Thirteen Ways to Assist Your Horse to Have Natural Digestion

1. Keep your feeding regime simple.  Provide a good balanced diet, taking care to read feed preparation instructions and serve to your horse in the correct quantities.
2. Select carefully any hay, oats, barley, protein additives, or other supplements for quality.  A healthy horse will reflect the quality of the feed it is given.
3. You must check the colour and smell.  Any mould, dust and dampness will severely affect the nutrients your horse receives from the feed.
4. Dust will cause your horse to have respiratory issues and may develop a cough.  If exposure is prolonged, scarring in the lung tissue could occur.
5. Protein levels need to be as high as 18% for the growing horse and becomes less as the horse ages to about 10-12%. 
6. The higher the physical activity is, the more protein your horse needs, as protein is the building blocks for your horses muscles.  Too much and your horse will become fat. 
7. You must provide fibre regularly.  It's so important for your horse's mind and digestive system to have ready access to good quality hay.
8. You must make any changes to your horse's diet slowly to avoid disturbance to your horse's gut, temperament and condition.
9. Beware of lush grass and too much starch.
10. Keep an eye on your horse's manure.  It is a great indicator to how your horse's gut is functioning.
11. Provide a good sloppy mash weekly using bran or boiled linseed.
12. You need to check your horse's teeth every 6 to 12 months.  Digestion starts at the first bite, if that causes pain or it cannot cut and grind efficiently none of the rest will flow as well.
13. Keep an eye on your horse's physical condition, weighing and measuring may also be helpful.

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