4,777 answers about horses & farm animals
Horses and farm animals run on routine — feeding schedules, hoof and health care, safe fencing and calm handling, in all weather. This page gathers the horse and farm animal library of KinsLe Answers in one place, organized by topic from daily care to travel and senior animals. Every answer is original, written by KinsLe, and tied to a real KinsLe feature.
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409 answers in Feeding & Nutrition — page 4 of 18
You are likely overfeeding a Friesian horse if the neck crest thickens under the mane, ribs disappear beneath a rounded barrel, and fat softens the tailhead even though ridden work has not increased. Friesians are famously thrifty for their size, so a ration that suits a lighter, harder-keeping breed can quietly push…
You are likely overfeeding a Clydesdale horse if fat pads build behind the shoulder and over the ribs so the ribs vanish under your palm, the neck thickens, and hay or grain is finished eagerly while work stays light. Judge a draft horse by hands-on condition and a weight tape, not by an empty manger, because a…
Small pieces of carrot, apple, banana, pumpkin, and plain leafy greens suit most Nubian goats as occasional treats, offered in tiny amounts rather than by the handful. Keep treats rare, a few small pieces a couple of times a week alongside a forage-based diet, and introduce any new one slowly so her rumen can adjust…
A Welsh pony should never be given chocolate, avocado, onion, raw potato, tomato foliage, coffee, tea, alcohol, or sugary baked goods and sweets. Welsh ponies are hardy native types that thrive on plain grazing, so rich handouts work directly against the plain diet their weight and feet depend on. Keep treats tiny and…
Never give a Thoroughbred chocolate, avocado, onion, raw potato, tomato plant parts, coffee, tea, energy drinks, alcohol, or rich sugary snacks. Thoroughbreds are high-energy, sensitive horses whose stomachs and temperaments react quickly to abrupt feeding changes, and stimulant foods are especially unwelcome in a…
A Tennessee Walking Horse should never be given chocolate, avocado, onion, raw potato, tomato foliage, coffee, tea, alcohol, or sugary and processed snack foods. This smooth-gaited breed is often kept as a family and trail mount, which puts it in picnic and showground settings where handouts are constant. Keep its…
Keep chocolate, avocado, onions, raw potatoes, tomato plant parts, coffee, tea, alcohol, and rich or salty snack foods away from a Standardbred horse. A Standardbred's long, forage-driven digestive tract is easily unsettled by sudden rich foods, and stimulant foods are a particular concern in a breed valued for steady…
Never share chocolate, avocado, onion, raw potato, tomato leaves and stems, coffee, tea, alcohol, or sugary baked goods with a Shetland pony. This small, easy-keeping breed gains weight readily, so even sweet bread, cake, and large handfuls of sugary snacks can overload a gut and metabolism built for sparse forage.…
A Quarter Horse should never be given chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, avocado, onions, stone-fruit pits, green potato skins, tomato leaves, raw bread dough, or moldy leftovers. This muscular, good-natured breed is surrounded by people food at ranches, races, and shows, and its calm acceptance makes handlers careless…
Never share chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, avocado, rhubarb leaves, potato skins and plants, tomato leaves, fruit pits, raw dough, or moldy food with a Pygmy goat. Pygmy goats are compact, round, enthusiastic eaters, and that combination means a small stomach fills quickly with whatever a visitor offers. Even sweet…
A Paint Horse should never be given chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, avocado, onions, stone-fruit pits, green potato skins, tomato leaves, raw bread dough, or moldy leftovers. The flashy coat changes nothing underneath: a Paint is a stock horse with a horse's gut, and its friendly, people-oriented nature means it gets…
Never share chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, avocado, potato skins and leaves, tomato leaves, rhubarb leaves, onion in quantity, fruit pits, raw dough, or moldy food with a Nigerian Dwarf goat. This small dairy breed has a rumen built for browse and hay, and its tiny size means a child's handful of the wrong snack is a…
Never share chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, avocado, onions, fruit pits, green potato skins, tomato leaves, raw bread dough, or moldy food with a Mustang. A Mustang's digestive system is built by generations of sparse forage, so rich people food is a double problem: the unsafe items are dangerous, and even sweet or…
A Morgan should never be given chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, avocado, onions, stone-fruit pits, green potato or tomato growth, raw bread dough, or moldy leftovers. Morgans are hardy, long-lived, easy keepers, so sugary people snacks deserve a firm no as well rather than an occasional exception. Keep trail snacks, show…
Never share chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, avocado, onions, fruit pits, green potato skins, raw bread dough, or moldy scraps with a Haflinger, and do not treat sugary people snacks as harmless either. Haflingers are sturdy, thrifty, pony-sized horses that gain on air, so sweet extras pile onto a metabolism that already…
Never share chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, avocado, onions, stone-fruit pits, green potato or tomato growth, raw dough, or moldy food with a Friesian, and keep sugary people snacks off its list too. Friesians are famously easy keepers with a proud crest and a talent for looking underfed while thriving, so sweet…
Never share chocolate, coffee or other caffeine, alcohol, onions and garlic in quantity, potato and tomato leaves or green skins, avocado, fruit pits, rising bread dough, or moldy leftovers with a Clydesdale. Its great size does not dilute these risks enough to make a taste safe, and draft horses are champion…
Thoroughbreds usually do well with banana chunks, cored apple slices, carrot sticks, and plain soft horse treats offered a few pieces at a time. Because many Thoroughbreds are keen, sensitive eaters, give treats after work in a quiet moment rather than in a busy aisle, and keep the daily total modest even for a horse…
For a Tennessee Walking Horse, choose carrot sticks, celery pieces, cucumber slices, and small cored apple pieces, and keep sweet treats rare because this gaited breed often gains weight easily. A few pieces once a day, or only after a ride on lighter weeks, is enough reward without quietly adding sugar to a…
Carrot pieces, cored apple slices cut lengthwise, banana chunks, and a few plain horse treats suit most Standardbreds well. Keep the total to a small handful spread across the day rather than a bucket after training, and skip sugary peppermints if this harness horse gains weight easily. Offer pieces flat on an open…
A Shetland pony suits the leanest treat list of any pony: a celery length, a cucumber slice, one small carrot baton, or a hay-based treat, offered only a couple of times a week and sometimes less. Shetlands evolved on sparse northern grazing and gain weight on remarkably little, so sweet fruit should be a rare sliver,…
A Quarter Horse suits straightforward treats in working moderation: carrot batons, apple slices, plain hay-based treats, or a few grapes, offered a few times a week around riding rather than throughout the day. This muscular stock breed ranges from easy keepers to genuine athletes, so tie frequency to condition and…
Tiny vegetable and fruit pieces suit a Pygmy goat: a coin of carrot, a small apple cube, a blueberry or two, or a fragment of banana, offered a few times a week and always in quantities scaled to a very small goat. Pygmy goats are compact, cobby, and quick to round out, so browse bundles and hay-based nibbles should…
A Paint Horse suits the same wholesome treats as other stock horses: carrot batons, apple slices, a few hay-based treats, or seasonal pumpkin pieces, given a few times a week in small handfuls. Paints vary from easy-keeping pleasure horses to harder-working athletes, so match frequency to workload and condition rather…
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