Why Are Feeding Rates Important?

The above quotes are all phrases that you might have regularly heard when it comes to discussing the feeding rate on your horse or ponies bag of feed. This article aims to explain why following the recommended feeding rate is not just a marketing strategy, and highlight why it is important in order to support your horses overall health and well being.

What are feeding rates?

A feeding rate is the recommended quantity of feed that should be supplied per day according to a horse’s body weight. Concentrate feeds are formulated to provide a fully balanced diet, including the recommended intake of vitamins, minerals and quality protein. Whilst every company is different, feeding rates are typically there to ensure that the quantity of feed given will meet recognized daily requirements as outlined by independent councils such as the National Research Council. The vitamin and mineral specification within the feed will differ based on the horse the feed is being formulated for, and will always be designed to be fed alongside a minimum of 1.5% of a horse’s bodyweight of good quality forage.

When looking at your horses feed bag, attention should be paid to the feeding rate as well as the nutrient specification. This will give you an idea of the macronutrients and micronutrients that the feed is providing. For all horses, an important factor to consider is digestible energy. This is how much energy (calories) your horse will receive from a kilogram of that particular feed and is typically measured in MJ/kg.

For example, if we compare Saracen Competition-Fit-Mix to the Competition-Fit-Balancer, we will see that the balancer has higher digestible energy per kilogram.

Then comes the question, "but I was told to feed my good doer a balancer over a mix?" This is because, although the energy (calories) is higher in the balancer, it is fed in much smaller quantities than the mix. For example, for a 400kg horse, the Competition-Fit-Mix has a feeding rate of 2-3.5kg. However. the same 400kg horse would only be fed 400g (100g/100kg body weight) of the balancer. In other words, the mix would provide 26-45.5MJ per day, whereas the balancer only provides 5.84 MJ per day.

Under Feeding?

Another aspect to consider is that when feeds are formulated, whether it be a mix, cube or balancer, they are all formulated to provide a balanced diet regarding vitamin and mineral requirements. Even the best quality and access to forage is unlikely to supply a fully balanced diet, and so supplementary feeding of a fortified feed or vitamin and mineral powder is recommended. When concentrate feed is underfed, this leaves horses vulnerable to having an unbalanced diet which leads to further complications in the future. This may include a decrease in performance, loss of condition or predisposition to certain conditions. For example, lack of calcium or incorrect calcium: phosphorus ratio, may cause demineralization of bones. Similarly, horses with a diet lacking in vitamin E, are at risk of muscle dysfunction, and an insufficient intake of Vitamin A has been linked to poor growth, poor resistance to disease or reproductive disorders.

Take home message

Feeding rates are calculated when feeds are formulated in order to ensure that horses are receiving an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals within their diet, that forage alone cannot provide. If the quantity of feed being recommended on your horses bag feels like it is too high, then it is more than likely an unsuitable feed for your horse. Underfeeding recommended quantities of feed is not recommended so as to avoid providing an unbalanced diet, which may have a detrimental on your horses overall health and performance. If your recommended feeding rate doesn't feel suitable, best practice is that a nutritionist or feed advice specialist should be contacted before making any changes to your horse’s diet.