Creating the Right Mix: Understanding Nutrients in a Horse's Diet

within cells and outside of the cells in what is called the extracellular fluid. Many animals if needed could survive weeks with poorminimal amounts of food but no animal will survive longer than a few days without water. The average adult horse needs about 610 gallons of water a day and that amount can increase based on the environmental conditions and exercise level of the horse Figure 4. Mares that are nursing foals will have a higher water intake requirement. Horses fed a highhay diet tend to drink more water than those with a concentrateforage diet or those consuming lots of fresh pasture.

Conclusions
When you take a closer look at the forage and grain that a horse eats over the course of a day it is amazing to realize how many different nutrients they are consuming. By ensuring that your horse is getting enough feed each day the feed should equal 23 percent of your horses body weight and that the quality of the feed is good you can be confident that your horse is likely to be consuming a balanced diet. Remember to consider the activity level and physiological status of the horse when analyzing the diet for example if the horse is being exercised 45 times a week it will have a higher demand for most nutrients than the horse exercised just once a week. If your horse is having health issues it is always important to assess the diet with a trained nutritionist to ensure that it is providing the nutrients your horse needs.