Horses Horse Nutrition & Food

What Do Horses Eat?

Horses are herbivores that primarily eat grass, hay, and grains.

What to feed a horse

The Spruce

Horses have very specific dietary needs because they are herbivores and have a unique digestive tract quite different from ours. Their long digestive system requires a high-fiber diet that is consumed in small amounts over a long time period. Rather than a few large meals, like humans typically eat, horses usually eat many small meals throughout the day. Horses actually spend most of their time eating! Here is a quick rundown of what horses eat and a few things they shouldn't.

  • 01 of 07

    Pasture Grass and Tender Plants

    Horses grazing

    Jenifer Harrington / Getty Images

    The natural diet of the horse is pasture grass and tender plants. Good pasture contains most of the nutrition a horse requires to be healthy. It also contains silica, which is important for dental health. Primitive horses can live on sparse rations and often have to make do with less than ideal pasture and living conditions. This is likely why problems like obesity, equine metabolic syndrome, and laminitis are rare in wild horses but occur frequently in modern horses. Pasture grass isn't necessarily the problem; the types of horses that humans developed and the lack of exercise are.

    Horse owners with easy keepers need to limit the amount of fresh grass their horses have access to. Introducing lush pasture suddenly to a horse not used to it can cause serious problems as well. For the horse that is a hard keeper, however, good pasture provides the best nutrition.

  • 02 of 07

    Hay

    Horses eating hay

    Charlotte Carlin / Getty Images

    Many people don't have the luxury of being able to let their horses graze on pasture throughout the whole year. When grass isn't available, hay is the next best choice. Finding good horse hay can be tricky. It helps to have hay tested so any shortfalls in vitamins and minerals can be compensated for with supplements. For some horses, rich hay can be a problem in the same way rich pasture grass can be. ​Easy keepers may need to be restricted from 24/7 access to a bale feeder.

  • 03 of 07

    Grains

    Cowgirl feeding oats to a horse
    Thomas Sbampato / Getty Images

    Oats are a traditional grain fed to horses. However, horses may also be fed small amounts of other grains like corn. Some grains, such as wheat, aren't always good for horses. The seed head of grasses would be the closest thing a ​wild horse would come to eating grains in their natural environment.

    Grains that are grown, harvested, and processed using modern-day methods are not natural foods for horses. It is easy to feed too much grain to horses. Grain also doesn't require a similar length of chewing time, nor does it contain the levels of silica that grass does. This can contribute to issues including ulcers and dental problems. A horse that overeats a large amount of grain may have colic or founder.

  • 04 of 07

    Concentrate Mixes

    Horse Food

    David Handley / Getty Images

    Concentrates are usually a mixture of things like grains, flaxseed, beet pulp, molasses for energy and flavor, bran, vitamins and minerals, and other ingredients. Commercial mixes may have a number of ingredients in them, or some feed mills will mix concentrates to your specifications (only practical when you have a large number of horses to feed).

    Concentrate mixes, like grain, help make up for any shortfall in nutrition and provide a quick source of energy. Mares in foal, nursing mares, performance horses, or working horses often benefit from being fed concentrates in addition to grass or hay.

    Continue to 5 of 7 below
  • 05 of 07

    Salt and Minerals

    Ponies licking a round salt lick tied to a fence

    Oana Coman-Sipeanu / Getty Images

    Supplements such as salt and minerals may be included in a concentrate mix or may be offered separately. A salt block or loose salt in a pasture or stall allows horses to help themselves when they have a craving. Some salt may come mixed with minerals. Some people offer free-choice minerals as well, or they may add them into the horse's grain or concentrate meal. Many people find that salt is consumed more during the summer months than in colder weather.

  • 06 of 07

    Treats

    Girl feeding carrot to horse
    Vladimir Godnik / Getty Images

    Many people like to feed their horses treats. These tidbits may include things like apples, watermelon, carrots, or other favorite fruits or vegetables, handfuls of grain, sugar cubes or candies, or sometimes odd things like a bite of a hot dog or boiled egg. However, it may not be advisable to feed horses meat or too many sugary treats, including fruit. Horses are herbivores, and even though a horse may not show outward signs like colic when fed meat, they may still feel some discomfort and strange foods could affect the intestinal flora.

    Of course, a horse won't make the connection to the hamburger they ate an hour ago and the discomfort they're having now, so they'll probably eat any food they like over and over again. This is why it's important to feed treats in small amounts. Treats need to be considered as part of the overall feeding plan and kept to a minimum if your horse needs to watch their weight. Your horse also needs to be respectful when being fed treats.

  • 07 of 07

    Water

    Horse drinking from a water trough

    Bob Langrishorling Kindersley / Getty Images

    Of course, a horse doesn't really "eat" water. However, water is an essential part of the equine diet. A horse eating pasture grass probably won't drink as much water as one on a hay-only diet. However, fresh, clean water is essential for both.

What Can't Horses Eat?

In addition to making sure your horse has access to a varied diet that provides the nutrients they need, it’s important to be aware of the foods horses shouldn’t eat. Those include:

  • Bran: Brans, including wheat and rice bran, are not recommended as a major part of your horse's diet, as they can cause mineral imbalances.
  • Meat: Your horse might gladly eat some meat, but it shouldn’t be a part of their diet. Horses are herbivores whose digestive tracts are designed to break down plants, so feeding them meat may negatively impact their health. 
  • Excess fruit: Too much fruit can cause colic or other complications.
  • Cruciferous vegetables: These veggies, including cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and more, can lead to gas and discomfort.
  • Dairy: Horses are lactose intolerant and shouldn’t be fed dairy products like cheese, yogurt, and milk. 
  • Lawn and garden clippings: Keep these clippings away from your horse, as some weeds can be poisonous and the clippings could be contaminated with toxic pesticides.
  • Avocados: Avocados contain persin, which is toxic to horses. The avocado tree and its fruit can make horses very ill, with symptoms that include edema, colic, neurologic dysfunction, and irregular heartbeat.

How Much Do Horses Eat?

Several factors, such as size and activity level, can influence how much a horse will eat. Generally, horses can consume up to 3% of their body weight in hay daily, but the total amount will also depend on what else they’re eating throughout the day.

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  1. Destrez, Alexandra et al. Changes Of The Hindgut Microbiota Due To High-Starch Diet Can Be Associated With Behavioral Stress Response In HorsesPhysiology & Behavior, vol 149, 2015, pp. 159-164. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.05.039

  2. Feeding Horses. PennState Extension.

  3. Bran Mash. American Association of Equine Practitioners.

  4. Feeding Treats To HorsesKentucky Equine Research.