Worldwide people have kept horses which were used for military as well as civilian applications. Before vehicles were manufactured, horses were widely used for transporting people from one place to another. At present, many people are investing money in fast horses for horse racing. They are also widely used in farms and other areas, which do not have roads which vehicles can access. Many people would like to keep one or more horse as a pet or livestock. Before purchasing the horse, they would like to find out what should you feed a horse, so that they can make suitable arrangements.
Before deciding on the right feed for the horse, the horse buyer should understand that the digestive system and nutrients required by the horse are different from humans and other pets. The horse has a very large digestive system, so the horse should have a large number of small meals daily. It is noticed that the wild horses are spending most of their time during the day grazing on the grass and other plants. The grass and plants usually have the nutrients, like silica, minerals, vitamins required to keep the horse healthy. Horses which are owned by people are classified into easy keepers which do not require much food to remain healthy and hard keepers which consume more food.
If the horse is kept in a rural area or farm, he will usually have pasture which he can graze. The type of grass and other plants growing in the pasture will vary to great extent, depending on the soil conditions, rainfall/water availability, climate. In case of a nutrition rich pasture, the horse should be gradually introduced to the pasture so that it does not overeat. Also if the horse is a easy keeper, the food should be limited, since obesity can cause health problems. For horses which are hard keepers, they can be allowed to graze on the pasture.
Often the horse is kept in a city or town where there is not much open land for grazing. Also in most areas, there is no grass available during winter or droughts. In these cases, the horse owner can purchase hay for the horse. There are different types of hay which vary in cost and nutrition. The hay is sold in bales, and the amount of hay given to the horse should be regulated to prevent overeating. It is also advisable to have the hay tested for nutrients. In case the hay does not contain the nutrients, additional supplements with vitamins and minerals should be provided separately.