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 5 of 18
Small pieces of banana, apple, carrot, or watermelon suit a Nigerian Dwarf goat as treats, offered in a tablespoon-sized handful a few times a week rather than daily. This miniature dairy breed adores sweet flavours and will mug for them, so keep treats tiny against its small rumen, favour leafy browse like safe…
Simple, sparse treats suit a Mustang: a carrot baton, a small piece of apple, or a handful of plain hay pellets used as a reward, a few times a week at most and often less. Mustangs are shaped by desert and range forage, so rich or sugary handouts sit badly with a metabolism built for scarcity, and many newly adopted…
A Morgan horse suits classic simple treats in small amounts: carrot batons, a few apple slices, pear pieces, or plain herbal horse treats, offered several times a week as rewards rather than daily handouts. Morgans are hardy, long-lived easy keepers, so keep fruit portions small, wash produce, and avoid sugary snacks…
A Haflinger does best with tiny, low-sugar treats such as a celery stick, a cucumber slice, or one slim carrot baton, given only a few times a week and counted as part of its food, not an extra. This sturdy Austrian breed is a famously efficient keeper that fattens on fresh air, so skip handfuls of apple, sweet mixes,…
Low-sugar treats suit a Friesian best, because this baroque breed tends to hold condition easily: celery lengths, cucumber slices, a small carrot piece, or a few rose hips a couple of times a week. Keep apple and other sweet fruit as a rare sliver rather than a daily handful, and deliver treats after grooming,…
Carrot pieces, apple slices with seeds removed, and a few commercial-free handfuls of plain hay-based treats suit a Clydesdale, offered by hand or in a bucket a few times a week rather than at every visit. Cut long vegetables lengthwise for this big draft horse, keep portions modest despite its size, and skip sugary…
A Toulouse goose should graze as its main everyday diet, since this heavy French breed evolved to convert grass into body condition while ranging. Give constant access to short pasture, a waterfowl or goose feed as backup when grazing is thin, leafy greens, and grit if birds cannot find their own stones. Keep deep…
A Suffolk sheep should live mainly on forage, so good pasture when grass is growing and clean grass hay when pasture is short, sparse, or muddy. Suffolks are a large, fast-growing meat breed, so keep hay in front of them around the clock, offer fresh water and a sheep-specific loose mineral, and add grain only for…
A Merino's main everyday diet should be good pasture or clean, leafy hay, chosen with the fleece in mind: a Merino grows fine wool continuously, so the forage must supply steady protein as well as energy, and the ration should change only gradually to avoid weak points in the staple. Keep hay feeding arranged so loose…
A Jacob sheep's main everyday diet should be pasture — ideally the mixed grasses, clover, and brushy edges this heritage breed browses eagerly — with plain grass hay taking over whenever grazing is short, wet, or dormant. Jacobs are small, thrifty sheep that hold condition on forage alone, so grain belongs only to…
A Dorper's main everyday diet should be pasture and browse — grass, legumes, and the brushy weeds many sheep refuse — backed up by grass hay whenever grazing runs short. Dorpers are hardy South African hair sheep bred to thrive on modest veld grazing, so they rarely need grain; reserve any supplement for late…
A Toulouse goose is primarily a grazer, and on good grass an adult meets most of its daily needs from pasture, topping up with a modest helping of waterfowl feed — roughly a cup or two per bird — especially in winter, during breeding season, or when grass is short or dormant. Goslings and laying females need…
A Suffolk needs daily forage equal to roughly three percent of its body weight in dry matter, and as one of the largest, fastest-growing sheep breeds, a Suffolk's actual daily pile is bigger than most — a mature ewe can work through several generous flakes of hay plus grazing. Suffolks were built to convert feed into…
A Merino needs daily forage equal to roughly two to three percent of its body weight in dry matter, with the quality of that forage mattering as much as the quantity because a Merino grows fine wool continuously and wool is built from protein. On hay alone, an adult Merino works through a few flakes a day, more in…
A Jacob sheep needs forage equal to roughly two to three percent of its body weight in dry matter daily, and because Jacobs are a small, light-framed heritage breed, that total is modest — a few flakes of hay or a day on decent pasture covers most adults. Jacobs are notably easy keepers, so the daily risk is…
A Dorper sheep at maintenance needs roughly three to five pounds of forage dry matter a day, which most keepers meet with good pasture or about a third of a small hay bale per adult sheep daily. A lactating ewe nursing twins, a growing lamb, or a sheep in late pregnancy needs noticeably more, and that is when a modest…
Yes, most Canadian Horses are genuine easy keepers and gain weight readily on feed that would barely maintain a hotter, larger breed. They were shaped by scarce winters and hard work, so rich pasture, generous grain, and a quiet life add condition fast, especially over the neck, ribs, and hindquarters. The fix is…
Yes, more readily than most riding horses. The Lipizzan is a baroque breed shaped to stay sound and round on modest rations, maturing slowly and spending little at rest, so leisure feeding often outruns leisure work. Watch the crest and topline first, where softness and extra roundness appear before the ribs…
In full training, rarely — a competing Dutch Warmblood spends what it eats. The risk arrives when work drops: young horses turned away, schoolmasters stepping down and horses on rest often keep generous appetites their new routine no longer burns off, and condition climbs faster than owners expect. Match the ration to…
Generally no — by warmblood standards the Trakehner is the harder keeper. Thoroughbred and Arabian blood gives the breed a finer frame, a quicker burn and a nervous energy that spends calories, so horses in work usually need feeding up rather than slimming down. Only a rested, retired or very good-doing individual…
Not as a rule — most Oldenburgs in genuine work need proper feeding to hold condition. This is a modern sport horse bred to jump and move athletically, not a thrifty native type, although an idle individual on rich grazing can certainly soften and gain. Judge the horse in front of you by ribs, neck and workload rather…
Not while the work lasts — a Hanoverian in training is an athlete with real calorie needs. The breed's gain risk arrives later, when box rest, a quieter job or retirement cuts spending but the competition ration stays in the bucket out of habit. Drop feed as deliberately as you drop work, and re-check condition after…
Moderately, yes — an Irish Draught is a good doer rather than an extreme easy keeper. Bred for farm and hunting work on modest forage, the breed holds condition readily when modern grazing and light riding replace the long, steady days it was made for. Feel for ribs under the deep chest and check the neck regularly,…
Yes, Belgian Draft Horses are classic easy keepers, just on a giant scale. Generations of heavy work on modest farm forage left them with an efficient metabolism and a huge capacity for eating, so a lightly worked Belgian on rich grazing can gain steadily while still looking simply well covered. Weigh and feel for…
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