Performance horses or those asked to do demanding physical tasks often have higher calorie, hydration, and nutrient needs than lightly ridden horses. Simply adding “more feed” to their diet, however, is not necessarily the answer. The key is matching the horse’s workload, body condition, age, and individual metabolism with an appropriate feeding program built on quality forage.
What Makes a Horse “Hard-Working”?
The first challenge in feeding a working horse is honestly assessing how hard your horse works. Most owners overestimate this. The National Research Council defines four work levels based on weekly hours of exercise and the distribution of gaits involved:
| Work Level | Hours Per Week | Typical Gait Breakdown | Examples |
| Light | 1–3 hrs | 40% walk, 50% trot, 10% canter | Recreational trail riding, pleasure riding |
| Moderate | 3–5 hrs | 30% walk, 55% trot, 10% canter, 5% skill work | Low-level jumping, horse showing, ranch work, frequent recreational riding |
| Heavy | 4–5 hrs | 20% walk, 50% trot, 15% canter, 15% gallop/jumping/skill work | Active competition, polo, serious dressage, eventing |
| Very Heavy | Varies | From 1 hr/week speed work to 6–12 hrs/week slow work | Racing, elite endurance, three-day eventing, advanced reining |
Source: NRC, Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th ed., 2007
Most recreational riding horses perform light to moderate work. A horse ridden three times a week at a walk and trot, with occasional trail rides, is not the same as a competition horse in active training. Feeding for heavy work when a horse is only doing light work can cause unwanted weight gain and associated health problems. When in doubt, start conservatively and adjust based on your horse’s body condition.
Forage Comes First
No matter the workload, forage should remain the foundation of the diet. Horses are designed to consume forage almost continuously. Good-quality hay or pasture supports digestive health, helps prevent gastric ulcers, and provides a steady source of energy through fiber fermentation.
Most horses should consume at least 1.5-2% of their body weight in forage daily. For a 1,100-pound horse, that equals roughly 16.5-22 pounds of hay or pasture dry matter each day.
Hard-working horses often benefit from:
- High-quality grass hay (e.g., early-cut timothy or orchard grass).
- Grass/alfalfa mixes.
- Free-choice forage access, depending on body condition.
Energy Needs Increase With Work
The biggest nutritional change in a hard-working horse is increased energy demand. However, adding excessive grain can create issues such as digestive upset and increased risk of colic, metabolic issues, or tying-up. Instead, many equine nutritionists recommend increasing calories gradually through:
- Higher-quality forage.
- Highly fermentable fibers such as beet pulp and soybean hulls,
- Commercial performance feeds with high fat and fiber (e.g., Sentinel Performance LS, Sentinel Active Senior) offered in multiple small meals (no more than 5 pounds) per day.
- Alfalfa products.
- Added fat sources (e.g., rice bran, flaxseed, or high-fat supplements like Sentinel Care Omegatin).
Fat is often called a “cool calorie” because it provides concentrated energy without the rapid spikes in glucose levels associated with high-starch/sugar/carbohydrate diets. It provides roughly 2.25 times the calories per gram of carbohydrates, making it a valuable energy source for horses in endurance and sustained-work or stamina disciplines.
Related Reading: How (and Why) to Add Fat to Your Horse’s Diet
Protein: Important, But Often Overfed
Performance horses sometimes need more protein to support muscle repair and conditioning. Protein quality matters as much as quantity; the key amino acids for horses are lysine, methionine, and threonine. For mature horses, a diet containing 8-12% crude protein (total diet, not just grain) is generally adequate, especially when forage quality is high. Good protein sources include alfalfa hay, soybean meal, commercial performance feeds, and ration balancers. Young performance horses that are still growing might need 12-18% crude protein to support proper development.
Vitamins and Minerals
Like any horse, those in hard work require the correct balance of vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and trace minerals like copper, zinc, and selenium. Calcium and phosphorus are particularly important and should be provided in a ratio of approximately 1.5-2:1 (calcium to phosphorus). Never feed more phosphorus than calcium.
Horses synthesize some vitamins themselves (vitamin C, vitamin D from sunlight, and B vitamins via hindgut fermentation) but might need supplementation with fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E—particularly vitamin E in horses with limited access to fresh grass.
Don’t Forget Water and Electrolytes
Water is the most important nutrient for any horse, especially one in work. Hard-working horses might drink 15-20 gallons of water per day in hot weather or intense training. When sweating, they lose water, sodium, chloride, potassium, and other electrolytes.
Every horse should have constant access to clean water, free-choice salt, and additional electrolytes during prolonged sweating or heavy work. Electrolyte supplementation is particularly important for endurance horses, horses competing in hot climates, and horses sweating heavily for more than an hour.
Approximately 60 grams (2 oz) of electrolyte supplementation per hour of exercise is a reasonable starting point for horses in moderate climates undergoing sustained work. Always ensure fresh water is freely available alongside any electrolyte supplementation.
Body Condition Scoring: Your Ongoing Feedback Tool
Body condition scoring—a simple, hands-on assessment of your horse’s fat cover and overall condition—will tell you whether your feed program is effective. The widely used Henneke system scores horses on a scale of 1 (emaciated) to 9 (obese), with 5 (moderate) generally considered ideal for most horses.
Performance horses can reasonably be maintained at a BCS of 4-6, depending on discipline:
- Racehorses and endurance horses often perform best at a leaner BCS of 4-5.
- Dressage, show horses, and pleasure competitors often do best at 5-6.
To score your horse, run your hands along the ribs, spine, withers, shoulders, neck crest, and tailhead, feeling for fat cover and assigning each area a numeric score. Weigh or score your horse at least monthly to determine whether your horse’s diet is working and make proactive adjustments as needed.
Related Reading: How To Easily Determine Your Horse’s Body Condition Score
Special Considerations for Feeding Senior Performance Horses
The experienced schoolmaster, reliable ranch horse, or beloved competitor who is still going at 15 or older often needs different dietary adjustments. This is because older horses might struggle with chewing hay, maintaining weight, digesting nutrients efficiently, and retaining muscle. As such, senior performance horses often benefit from:
- Softer forages.
- Soaked hay cubes or beet pulp.
- Forage alternatives, including hay stretcher type pellets.
- Senior feeds designed for digestibility with good-quality fiber.
- Complete feeds for seniors that cannot chew hay or forage.
- Additional fat calories.
- More frequent meals.
Maintaining body condition becomes especially important because older horses can lose muscle and weight more quickly during intense work. Routine dental care is also essential for seniors to properly utilize their feed.
Take-Home Message
When feeding a hard-working horse, the goal is not simply to offer more feed. It’s to provide the right balance of forage, energy, protein, vitamins and minerals, hydration, and management to support long-term health and performance. Work with your veterinarian, equine nutritionist, or feed representative to evaluate your horse’s body condition and calorie intake and design an individualized feeding plan to meet his needs.
Use this tool to find the right feed for your horse based on his age, workload, and more.
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