Horse Nutrition - Importance of feeding from the ground

Floor Level Horse Feeding

The conveniences made available to us in caring for and feeding horses make life so much easier, save us money and time and in many cases also help us stay a little cleaner than we otherwise would. 

We've talked about must have for feed rooms recently (click here).  Now we think it’s high time we cover another important aspect of feeding horses.

Hay nets, wall mounted hay racks and elevated feed bins – basically anything that results in a horse not eating from the ground – are our focus here.  It's important that we understand how feeding horses from the floor is so important.

Horses have evolved to eat from ground level. The fact that they do so is not a stand alone element of how they function but is very neatly woven in with many parts of their well being.

Why should my horse feed from the ground?

When horses are turned out and grazing, eating from the ground, they are chewing almost constantly. For every several chews, they take a step and over the course of the day walk several kilometres. This helps their muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints to stay supple, mobile and gently active. Eating from the ground also allows for any dust or debris that might be in the air to stay out of the respiratory tract because their nostrils are in a downward position, allowing gravity to work its magic. As they chew with their heads down, their jaw functions as it should to allow for optimal mastication (chewing) and preparation of the bolus that will go to their stomachs to continue digestion. This in turn allows for adequate saliva production, which then plays an important role in buffering the stomach from acid.

Another element of good digestion and gut function comes from the fact that when a horse is eating from the ground, the muscles of the neck, throat and back are stretched out into an elongated position. This not only allows the muscles of the back to remain strong and supple, preventing tension and problems associated with muscle shortening, but also allows for the correct muscular movements required to get the constant stream of food from the mouth to the stomach.

As you can see, the simple act of biting and chewing is linked with numerous elements, not just around digestion but many other parts of the body. When feed is placed above ground level the entire process of consuming and digesting food is disrupted. The jaw doesn’t chew as efficiently, the horse can inhale dust and debris, often from the feed itself and be unable to rid the respiratory tract of those irritants. Muscles in the back, neck and throat are shortened and tightened, less saliva is produced and the initial stages of digestion are off to a poor start.

Adding to this is the fact that in many cases, or at least part of the time horses are not truly ‘grazing’, as in moving whilst they eat and so the benefits of moving their bodies as they pick and chew grass are lost.