The Magazine March 2025

Feeding for winter weight

Posted 16th January 2025

Find out how the different elements of your horse’s diet affect his ability to maintain condition

Feeding-for-winter-weight

While winter can be a blessing for those of us whose horses could do with losing a few pounds, for anyone caring for a horse who struggles to maintain condition, it can be a real headache. This is because carrying enough condition is crucial if your horse is to be able to perform at his best, but it’s also very important for his general health.

Starting point

There are many possible reasons why a horse needs to gain condition and plenty of advice available on how to promote weight gain, so it can be hard to know where to start…

  • First, be sure your horse is actually underweight – being overweight has become so normalised that horses of a healthy weight can look lean in comparison
  • Try to identify any potential contributory factors
  • Promote a healthy digestive system
  • Use high-quality forage as the basis of the ration and add supplementary feed if your horse needs it

Top tip

Make sure that good quality forage makes up the majority of your horse’s diet, because it helps to keep the digestive system healthy.

Key checks

Identifying the potential contributory factors to weight loss is a crucial step. Here are some key things to consider if your horse has lost or is losing weight…

  • Are you feeding enough? Total feed intake should be between 2–2.5% of bodyweight on a dry matter basis
  • Have you carried out a worm egg count? A significant worm burden is a common reason for horses losing weight and condition
  • Have you had your horse’s teeth checked by a professional? No matter how good his diet, poor teeth will affect how well your horse can chew and, therefore, the nutrient uptake from his feed
  • Is your horse stressed or in pain? For example, if he’s turned out with other horses, is he being bullied away from forage put out in the field?

Did you know?

Horses are dependent on a healthy, balanced gut microbiota to digest fibre and release usable energy. The micro-organisms that make up the microbiota are vital for a number of functions, including digestion and immune function, so supporting gut health is a key part of good feeding.

Learn more about winter feeding in March Horse&Rider – out now!

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