When feed is in short supply, horses should be assessed to determine if supplementary feeding or full hand feeding is needed. Unfortunately, in times of short supply, a number of factors can combine which can lead to abnormal feeding practices. This is especially so if the feeds generally used for horses - such as most grains, lucerne hay and good quality roughage - are not available. The roughage is essential for digestion.

During drought, horses can be fed on lower quality roughage and grain, and the grain available in a drought will probably be wheat. Wheat can be fed to horses provided it is introduced gradually and balanced correctly with roughage. This applies to all grains.

This Primefact covers:

• roughage;
• feeding a wheat/roughage ration;
• multivitamin/mineral premixes;
• daily quantities of rations.