Your horse's eating:fasting pyramid: how feeding affects horse behaviour

Did you know that a little basic math can result in profound changes for your horse's behavioural and physical health?

Horses are trickle-feeders. They move almost continuously, taking in small amounts of forage along the way. Depending on forage quality and availability, horses living under natural conditions eat for 14–20 hours a day. Horses usually choose to fast for no longer than one hour at a time.

How horses have evolved to eat

Unlike us, horses are built to thrive on cellulose-rich, hard-to-digest plants. Their stomach produces acid continuously - up to 1.5 litres an hour - and the majority of their saliva production is triggered by chewing. This matters, because saliva not only begins the digestion process, but it also buffers stomach acid. When horses can't trickle-feed, that buffering is reduced, increasing the risk of gastric ulcers, colic, and stress-related behaviour problems.

Your horse's eating:fasting ratio

Calculating how many hours a day your horse eats vs. fasts is a valuable exercise. If we turned the number of hours into a visual pyramid, eating should take up the majority of time.

As you can see, the majority of time in this horse's pyramid is taken up by eating.

Unfortunately, common feeding practices can flip that. For example, a horse fed hay three 'meals' of hay a day, which are consumed in two hours, is eating for only six hours, and fasting for eighteen.

How feeding affects horse behaviour

Many of the behaviour cases I see involve pyramids like the one below. While this may not necessarily be the direct cause of the primary problem, addressing this issue will always help indirectly. This is because when horses are fed in ways that result in too much fasting, it chronically raises their baseline stress levels, making it harder for them to learn, cope, and perform.

Fasting makes up the majority of this horse's pyramid, greatly increasing the likelihood this horse will develop physical and behavioural health issues.

How to feed your horse like a horse

Even small changes can make a significant difference. Increasing feeding frequency, scattering hay piles, or using small-hole slow-feeder hay nets are all easy places to start. One study found that slow-feeder hay nets increased eating time by 87% — meaning our example horse could go from six hours of eating a day to over eleven, with minimal cost or effort.

How to introduce your horse to a slow-feeder hay net

Slow-feeder hay nets are a simple and effective tool, but introducing them thoughtfully can make the difference between a horse who takes to them easily and one who gives up in frustration.

Slow-feeder hay nets come in various hole sizes, and the size you start with matters. The key is to start with a larger hole size than you ultimately intend to use, allowing your horse to learn how to manipulate the net and access the hay without too much effort. Horses are very clever, but they are not as quickly proficient at solving problems to access food as many dogs can be. It can be helpful in the early days to pull hay out of the holes for your horse, so that they can learn how to access the hay in the net. Once they are feeding confidently and without hesitation, you can gradually transition to a smaller hole size over a period of days or weeks, depending on how quickly your individual horse adapts. Providing your horse with some free-choice hay while you introduce the net is also advised, until they get the hang of it.

If you see signs of frustration or that your horse is struggling, such as pawing the ground or the net, not eating from the net, and so on, go back to a larger hole-sized net. From there, take more time, gradually weaning them back onto one with a smaller-sized hole.

It is also worth paying attention to where you hang or place the net. A position that mimics natural grazing, ideally lower to the ground or at chest height, is generally better tolerated than one that requires the horse to reach upwards. Higher nets can cause neck and back discomfort, or even dental issues over time. Most horses adapt quickly once they understand how the net works, and the payoff for their health and behaviour is well worth the short adjustment period.

When we understand how feeding affects horse behaviour, we can take action so that our horses can be healthier and happier. Looking at your horse's eating-to-fasting pyramid is a great place to start.

#horsebehaviour #horsewelfare