In balancing rations for horses, the goals are to furnish horses with a daily supply of nutrients in the correct amounts and to use feedstuffs that are palatable, easily obtained and economical.
Horses are, by nature, consumers of forage.
Under natural conditions, they spend several hours a day grazing. Basing rations on adequate amounts of good quality roughage will minimize digestive disturbances such as colic. We can supplement hay or pasture with the correct amount of the right concentrates to meet requirements for energy, protein, minerals and vitamins. Determining correct nutrient levels Feeding horses is both an art and a science. Individual horses vary considerably in their nutrient requirements, but a table of these requirements forms a useful basis for formulating rations.