The nutritional requirements shown by the horizontal black line in graphs 1 and 2 are those of a mature 1100 lb horse in maintenance to little exercise. The supplementation shown in graph 2 will vary depending on the physiological status and exercise level of a given horse.

Editor’s note:
The following graphs show the optimum nutrient requirements; in real life, it is practical and just fine to work within a range above and bellow the optimum nutrition line

Graph 1: Equine digestible energy, crude protein and mineral content

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Graph 1 shows the energy, protein and mineral content of the hay (red bars), and compares these values to the nutrient requirements of a mature 1100 lb horse in maintenance to little exercise (black horizontal line).

Graph 2: Required supplementation

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Graph 2 shows nutritional content (red bars) of the hay in comparison to equine nutrient requirements (black horizontal line) and the required mineral supplementation (yellow bars).

The yellow bars in Graph 2 highlight the importance of mineral and vitamin supplementation. Horses loose so much salt through sweating that it needs to be supplemented in much higher levels than the other minerals. It is therefore a good idea to have a mineral mix and salt supplementation available to the horse. Vitamins are very easily lost from the nutritional components of hay, even if it stored correctly, and they should always be part of the supplementation.

• Click here to read tables with energy and protein requirements and expected feed consumption of various types of horses (pdf).