based on its requirement for each of the other five nutrients. These requirements differ from individual horses and are influenced by body mass, age, workload and metabolic efficiency. It is a very useful skill to be able to look at a feed tag and determine if that feed is going to meet your horse’s requirements.
Lympia horse pellets are a great option for a general horse conditioner with all the goodness to keep your horse in peak condition while remaining calm.