Feeding to the Horse’s Body Condition

horses left to their own devices will literally pig out. But for others it doesnt matter how much expensive highfat grain you offer theyll just pick like sparrows and look suspiciously like they need a daily cheeseburger with fries.
Feeding behaviour is regulated at least in part by a hormone called ghrelin. In horses this hormone is produced more or less consistently throughout the day with larger amounts being produced at night. It contributes to horses tricklefeeding behaviour wherein they prefer to eat small amounts frequently throughout the course of the day. And many of us who offer hay to horses 247 can attest to the fact that horses eat considerably more at night than during the day. When we impose meal feeding on horses ghrelin gets produced in larger amounts during times of feed restriction. This can contribute to horses bolting their feed at mealtime and may predispose them to choke or colic.
Why is my horse too skinny?
Conscientious horse owners frequently turn to the published National Research Council guidelines for feeding horses. But all too frequently despite the ration being optimized for a horses weight age and workload the horse still carries a low body condition score. This can be because the horse isnt eating enough or the horse is not able to extract energy from his diet or the diet isnt offering the nutrients the horse needs.
In cases where the horse isnt eating the feed offered this may be attributed to poor dentition teeth should be floated at least once a year stress the stress hormone cortisol reduces production of ghrelin thus inhibiting the drive to eat or ulcers. Horses can be encouraged to eat more over the course of a day by providing smaller more frequent meals. This is consistent with the way horses are hardwired to feed and can actually encourage them to eat more by avoiding big variations in ghrelin production. It can also reduce stress by eliminating fasting between meals. And gastric ulcers can be dramatically reduced because the stomach is not left empty for long periods of time.
If your horse stays skinny irrespective of how much or how frequently you feed this can be an indication of not getting enough nutrients from the diet. Sometimes this can be fixed simply by conducting a nutrient analysis of the hay then balancing the ration with concentrates. Hay is the mainstay of a horses diet and should