Compound feeds or concentrates are an excellent way to supply horses with extra energy and nutrients required to achieve an optimal level of physical condition.
There are a plethora of concentrates, balancers and formats out there, and understanding which one best suits your horse depends on several facts:
- Body condition
- Age
- Dental health
- Type of activity
- Workload
- Personality
- Reproductive status
- Season of the year
- Pasture and forage quality
The recommended daily amount of concentrate to give a horse ranges from 0’15% to 1% of the horse’s total bodyweight. The horse’s gut handles small amounts of feed throughout the day and it is his stomach and small intestine that handles breakdown and absorption of the grain (concentrate) portion of the diet. Concentrates should never surpass 3kg in a single ration, and if possible, should be split into three feeds over the day.
If you are feeding your horse both hay and grains, the hay should be fed first to facilitate slow transition and good digestion in the small intestine. If the grain passes through too speedily and enters the cecum, the pH in the cecum may become too acidic, killing off the good bacteria and possibly causing laminitis or colic.
