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Racehorse Care — How To Feed Your Horse Properly

Diet is one of the most vital factors in racehorse care. If you are thinking about owning a racehorse, then it may be helpful to know the key information about racehorse nutrition.  In order to stay healthy and muscular, and ready to race, they need to be eating the proper food. If their diet is not up to par, then they will not be energetic or willing to work, and in the worst case scenario may even become ill. If you want to ensure that your champion reaches his full potential, here’s what he needs to eat.

Bulk Of The Diet
As a herbivore, your horse is happiest when he is grazing on pasture during the day. A combination of young, baby grasses, with some older, longer grass, is an ideal mixture. Throw in a few weeds and wild-growing herbs, and you’ve got the perfect horse buffet! But unfortunately, this is not typically the case for most racehorses. Luckily though, you can make up for this with supplemental feed.

The Dilemma With Supplemental Feeds
So what is the correct supplemental feed? Usually, feeds were made from cereal grains or low protein forage. Things like oats, corn and barley were given to horses without a thought. But, there’s a problem with this. Your horse’s digestive tract is made to deal with grasses…not grains. Founder, ulcers, colic and hair and hoof issues have all been connected with feeding a horse a diet that is too high in cereal grains.

A horse must have forage and fibre for a happy gut. They are not able to process starches very well in their foregut, so it ends up in their hindgut, where it ferments and can lead to acidosis…and potentially founder and colic. If it ferments in their stomach, the result is often ulcers. Additionally, a diet high in starches put your horse at risk for high glucose levels, which can lead to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome similar to human beings. It also increases their risk for developmental orthopaedic diseases.

Fibre & Forage-Based Rations
Your horse needs fibre and forage…and there are many options. Soybean hulls, beet pulp and other fermentable fibres are a much healthier option than grains. Vegetable oils, stabilized rice bran and other high fat supplements are added to these rations to increase their health benefits. 

The best thing to for appropriate dietary racehorse care is to feed lots of forage. Avoid feeds with a high glycemic load, such as ‘sweet feed’ and oats, and avoid unprocessed corn and high-fructan pasture grasses. Find a low starch feed, and also be sure that your horse is getting supplemental salt and a well-balanced mineral supplement that include trace and macro minerals as well as vitamins.