Feeding your horse well means knowing exactly what he needs. Its diet must be perfectly balanced and adapted to its activity, its morphology and its breed. Indeed, its feed can be tedious to prepare day after day. Prepared or ready-made feed, and when it is of good quality, provides the horse with everything it needs, especially if it lives in the stall.
Prepared horse feed
The prepared food is usually the one already prepared, mixed and processed, packaged in bags or bulk. Most often, it is in the form of granules (or pellets), or in the form of flakes. Prepared horse feed is made from grains or seeds of plants: cereals (maize, barley, oats), legumes (beans, peas, lupin, soya) and/or oilseeds (flax, sunflower, peanuts...). A large number of food manufacturers also add vitamin and mineral supplements to create nutrient-rich food. This is a concentrated feed that is sufficient to provide a good daily ration and will by itself guarantee all the essential nutrients for the horse. This allows horse owners to obtain easy-to-use products with easily calculable nutritional quality. Elaborate meals can meet the specific needs of horses, but do not eliminate the need for fodder, even when complete.
Why opt for prepared feed?
Horses usually chew pellets as easily as they chew grain. These complete feeds have an important role to play in the health of the horse: they promote digestion, strengthen joints and muscles, fight against respiratory, skin or hoof problems, etc. It is also used as a dietary supplement, notably to make up for a deficiency or correct an imbalance in a basic ration. The ease of digestion of the specially prepared feed is an asset for older horses and those with poor teeth. They can chew and digest pellets or cooked grains more easily than normal grains. In addition, opting for the prepared horse meal offers many advantages for the owner: quick distribution, easy storage, regularity of intake, good nutrient balance, ease of transport, etc.
Choosing the right feed for your horse
It is however recommended to be attentive on the quality of elaborated food that you wish to give to your mount. Indeed, there are many manufacturers on the market offering a wide range, with feeds adjusted to the different physiological stages and needs of horses. However, this varies from one manufacturer to another and the standard products do not necessarily contain what your horse needs. Some feeds have excellent qualities. To choose the right horse feed, it is important to find out about the ingredients used by reading the information on the feed bag labelling. If possible, take your time and ask the manufacturer directly for the technical and scientific information on the product.