Last updated: September 21, 2026
Bringing home a horse is exciting—until you stand in the feed store looking at hay, grain, pellets, supplements, and a wall of labels that all seem to promise something different. The same confusion can come up years later when a horse loses condition, gains too much weight, or starts doing more work. The good news is that most horses don’t need a complicated feeding program.
Quick answer: Most horses do best on a forage-based diet made up of pasture, hay, or both, with clean water and salt always available. Grain or another concentrate is only needed when good forage alone can’t meet that individual horse’s calorie or nutrient needs.
The hard part isn’t knowing that horses eat hay; it’s knowing how much forage your horse needs, which type of hay or pasture fits him best, when grain makes sense, and how feeding changes from a horse at rest to one in regular work. I’ve managed feeding programs for Thoroughbreds in race training, Quarter Horses, and pleasure horses at home, and I’ll break down the practical side of feeding so you can make better decisions for the horse in front of you.
Table of Contents
The Basics: Forage, Water, Salt, and a Balanced Ration
Horses are built to eat small amounts of forage through much of the day, not to go long stretches without feed and then eat one large meal. Keep forage at the center of the program, split concentrates when they’re needed, and don’t make sudden feed changes. Those three habits cover a lot of avoidable feeding trouble. If you want the deeper physiology behind why that matters, how a horse’s digestive system works is covered separately.
Water and salt are part of every feeding program. Keep clean, fresh water available at all times and make sure each horse has a dependable salt source. Needs can rise sharply with heat, hard work, dry forage, lactation, travel, fever, or diarrhea, so watch how much each horse is actually drinking – not just whether the trough looks full.
A sudden drop in water intake, reduced manure output, dullness, poor appetite, or signs of discomfort aren’t things to brush off. Recognizing dehydration signs and knowing when to call the vet is worth reading before you need it.
Hay and Pasture: Choosing the Right Forage
For most horses, hay and pasture should provide most of the daily ration. The best forage isn’t simply the greenest bale or the same hay another horse is eating – it’s the forage that fits your horse’s calorie needs, health history, chewing ability, workload, and the rest of the ration.
The right hay depends on the horse standing in front of you. A retired easy keeper, a growing yearling, a senior with poor teeth, and a Thoroughbred in full training may all need a different forage program – the hay label is only part of the story.
From the barn: My Thoroughbreds in training usually get tested Timothy or a grass-alfalfa mix that fits the rest of their ration because their workload demands more from it. My pleasure horses do well on solid Alicia or Coastal Bermuda because they don’t need the same energy density. The common denominator is still good forage – each horse just needs a type and amount that fit its job and condition.
If you’re unsure whether your hay is actually meeting your horse’s needs, start with a forage analysis rather than guessing from appearance – that matters most when a horse has metabolic concerns, recurrent digestive trouble, unexplained weight changes, or a high-performance workload. Choosing hay for your horse goes deeper on evaluating quality.
Fresh pasture can be an excellent feed source, but it still has to be managed like part of the ration. Many easy keepers gain more weight on good grass than their owners expect, especially when spring growth or a weather change suddenly improves the pasture. There’s no one acreage rule that works everywhere – watch grass cover, weed pressure, manure buildup, and body condition instead of relying on acreage alone.
- Rapid spring growth or weather-driven regrowth: Easy keepers and horses with insulin dysregulation or a laminitis history can gain condition quickly. Monitor body condition and make a turnout plan with your veterinarian or nutritionist when needed.
- Thin or overgrazed fields: Short grass doesn’t necessarily mean a horse is getting an appropriate ration. Provide hay when pasture no longer supplies enough forage, and manage weeds, manure, and bare ground.
- Horses already gaining too much condition: Adjust turnout early. A dry lot, slower access to forage, a properly fitted grazing muzzle, or a different forage plan may be part of an individualized management program.
Spring grass and laminitis: Horses that are overweight, insulin dysregulated, or have had laminitis before need an individualized turnout plan. Grass sugar levels can shift with weather, plant stress, species, and local growing conditions, so there’s no schedule that’s safe for every horse. In south Louisiana, I watch easy keepers especially closely during fast spring growth and after weather changes that suddenly green everything up – that’s when I’ve seen horses add condition faster than their owners expected. Work with your veterinarian or nutritionist on a plan for an at-risk horse. Preventing laminitis in horses covers the full prevention and management picture.
Do Horses Need Grain or Concentrates?
Many mature horses in light work or at maintenance do well on good forage, clean water, salt, and a ration balanced for what their forage does and doesn’t supply. A concentrate can help when forage alone can’t meet a horse’s calorie or nutrient needs – commonly in hard-working horses, growing horses, late-pregnant or lactating mares, and horses that struggle to hold condition.
That doesn’t automatically mean “feed more grain.” Depending on the horse and hay analysis, the right answer may be a ration balancer, a mineral supplement, a different forage, or a feed selected to fill a specific nutritional gap. Choose based on the horse’s whole ration, body condition, workload, pasture access, and health history – not the label on the bag alone.
Daily total matters, but meal size matters too, especially with higher-starch concentrates. As a general management guideline, keep each concentrate meal modest rather than putting the full daily amount in one bucket; a veterinarian or equine nutritionist can help set a safe meal size for your horse, feed, and forage program. Keep forage part of the daily routine and make any feed change gradually.
From the barn: My Thoroughbreds in full training usually need concentrates in addition to quality forage; my pleasure horses often don’t. Either way, I don’t like feeding a large concentrate meal to a horse that’s been standing without forage. I keep hay part of the routine, divide concentrates into smaller feedings, and watch appetite, manure, body condition, and attitude in training. If one of those changes, I review the whole ration instead of automatically adding more grain.
Does a Horse Need Grain? Oats, Barley, Both, or None? goes deeper on how oats and barley compare and how to choose a concentrate without overfeeding it.
How Much Do Horses Eat? Adjusting the Ration for Workload
Workload is one of the biggest drivers of calorie needs, but it’s not the only one. A horse’s body condition, forage quality, age, metabolism, health history, teeth, and pasture intake all affect what belongs in the feed tub. The table below is a starting point for the conversation, not a formula – use it to assess the horse in front of you, then involve your veterinarian or equine nutritionist when the ration needs individual guidance.
| Workload | Forage Starting Point | When a Concentrate May Help | What to Monitor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance or light work | Usually 1.5-2% of body weight in forage dry matter | Often not needed if the horse maintains condition on quality forage and a balanced ration | Body condition, crest, weight trend, pasture intake |
| Moderate work | Forage remains the base of the ration | May help if forage alone doesn’t maintain condition or meet nutrient needs | Weight trend, recovery, appetite, manure, attitude |
| Heavy work or race training | Keep forage central; use a quality forage program | Often needed, but design the ration around actual workload, forage analysis, feed energy density, and the individual horse | Body condition, hydration, recovery, muscle condition, digestive health, training performance |
Weigh hay and concentrate instead of counting flakes or filling the same scoop by eye – a flake can vary dramatically in weight between hay types, cuttings, and bale density, so a small hanging scale is one of the simplest tools for getting a ration closer to right. For a racehorse-specific breakdown of a full training program, see my racehorse feeding guide.
How to Tell Whether the Ration Is Working
Body condition scoring – assessing a horse’s fat cover on a 1-9 scale – is the most practical tool for knowing whether you’re feeding the right amount. For many mature horses, a score in the 4-6 range is a reasonable maintenance target, but what’s ideal depends on the horse’s type, job, age, and health history – a racing Thoroughbred and a broodmare aren’t aiming for the same number.
Use the score as a trend, not a verdict: if a horse is gradually gaining or losing condition, that’s the signal to review forage, grain, turnout, workload, teeth, and overall health before making a big change. Check body condition every two to four weeks and adjust feed before a problem becomes serious. Seasonal horse feeding strategies covers how feeding changes across the year, and the feeding picture changes again after age 20 – feeding senior horses covers that stage in full.
Common Feeding Mistakes I See Horse Owners Make
Most are simple to correct once you notice them. These are the ones I see most often, in my own barn and other people’s.
- Feeding by scoop instead of weight. The same scoop can hold very different weights depending on the feed’s density. Weigh it once so you actually know what you’re feeding.
- Changing feed too quickly. A new bag of feed or a new cutting of hay can still require a gradual transition, even when it looks like an obvious upgrade.
- Feeding grain because a horse works, not because it needs the calories. Some horses in light work do fine on forage alone. Watch the horse’s condition, not just the job on the schedule.
- Ignoring hay quality. Hay can look fine and still fall short of what the horse needs. A forage analysis tells you more than the label or the color.
- Copying another horse’s ration. Two horses doing the same job can need very different amounts depending on metabolism, condition, and how well each one uses its feed. What works for the horse next door isn’t a starting point for yours.
When to Call Your Vet or a Nutritionist
This guide isn’t a substitute for individual advice. Bring in your veterinarian or an equine nutritionist before making major feed changes if your horse has laminitis, insulin dysregulation, PPID (Cushing’s disease), recurrent colic, chronic diarrhea, ulcers, unexplained weight loss, poor appetite, kidney or liver disease, or a history of tying up – and for growing horses and pregnant or lactating mares, where getting the ration right matters more than usual. A hay analysis and a body condition score, reviewed with a professional, will get you further than guessing from a feed label or copying another horse’s ration.
FAQs – What Do Horses Eat?
What do horses eat every day?
Horses eat primarily forage – hay, pasture grass, or both. Many mature horses do well on a forage-based diet with water, salt, and whatever balancing support their forage analysis and needs require. Horses in hard work, growth, pregnancy, lactation, or poor condition may also need a concentrate or another carefully selected feed source. The exact amount depends on the horse, forage, workload, body condition, and health history.
Do horses need grain?
Not always. Many mature horses in light work or at maintenance don’t need a calorie-dense grain or concentrate, provided their forage-based ration meets their nutrient needs. Grain is an energy supplement for horses whose caloric needs exceed what forage can provide: hard-working horses, growing horses, mares in late pregnancy or lactation, and horses that struggle to hold weight. Feeding more concentrate than a horse needs can contribute to excess weight and may increase the risk of feeding-related problems, especially in horses already prone to metabolic issues.
How much hay does a horse eat per day?
For a mature horse in light to moderate work, a common starting point is roughly 1.5-2% of body weight in forage each day on a dry-matter basis. For a 1,000-pound horse, that equals 15-20 pounds of forage dry matter. The as-fed amount of hay will usually be a little higher because hay contains some moisture, while fresh pasture contains much more. Use a hay analysis when possible, weigh the actual hay you feed, and adjust the ration from body condition, performance, and forage quality rather than counting flakes.
How do I change my horse to a new feed safely?
Change hay, pasture access, concentrates, and supplements gradually rather than all at once. A 7-10 day transition is a common starting point for many feed changes, but some horses and forage changes need longer. Start by mixing a small amount of the new feed with the old, then increase it step by step while watching appetite, manure, water intake, and body condition. If your horse has a digestive history, metabolic disease, or other health concerns, ask your veterinarian or equine nutritionist for a specific plan.
About Miles Henry
Racehorse Owner & Author | 30+ Years in Thoroughbred Racing
Miles Henry (legal name: William Bradley) is a professional horseman based in Folsom, Louisiana. He holds Louisiana Racing License #67012 and has spent over three decades managing Thoroughbreds at premier tracks including Fair Grounds, Delta Downs, and Evangeline Downs.
Expertise & Hands-On Experience: Beyond the track, Miles has decades of experience in specialized equine care, covering everything from hoof health and nutrition to training protocols for Quarter Horses, Friesians, and Paints. Every guide on Horse Racing Sense is rooted in this “boots-on-the-ground” perspective.
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