There are probably as many ways to feed and care for a horse as there stars in the sky. Or at least as many opinions on the proper way to do so. That being said, Marble Moon Farm feeds and cares for our horses in a way that we feel works best for them. We do change things up as well if we come across well supported evidence of a better way to do something.
Feed
Our horses are fed a moderate quality aflalfa/orchard grass mix. We try to keep hay in front of them at all times when they are not turned out and even sometimes while turned out they will be given access to hay. Some of our horses use a slow feed hay net. Slow feed hay nets prevent waste and provide a horse with a longer more consistent intake of hay. Some of our horses eat on the ground. We like to recreate a horses naturaly behaviors as much as possible and eating on the ground is beneficial to a horse's back and sinuses. We feed a 14% low starch pelleted feed to our horses. Low starch grains offer a horse nutrients without making them "hot" and are less likely to contribute to excessive weight gain and insulin resistence. When we have horses that are having trouble keeping or gaining weight due to several circumstances, such as lactating mares or hard working routines, we will supplement with calf manna. Calf manna is high in sugar and not reccomended for horses with insulin resistence, but it does well to help a horse gain weight.