Horse Feed

[Alex Koponen]

    Well I got inspired to do some research regarding feeding horses. Here
are the (modern) results:
Working horses require 1 lb. of grain and 1.1 lb. hay per 100 lbs. of horse
each day.
Riding horses can reduce grain to 0.8 lb. if hay is increased to 1.4 lbs.
These numbers are halved when the horse is idle.
More grain gives more energy and makes the horse more hyper (which might not
be good with inexperienced riders/handlers). Race horses may be fed as much
as 20 lbs. of grain per day with hay reduced to a few lbs.
Horses also require 10-12 gallons of water and around 1.8 oz. of salt per
day.
1.5 to 3+ acres pasturage per horse are also required.

If just used for casual (a few hours/week) riding, horses can get by with
very little or no grain.

    Alex