When considering what is best for your horse, you must consider why they need food, their species-specific needs, their individual needs and what the basic rules of feeding are. 

All animals require food to maintain health and welfare, provide materials for growth, repair damaged tissues and provide energy for essential metabolic processes and exercise. 

The horse is predominantly a grazing animal, designed to eat small amounts, frequently. Their natural feed is grasses and other edible shrubs and plants. They have evolved to eat forage-based diets for approximately 16-18 hours a day. 

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Rules of feeding horses 

Finally: 

Remember that many leisure horses may only need the addition of a vitamin and mineral supplement or balancer rather than a concentrate feed to balance their diet of forage 

All reputable feed manufacturers that have UFAS certification produce balanced mixed feeds suitable for animals of varying ages and states of health and for different  types of work or exercise being undertaken. 

For advice on the most suitable feed for your horse or pony, you can either consult your vet, one of the helplines provided by the feed manufacturers or an independent nutritionist. If you would like to contact an independent nutritionist, you can search the Association for Nutrition voluntary register.  

Logo of Baileys Horse Feeds

As our official suppliers, Baileys Horse Feeds generously donate feed for the horses and ponies being cared for at our four Rescue and Rehoming Centres, which is invaluable in helping underweight horses in poor condition to carefully gain weight. The low-calorie balancer also enables us to make sure good doers still get all the vitamins and minerals they need whilst on a restricted diet. Thank you, Baileys! 

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