We recommend feeding your horse at least two meals per day, though three or more meals are ideal. Be sure to keep each meal to 4 pounds or less for ponies, 5 pounds or less for average-sized horses, and 6 pounds or less for draft horses.
Horses are designed to consume small meals throughout the entire day. Because of this, feeding your horse three to five times per day is best. You can learn more about ideal feeding times for your horse here.
Choosing the right feed for your horse is typically not an easy task. Because of the complexity of some situations and the individual needs of each horse, our team would love to help you with a free, personalized feeding plan tailored to your horse’s needs. Get started here!
If a horse is receiving a good quality forage (hay/pasture) program and the correct quantity of the right Tribute® horse feed for their needs, supplements generally aren’t nutritionally needed. We tend to recommend supplements when a horse has a specific health concern or additional need. For example, some horses have genetically poor hoof quality, so Tough As Nails®, our premium hoof supplement, would be a great addition to their feed program.
Determining if your horse needs a supplement requires an evaluation of their total diet and current health. Our team would be happy to provide guidance and you can reach us here. Sometimes, horse owners over supplement their horses, which can negatively impact their health. Are you potentially over-supplementing? Learn more here.
NSC stands for non-structural carbohydrates, which are often referred to as sugar & starch in a horse’s diet. Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are found in forage, horse feeds and most supplements. There is no such thing as a no sugar/starch diet. Learn more about NSC here.
Horse feeds are often judged on their appropriateness for a given horse based on their percentage of NSC. While the percent of NSC in a pound of feed is valuable information, it must be taken in context with feed intake. Further, there is no textbook definition for what percentages are considered low versus high NSC in terms of horse feeds. Generally, horse feeds under 20% NSC are considered lower NSC, while horse feeds less than 15% NSC would be considered ultra-low NSC. Learn more about low NSC diets, if your horse could benefit, and how to form a low NSC horse feed plan here!