Feeding Working Horses for Energy and Condition

Matching the Ration to the Work in Front of You

A carriage horse's requirement changes with every week of the season. A quiet fortnight of schooling and short hacks asks far less than six days of driving at a county show, a marathon phase, or a long cross-country route with a heavy vehicle behind. Before you change anything in the bucket, work out what the horse is actually doing: hours in harness, pace, terrain, the weight of the carriage and the number of passengers aboard. Cold, wet and windy weather adds its own demand, and a clipped horse turned out in a February field will burn more energy simply staying warm than many owners expect.

Feed the horse in front of you rather than the type of horse you think you own. Two animals of similar build in the same yard can need very different rations, and the one that looks well on a handful of fibre may be working twice as hard as the one on a full feed bowl.

Forage Is Still the Foundation

However busy the calendar gets, forage should supply the bulk of the ration. Aim for a minimum of 1.5 per cent of bodyweight in dry matter each day, and closer to 2 per cent where possible. For a 500 kg horse that is a good 10 kg or more of hay or haylage, ideally split between several nets so the gut is never empty for long.

Quality matters as much as quantity. Late-cut meadow hay is a sensible base for horses that fizz up easily, while a slightly richer haylage or a portion of alfalfa can suit those in hard work who struggle to hold condition. Soaking hay reduces dust and, for a short period, some water-soluble sugars — useful if you are managing a horse prone to excitable behaviour.

Weigh your nets. A haynet that "looks about right" can vary by two or three kilos, and that is the difference between holding condition and losing it over a busy month.

Choosing Concentrates for Stamina, Not Sparkle

When forage alone will not meet the demand, top up with energy from fibre and oil wherever you can, and treat starch as a tool rather than a default.

• Oil is the quietest form of extra energy and suits steady, long-distance work. Introduce it gradually over a fortnight, building towards roughly 100 ml per 100 kg of bodyweight per day, and choose linseed or a plain vegetable oil rather than anything with added flavourings.
• Unmolassed sugar beet pulp, soaked thoroughly, provides highly digestible fibre with a good energy content and very little starch. It is one of the most useful feeds in a carriage yard.
• Oats remain the traditional fuel of the working horse, bruised or rolled for digestibility, but they are high in starch and suit horses that genuinely need the sparkle.
• Micronised barley or maize can help a poor doer gain weight, though both are best fed in small quantities alongside plenty of fibre.
• A quality balancer keeps vitamin and mineral intake correct when the hard feed is small, which is often the case in light work.

Keep individual meals modest — no more than about 2 kg of concentrate per feed for a 500 kg horse, with the total split across three or four smaller feeds rather than two large ones.

Keeping a Lid on Excitability

High-starch diets and excitable temperaments are a poor combination in harness, where a moment of silliness can unsettle a carriage. If a horse is sharp, look first at the total starch and sugar in the ration, including molasses in mixes and sugary treats. Reducing starch offers a good start. Increase oil and digestible fibre, increase turnout and slow, steady work, and keep the daily routine as consistent as possible.

Avoid drastic cuts the day before a show — an empty, anxious horse is no calmer than a well-fed one. Steady management over weeks does far more than any last-minute adjustment.

Water, Salt and Electrolytes

Clean water available at all times is non-negotiable, and a working horse will drink considerably more than a resting one. Provide a salt source daily, roughly 25 to 50 g of plain salt in the feed for a horse in regular work, so the horse can replace what it loses in sweat.

After heavy sweating — a long marathon phase, a hot show day, or a journey in a warm lorry — a proper electrolyte supplement helps restore sodium, chloride, potassium and magnesium. Offer it in water the horse will actually drink, and check for dehydration by pinching the skin on the shoulder for a second or two and watching how quickly it settles.

Monitoring Condition and Adjusting Slowly

Body condition scoring is the most reliable guide you have. On a scale of 0 to 5, aim for 2.5 to 3: ribs easily felt but not seen, a level back, and no hard crest along the neck. Combine this with a weigh tape every fortnight and note the results, along with appetite, droppings and coat shine.

Change the ration in small steps, around 10 per cent at a time, allowing a week or two for the horse to adjust. Get it right and the reward is a carriage horse that pulls strongly through a long day, recovers quickly, and still stands quietly in the traces at the end of it.