2 Steps to the correct sport ration for your horse
Energy requirements of a sport horse
Is your horse overweight or lethargic, is it less willing to work than usual or has difficulty with training, is its coat dull or is its musculature not improving as it should? These are all reasons to take a good look at your current feed ration. But even if everything is apparently going well, it may still be wise to take a good look at your feed ration. Who knows, maybe there's still room for improvement. On this page, we explain how you can optimise your horse's feed ration. The diagrams below first show exactly how the ratio of roughage to concentrate feed is determined.
Horse at rest
A horse that does light work gets 90% of its nutrients from roughage and 10% from a balancer or concentrate feed.
Horse in training
A horse which does intensive work gets 70% of its nutrients from roughage and 30% from concentrate feed.
Roughage
Concentrate feed/Balancer
Roughage
Concentrate feed
Step
1
Provide a good basis
The basis of a sports ration always consists of:
- Hay See table below for the quantity
*The number of kilos are rounded off and based on 1.5% dry matter intake and 12% moisture content of the hay.
- Water 30-40 litres per day
- Salt lick stone Available in the stable and in the field
"When your horse exerts itself, it needs extra energy and protein to maintain sufficient stamina and muscular strength. This can be given in the form of concentrate feed, such as pellets or muesli. For the right balance, it’s important that the amount of energy matches the exertion of your horse.”
Nutritionist and veterinary surgeon Veerle Vandendriessche
Step
2
Do the energy level test and find out which concentrate feed you should be giving!
A product recommendation based on 3 simple questions: 1. In which discipline are you active? 2. At which level? 3. How many times a week do you train?
Tip!
Always look at the condition of your horse: is he/she too fat, too thin or just right? This is an important factor when adjusting your feed. Too fat? Horses get fat if they're taking in too much energy. In this case, switch to a feed with a lower energy level.
Too thin? Roughage is the most important source of nutrition. If your horse is too thin, feeding it more concentrates is often not the solution. In this case, feed more hay or supplement your ration with one of our soaked roughage products.
"We look at each new horse individually to put together the right feed ration. We look at their current condition, the training plan and their current ration. Then we decide on certain feed products and slowly adjust the feed ration. In addition to sufficient hay, most of our sport horses get a sports feed and a slobber. Optionally, we top it up with supplements.”
International show jumper Marcus Ehning
Pavo FibreNuggets
- Grass chunks from herbal hay - When there is too little or poor roughage
Pavo FibreBeet
- Protein-rich roughage mix of beet pulp and alfalfa - For lean horses/ poor muscle development