In the winter, horses will expend a lot of energy to simply maintain body temperature. It is not atypical for energy losses to go up 10 to 20%. (If weather stress is great, they may need protection from extremes, especially older horses.) Add to that, older horses may not digest feed as well as younger horses, so their nutrient needs are harder to meet. Older horses are also more easily cold stressed when they do not have fat cover. However, hay will have its limits to providing energy (usually 20% or less than typical grains); therefore, horses may need daily grain supplementation even when you are providing all the hay they will consume. Providing them with all the hay they can eat is probably not a good idea. If the Eastern Oregon hay is alfalfa and you feed it as a percentage of the horse's body weight (2-3% depending on class of horse, body condition score, and nutrient composition of the hay), no additional grass hay will be required. However, if they are in a stall all day and start to get bored, you may want to feed them a little grass hay around midday to prevent boredom and the development of stall vices. If they are out in a pasture or field, they will most likely be fine. If it is a grass hay of high nutrient composition and fed as a percentage of body weight as stated above, no additional hay or grain will be required. However, if the nutrient composition of the hay is marginal or low, additional feed (grain) may be required to meet the nutritional needs of those horses that are in poor body condition or older (geriatric) or 2 years or younger.

Browse related Faqs by tag: horses