Horses are forage-first animals: hay and pasture should make up the bulk of the diet, ideally 1.5 to 2% of body weight in forage dry matter per day. For a 1,000 lb horse that is roughly 15 to 20 lb of hay daily, and grain is a supplement to that rather than a replacement for it.
Horses are also hindgut fermenters with a comparatively small stomach and no ability to vomit, which is why feeding them is less forgiving than feeding a cow, and why colic is the risk that shapes every feeding rule below.
Why the Horse Gut Dictates the Rules
A horse ferments fibre in the hindgut, but food first passes through a small stomach designed for near-continuous trickle feeding. In the wild a horse grazes for a large part of the day. Modern feeding, two big meals with long gaps, works against that design.
Two consequences follow. Long gaps without forage raise the risk of gastric ulcers, since the stomach secretes acid continuously whether or not there is food in it. And large grain meals can overwhelm small-intestine digestion, pushing starch into the hindgut where it ferments rapidly and can trigger colic or laminitis.
Quick Facts: Feeding Horses
- Forage first: 1.5–2% of body weight in dry matter daily
- Feed little and often, horses are trickle feeders
- Make every change gradually, over one to two weeks
- Never feed lawn clippings, they ferment fast and cause colic
- Constant access to clean water, 5–10+ gallons a day
Forage: Hay and Pasture
Grass hay, timothy, orchard, brome or a mixed meadow hay, suits most horses. Legume hays like alfalfa carry more protein, calcium and energy, which is valuable for hard-working, growing or underweight horses and often too rich for an idle one.
Hay quality drives everything. Early-cut hay is softer, leafier and higher in nutrition; late-cut hay is stemmy and much lower in value. Mouldy or dusty hay should not be fed at all, respiratory problems in horses are frequently traceable to it.
Pasture is excellent but not automatically safe. Lush spring grass is high in sugars and is a well-known laminitis trigger in susceptible horses, particularly ponies and animals with metabolic issues. Introduce spring grazing gradually rather than turning a horse straight out onto it.
When a Horse Needs Grain
Many horses in light work need no grain at all. Concentrates earn their place for horses in hard work, broodmares in late gestation and lactation, growing youngstock, and animals struggling to hold condition on forage alone.
Where grain is fed, split it into smaller meals rather than one large one, and keep forage in front of the horse. A useful rule of thumb is no more than about 0.5% of body weight in concentrate per meal, so around 5 lb for a 1,000 lb horse.
How Much Hay Does a Horse Eat?
For a 1,000 lb horse at 1.5 to 2% of body weight, expect roughly 15 to 20 lb of hay per day when there is no grazing. Over a winter that adds up quickly, which is why hay storage and buying well are as much a part of horse keeping as the feeding itself.
Horses fed below about 1.5% of body weight in forage are at meaningfully increased risk of ulcers and behavioural problems. If a horse must be restricted for weight reasons, slow-feeder nets are the usual answer, they extend eating time without increasing the amount.
Do Horses Eat Meat?
No. Horses are obligate herbivores, and their teeth, gut and digestive enzymes are all built for plant material. There are occasional anecdotes of horses eating a chick or nibbling at meat, but this is aberrant behaviour rather than diet, and meat should never be offered.
Feeds and Plants to Avoid
| Avoid | Why |
|---|---|
| Lawn clippings | Ferment rapidly, a classic and avoidable cause of colic |
| Mouldy or dusty hay | Respiratory disease and colic risk |
| Large single grain meals | Starch overload, colic and laminitis |
| Lush spring pasture, unrestricted | Sugar spike, a known laminitis trigger |
| Cattle feed containing ionophores | Monensin and similar additives are lethal to horses |
| Red maple leaves, especially wilted | Cause red blood cell damage |
| Yew, oleander, black walnut shavings | Highly toxic |
| Fruit with stones, in quantity | Choke risk and cyanide compounds in the pits |
The ionophore point deserves emphasis because it is a genuine and repeated killer: feed additives that are safe in cattle rations, particularly monensin, are fatal to horses. Never feed cattle concentrate to a horse, and store the two separately.
Water and forage storage matter as much as the ration, see choosing a water trough and feed storage. For how this compares across the rest of the yard, see our overview of what most farm animals eat, or browse the full farm feed hub.
Other feeding guides in this group (other livestock): pigs eat, rabbits eat, llamas eat. Or start from the overview of what most farm animals eat.
Forage first. Hay and pasture should make up the bulk of the diet, ideally 1.5 to 2% of body weight in dry matter daily, which is roughly 15 to 20 lb of hay for a 1,000 lb horse. Grain is a supplement for horses that need extra energy.
Around 15 to 20 lb for a typical 1,000 lb horse with no grazing, based on 1.5 to 2% of body weight. Feeding below about 1.5% raises the risk of ulcers and behavioural problems, so slow-feeder nets are better than cutting the amount.
No. Horses are obligate herbivores and their teeth, gut and enzymes are built entirely for plant material. Occasional anecdotes exist, but it is aberrant behaviour and meat should never be offered.
Clippings ferment very rapidly and are eaten fast without proper chewing, which is a well-known cause of colic. Freshly cut grass in a pile behaves nothing like grass a horse grazes itself.
No. Many horses in light work do perfectly well on forage alone. Grain is for hard work, late pregnancy and lactation, growing youngstock, and horses that cannot hold condition on forage.
Never. Many cattle rations contain ionophores such as monensin, which are safe for cattle and lethal to horses. Store horse and cattle feed separately.
