Start here: the complete feeding plan from the ground up
Short version: see the overview
What a feeding plan needs to do
A good feeding plan is the key to a healthy, strong and well-functioning horse. When you work with a feeding plan, it comes down to three things: creating an overview, ensuring balance, and choosing solutions that match your horse's needs precisely.
The philosophy behind Regulator Complete is that feeding correctly should be easy, without unnecessary complexity. That's why the universe is built as a complete guide that takes you step by step through the most important elements of feeding, from basic requirements and daily workload to practical tools such as feeding charts and a simple feed room. The goal is a solid overview, so you can confidently make the right choices, whether you're new to feeding or want to fine-tune a routine you already have.
Build from the bottom up. First the horse's weight and workload, then the forage, and finally supplements and salt. Skip a step, and every figure that follows will be wrong.
If you don't have a mineral analysis of your forage, feed your vitamin and mineral supplement at Ekstra level until the analysis is available.
The universe's two tracks
The material is divided in two. The first track is about understanding and assessment: what affects your horse's needs, and how to read your own horse. The second track is about the practical choices you make day to day, nutrient by nutrient.
Feeding plan: understand and assess
| Topic | What you get out of it |
|---|---|
| Key factors | The main factors that affect your horse's needs |
| Workload | How to assess exertion, workload and energy expenditure |
| Feeding charts | Overviews that help you find the right amount to feed |
| Horses need salt | Why salt is an essential part of the diet |
| The simple feed room | How easy feeding can be with a few well-chosen products |
| Changing feed | What matters in a correct and gentle change of feed |
| Feeding FAQ | Answers to the most common questions about feeding and feeding plans |
How to: the practical choices
| Topic | What you get out of it |
|---|---|
| Forage as the foundation | Why dry matter, quality and quantity are decisive for everything else you do |
| Vitamin and mineral supplements | How to choose the right balancer for your horse |
| Omega-3 in practice | RC O3 Algeolie and what it can do for muscles, the immune system and recovery |
| Salt and fluid balance | A simple but often underestimated key to health, performance and wellbeing |
| Mash, more than a treat | How mash becomes a functional tool and not just a treat |
| Sugar | Why balance is essential, and how to avoid the classic feeding mistakes |
| Protein | What it means for muscles, hoof quality, development and performance |
| How to weigh your horse | Why accurate weight monitoring is the foundation of all dosing |
| Feeding during demanding periods | Practical guidelines for intensive training, stress, rehabilitation and gastric ulcers |
The order is the whole point
We recommend reading the topics in the order shown. That way you get a natural progression from understanding through assessment to practical application, and you can better see how the parts fit together to create an optimal feeding plan.
The quality of the forage determines how much vitamin and mineral supplement and how much fibre mash your horse needs, and its weight determines both amounts. If you start with the products and work backwards, you'll get it wrong. If you already know the subject well, the pages can be used as a reference when you need help with a specific area.
The figures it all comes down to
| Step | Per 100 kg of horse per day | Horse of 500 kg |
|---|---|---|
| Forage, measured as dry matter | At least 1.5 kg, ideally up to 2 kg | 7.5 to 10 kg dry matter |
| Vitamin and mineral supplement, light work, Ekstra | 65 g | 325 g |
| Salt for maintenance | 10 g | 50 g |
Every Day Happy and Peak Performance share a feeding chart for horses aged 0 to 14. If your horse is 15 or older, the senior chart applies, where the same levels are higher.
Ground rules that apply throughout
- Always dose according to your horse's current weight, not its ideal target weight
- All amounts in the feeding charts are given as dry weight
- If you don't have a mineral analysis of your forage, feed at Ekstra level
- Stallions need at least 10% more than the chart states, and should be fed at Ekstra level relative to their workload
- Give loose salt in the feed. A salt lick alone won't cover the requirement
- It's good for your horse to mix the products with water. This applies to balancers, vitamin and mineral supplements, fibre mash, salt and electrolytes
How to get a plan made for you
If you're unsure how to feed your horse, if it has special needs, or if it's facing challenges of any kind, you can have an individual feeding plan drawn up by our nutrition consultant.
- You order the feeding plan.
- You receive an email with a link where you fill in the details about your horse.
- The plan is tailored specifically to your horse.
- You receive it within 3 to 4 working days.
The plan is based on your horse's own figures and needs and is prepared by consultants with experience in feeding and equine welfare. If your horse has particular challenges, this is the way to go rather than guessing on your own.
Glossary and the most common questions
The feed terms, namely forage, roughage, hard feed, concentrates, complete feed and supplementary feed, and the answers to the most frequently asked questions about soaking, dry weight and mash are gathered in one place.
