What is a good diet and exercise plan for a horse?
September 19th, 2009 | by Diet Advisor |
Lacey asked:
I am writing a report about horses. It needs to be very detailed so can you give me a good diet and exercise plan for a horse.
For a English jumping horse.
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I am writing a report about horses. It needs to be very detailed so can you give me a good diet and exercise plan for a horse.
For a English jumping horse.
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4 Responses to “What is a good diet and exercise plan for a horse?”
By PeaBee on Sep 21, 2009 | Reply
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If you go back to your other question and you can change directions, it would be much easier for you to research and write about a wild horse because the native foods are what they consume. Exercise is self-imposed. If you adopt a young mustang (which I have), he will self-exercise to stay in shape. He will practice running in a big pasture. His stamina is incredible. This is like what a young wild animal would do. They do not get fat. They know what kind of play to conduct, how to run, etc. to stay in survival condition. A young mustang will mock fight, will run around with other youngsters, and will instinctively find his good moving gait to cover the most territory with less energy.
He has generations of practice for survival. That’s his plan. It is in his genes.
I also have 12 domesticated horses here. They all eat different diets and need different degrees of calories and need to be exercised differently. The jumper you are asking about would be fed like any competitive horse (rarely oats anymore), but with a commercial 14-16% protein feed and upwards of a dozen or more pounds of hay per day. The type of hay would depend upon where you live and what is available in your area. All horses need to be stretched and warmed up for exercise, just like any athlete.
By Mark C on Sep 22, 2009 | Reply
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Hi, Lacey!
I have several great, vet-authored references on nutrition for performance horses and conditioning performance horses linked from
I hope this helps.
By Jess on Sep 25, 2009 | Reply
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It’s always good to exercise your horse OFTEN to keep them in shape, but always leave a day or two for rest every week. Feeding your horse sweet feed say two days a week, and then a carrot or oat grain the rest before you ride is always great for their health and stamina, and let’s face it, they love it! Of course your horse should have 24 access to food (be it grass, hay, etc.) and water. Good luck with your report!
By maddie_1127 on Sep 25, 2009 | Reply
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With my horse we do Jumping on Saturday and Monday, and Wednesday. On Friday we do a basic flat class so we can improve our riding skills. Also I usually give him Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursay off too. He get grain once a day @ about noon. and he only get grass hay ( most horses also get alfalfa but mine cannot because of alergies.) For his grain he gets safechoice, electorlytes, and grass pelets, oats, wheat, and an immune supplement( because my horse is very sensitive and not an easy keeper) but all diets depend on the horse.