Feeding Endurance Horses Day to Day

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By Kentucky Equine Research Staff · October 10, 2011

Endurance horses are arguably the most complicated equine athletes to feed correctly. Although research on feeding for long-distance, low-intensity work is still ongoing, equine nutritionists have devised a general nutritional strategy based on current knowledge to give you and your horse the best chance of success, whether you want to be first over the line, or you just want to complete the ride with a happy, healthy horse.

At the Kentucky Equine Research (KER) facility in the United States, five Arabian horses were used specifically for endurance research. The results of feed trials with these horses, along with international consultation to a huge number of clients, led to a better understanding of how nutrition affects performance, and how critical correct nutrition is for the endurance horse. The following recommendations for day to day training are based on KER’s research and experience with endurance horses.

Feed diets high in good-quality forage such as pasture, grass hay, or mixed grass/legume hay. These forage sources can be fed free choice to endurance horses...

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