Anyone who starts asking more of their horse — more training hours, higher intensity, a full competition season — eventually runs into the question of whether the ration still holds up. Usually the answer isn't "more concentrate feed," but "get the basics right first." Below is how to match feed to workload, without throwing your horse's digestion out of balance.
Start with the Amount of Work, Not the Feed Bin
The hardest work most sport horses in the Netherlands actually do falls into the light-to-moderate category: an hour of dressage or jumping daily, with something more intensive a few times a week. Truly heavy work — a long cross-country course, multi-day eventing, endurance over dozens of kilometers — comes up less often than riders think.
That distinction determines almost everything about the ration. A horse in light work has only a limited extra energy need above maintenance; a horse in heavy work needs quite a bit more. Feed for a workload that isn't actually there, and you end up with a horse that's too energetic, sometimes overweight, and harder to ride. So assess the real workload soberly, and adjust the ration to match.
Broad categories:
| Workload | Typical Pattern | Energy Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Light | 1 hour/day, mostly walk and trot | slightly above maintenance |
| Moderate | daily riding with regular harder work | clearly increased |
| Heavy | long or intensive work, full competition season | strongly increased |
Forage Is and Remains the Foundation
A horse is a grazing animal with a digestive system built for a lot of fiber, spread throughout the day. Forage — hay, sometimes haylage — is therefore the foundation of every ration, including for a sport horse. A common guideline is roughly 1.5 to 2 kilos of forage per 100 kilos of body weight per day, but the exact amount depends on the quality, weight, and condition of the animal.
Enough forage, properly spread out, does more than supply energy. It keeps the gut working, limits the risk of gastric ulcers and colic, and gives the horse something to do — important for an animal that spends a lot of time in a stable. Long periods without feed (more than a few hours) are bad for both the stomach and behavior.
Before adding anything, it pays to have your hay analyzed. The nutritional value of hay varies widely by batch and by cutting. A hay analysis (through a feed supplier or laboratory) shows what your horse is already getting, so you don't feed extra unnecessarily.
Concentrate Feed: Only Filling the Gap
Concentrate feed is meant to cover the difference between what forage provides and what the horse needs for harder work — in energy, but also in protein, vitamins, and minerals. So the order is: first check whether the basics cover it, then supplement in a targeted way. Not the other way around.
A few practical guidelines:
- Increase gradually. The gut environment adapts slowly. Build up changes over one to two weeks rather than from one day to the next.
- Split into several small portions. A horse digests small amounts better than one large feeding. Many recommendations put the upper limit at around half a kilo per 100 kilos of body weight per meal; it's better to stay under that.
- Match the type to the work. Horses often respond more calmly to energy from slow, "cool" sources (fiber, oils) than to a lot of fast sugars and starch. For most recreational sport horses, a standard sport concentrate — pellets or muesli — fed according to the packaging is enough.
- Follow the feeding guideline on the bag. Manufacturers calibrate the recommended amount to weight and work. Feed less than that guideline, and you risk your horse getting too few vitamins and minerals — in that case, a balancer (a concentrated vitamin-and-mineral mix without many calories) is a more logical choice than extra concentrate.
A common mistake is feeding heavily "just in case" around a competition. A sudden spike in starch right before hard work is more likely to cause excitability and digestive upset than extra performance.
Water and Salt, Especially with Sweating
Don't underestimate the basics. A working horse must always have free access to clean water; the need rises sharply with harder work and warm weather. Through sweat, the horse also loses salts (electrolytes). A salt lick in the stall covers the daily need for many horses; with prolonged or intense sweating — a long cross-country course, heat, multi-day competitions — additional electrolyte supplementation can be worthwhile. If in doubt, ask your vet or feed advisor about the right form and amount, and never give electrolytes without water also being available.
When a Supplement Is Worth It
The range of supplements on offer is enormous, and far from everything does what the packaging suggests. The sober line: a supplement fills a shortfall or a specific need. If your horse already gets a complete ration through forage and concentrate feed, an extra tub usually adds little.
Categories you'll come across:
- Vitamins and minerals / balancers — relevant if you feed little or no concentrate feed, or with a demonstrated shortfall.
- Joint supplements — popular with older or more heavily worked horses; the evidence for their effect is mixed.
- Stomach and gut support — sometimes used for sensitive horses, but management (more forage, less stress, less starch) usually does more.
- Electrolytes — targeted at sweating, as described above.
Two warnings. For competition horses, the doping regulations of the KNHS and FEI apply: some (herbal) supplements contain substances that are banned in competition. Check this in advance. And "natural" doesn't automatically mean harmless or effective. Have a persistent problem — weight loss, a poor coat, underperformance, recurring complaints — assessed by a vet first, before trying to solve it with a supplement.
In Short
Match the ration to the work your horse actually does, and do it in this order:
- Unlimited or generously spread-out forage as the base; have your hay analyzed if needed.
- Fill the energy and nutrient gap with concentrate feed or a balancer, gradually and in small portions, according to the guideline on the bag.
- Make sure water and salt are always available; with heavy sweating, add electrolytes in a targeted way.
- Only add a supplement if there's an identifiable shortfall or a concrete reason — and check the doping rules for competition.
Not sure about amounts, or dealing with a persistent problem with condition or performance? An independent feed advisor or your vet can look at the whole picture of weight, work, and health with you.
See also: Is Your Horse Ready for the Next Level? · Level: Competing More Seriously