Wheat is not really a good grain for horses; it is not as palatable as most grains for horses are, so some horses may choose not to eat the wheat. Also, whole wheat grains have very hard kernels that should be processed in some way before feeding. Wheat is also fairly high in energy, so, depending on the activity level of your horse, this mixed grain may not be necessary. If your horse is just in light work, the alfalfa would meet and actually exceed all of its nutrient needs. Alfalfa is pretty high in energy, so it is recommended to feed it with a mix of grass hay. Horses should eat about 2% of their body weight on a daily basis, so a 1,000-lb horse should eat 20 lb of hay if that is all they are eating. If 20 lb of alfalfa were given, this would cause obesity and have way more protein than necessary. If the horse does need a grain meal, oats would be acceptable but would not be completely nutritionally balanced for horses if fed in large amounts to heavily exercising horses, lactating mares, or growing horses. Here are some recommended nutrition articles on our Web site. Or take the nutrition module to learn more about feeding horses.

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