Horses need a balanced ration for proper growth, maintenance, and reproduction. There are a multitude of different ready-mixed feeds available. However, prior to purchasing a bag of feed, one must first know the requirements of their horse such as age, use, activity level and what else the horse is eating which includes type of hay, pasture, and supplements. Secondly, one should understand how to read the feed tag to ensure the horse's nutritional requirements are being met and not exceeded.

The information provided on feed tags is subject to national and state regulation as well as guidelines provided by professional associations. Every bag of commercial feed purchased has a feed tag attached. Feed tags list the product name, purpose (indicates the class(es) of horses for which the feed is intended; i.e., foal versus lactating mare), the guaranteed analysis, and an ingredient list. The ingredient list tells the buyer all the ingredients that have been mixed together in the commercial feed. The mixing of different ingredients and quantity is what makes feeds different.

Guaranteed Analysis: The guaranteed analysis provides information on concentrations of some nutrients. Thus, the guaranteed analysis assists horse owners in combining the correct commercial feed with the types of forages available to be fed and relate the horse's nutritional requirements to the feedstuff nutritional content. Feed tags must list the minimum levels of the following: crude protein, crude fiber and crude fat (expressed as percentages), minimum and maximum percentages of calcium, and minimum values for phosphorus (percent), copper (parts per million or ppm), zinc (ppm), selenium (ppm) and vitamin A (International Units per pound). Some companies may also list other ingredients, such as biotin or vitamin E, especially where the amount may be of interest.

Here are some tips when reading a feed tag.

Protein: Commercial feeds can use a variety of protein sources that may include corn, oats, cottonseed, barley, or soybeans. Crude protein is not digestible protein. If the protein sources are inferior and have a low digestibility, then the horse will not be able to use that as a protein source. This is especially important for growing horses.

Cheap fillers: The following are examples of components added for filler (little nutritional value): wheat middlings, soybean or oat hulls, alfalfa meal or bermuda straw, and by-products.

Low starch diets: A low starch/sugar diet is healthier for the horse. This is especially true for horses with Cushings or who are prone to founder. A small amount of high quality whole oats is much better than lower quality, over-processed grain by-products. Grains and molasses are examples of ingredients which contribute to starch and sugar in feeds.

Crude fiber and fat: Fat is one energy source that horses use to supply the fuel for body processes. The higher the minimum percentage of crude fat, the higher the energy content of the feed can be expected.

The crude fiber level on a feed tag is the best indicator of energy content. Fiber provides energy, but at low amounts when compared to carbohydrates or fat. However, fiber is important in a concentrate mix and necessary to ensure normal digestive tract functioning. For many formulations, low crude fiber concentration is associated with high energy concentration, and high crude fiber concentration is associated with lower energy con­centration. Thus, as fiber increases, energy content decreases.

Minerals and vitamins: Organic mineral sources are even better than mineral sulfate forms, but they tend to be more expensive. You will see them in the ingredient listing section of the label as "proteinates" or "chelates" (for example, copper proteinate or zinc proteinate). These chelated minerals are 25-55% more available than their "inorganic" counterparts (sulfates and oxides). Select feed with copper sulfate and zinc sulfate since mineral sulfates, because they tend to be more digestible than mineral carbonate or oxide forms.

Calcium and phosphorus probably are the two most crucial mineral levels to note on a feed tag. Horses in production and growth require more calcium and phosphorus than mature horses at maintenance. Recommendations for total amounts of calcium are more than for phosphorus. Although the quantity of calcium and phosphorus will vary, the ratio of the two minerals should remain within 1.1:1 up to 2:1 parts calcium to phosphorus in the total ration. When feeding with forages, remember that legume hays (such as alfalfa) typically have greater calcium content than grass hay. Therefore, if feeding grass hay, the formulated feed should be higher in calcium than if feeding alfalfa.

Check quantities!: Some concentrated feeds also contain ingredients that may sound great but the amounts aren't enough to make a difference to the animal. If labels show quantities of MSM, biotin and probiotics, check the amounts. MSM is only beneficial in amounts of 10 grams per day. With probiotics, companies often include only one or two strains of bacteria when a minimum of six or seven are needed.

Over-Processing and Storage: Highly processed concentrated feed products lack beneficial enzymes as well as some vitamins and minerals--the heat from processing depletes them. More nutrients are lost with age.

Feed tags provide a horse owner with a wealth of information. Rations should be formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of each individual horse. As always, when one is unsure, contact your local veterinarian or state extension specialist with your feeding questions.

- Teresa Steckler

Straight grass pastures may at times need a boost. Soil tests are always suggested with P and K applications usually following. Let's not forget that pH is also a concern and a lime application may also be needed.

But some horse owners are looking for a flush of growth for their animals in the spring. An application of nitrogen will stimulate grasses to grow. Usually a suggestion of 30—50 lbs of nitrogen is sufficient for most horse pastures. This would equate in simple terms to 88 or 147 pounds of ammonium nitrate per acre. The above application would supply 30 or 50 lbs of nitrogen per acre.

Larger applications might be needed if hay is also going to be removed from that pasture. If legumes make up 30% of a pasture, then no application of nitrogen is suggested.

- Ed Billingsley

More and more horse owners are concerned about pasture management. They all seem to ask the same questions. How do I maintain a quality pasture?

Well, most do not like the following statement. Do not over graze the pasture. There is no grass that will survive the continual destruction of the pasture service from too many animals over grazing a pasture. The grass never has time to recover its root reserves and its ability to store energy is reduced from insufficient top growth.

Grass should be grazed no lower than 3-inches and 4-inches is the better choice. The animals should then be moved to another pasture while regrowth occurs. If legumes such as red clover are part of a quality pasture, then a 21-30 day rest period is required to maintain the legume. If you wish to just open the gate, then pasture management will never become a reality.

- Ed Billingsley

Alsike clover is sometimes included in prepackaged pasture seed mixtures. This clover is well adapted to poorly drained soils. It is an inferior legume when compared to ladino clover, red clover, or alfalfa. The caution here is to not include it in a horse pasture.

Alsike clover poisoning can occur after several weeks of exposure and is relative to the amount of exposure to pasture or hay. The first symptom from alsike clover poisoning is photosensitivity or a reaction to light. The second more serious problem is liver damage.

The one thing that causes the problem is not known. So, southern Illinois horse owners should not have this clover in their pasture or hay.

- Ed Billingsley

Now through the end of March is the time you should be overseeding pastures with legumes if grass stands are not matted. Matted grass pastures should have been overseeded in mid-February to early March. Grasses should be grazed close at this time of year and legume seed should be broadcast over the top. The rain and animal traffic on the pasture moves the seed in contact with the soil.

Red clover should be seeded at 6- to 8- pounds per acre. Common seed is readily available, but trials have shown certified seed under good management practices is worth the difference. Ladino clover should be seeded at 1/2 to 1-pound per acre.

Neither of these clovers will do very well in a continuously grazed pasture. Rotational grazing will help maintain your legumes and improve your pasture quality.

Legumes add nutrition to your pasture and fix nitrogen for your grasses. Remember, you do not need to apply nitrogen to your pasture if legumes make up 30% of the available forage.

- Ed Billingsley

The simplest way to identify clover is where the flower is attached to the plant. White clover is attached in a single stalk coming off the stolen or above ground stem. Red clover blooms are at the terminal end of stems. Alsike clover blooms come off the side of stem the same as a separate leaflet.

- Ed Billingsley