page_title: Equine nutrition
section_title: Types of feed
hierarchical_section_title: Equine nutrition / Types of feed
caption_attribution_description: Two horses eating hay
context_page_description: Equine nutrition is the feeding of horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, and other equines. Correct and balanced nutrition is a critical component of proper horse care.
  Horses are non-ruminant herbivores of a type known as a "hindgut fermenter." Horses have only one stomach, as do humans. However, unlike humans, they also need to digest plant fiber that comes from grass or hay. Ruminants like cattle are foregut fermenters, and digest fiber in plant matter by use of a multi-chambered stomach, whereas horses use microbial fermentation in a part of the digestive system known as the cecum to break down the cellulose.
  In practical terms, horses prefer to eat small amounts of food steadily throughout the day, as they do in nature when grazing on pasture lands. Although this is not always possible with modern stabling practices and human schedules that favor feeding horses twice a day, it is important to remember the underlying biology of the animal when determining what to feed, how often, and in what quantities.
  The digestive system of the horse is somewhat delicate. Horses are unable to regurgitate food, except from the esophagus.
context_section_description: Equids can consume approximately 2–2.5% of their body weight in dry feed each day. Therefore, a 1,000 lb (450 kg) adult horse could eat up to 25 lb (11 kg) of food. Foals less than six months of age eat 2-4% of their weight each day.
  Solid feeds are placed into three categories:  forages (such as hay and grass), concentrates (including grain or pelleted rations), and supplements (such as prepared vitamin or mineral pellets). Equine nutritionists recommend that 50% or more of the animal's diet by weight should be forages.  If a horse is working hard and requires more energy, the use of grain is increased and the percentage of forage decreased so that the horse obtains the energy content it needs for the work it is performing.  However, forage amount should never go below 1% of the horse's body weight per day.
caption: Forages, such as hay, make up the largest portion of the equine diet by weight.
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