Optimal feeding management is central to horse welfare, preventing gastric ulcers, colic, and metabolic disease while supporting natural grazing behavior patterns.
Feeding management errors are among the most common sources of preventable suffering in domestic horses. Restricting forage access to two or three meals daily creates prolonged periods of gastric acid exposure without buffering from forage, causing pain from ulceration. Colic episodes arising from feed changes, inappropriate concentrates, or inadequate water access represent acute welfare emergencies. Best practice feeding management that provides near-continuous forage access through slow-feeders, appropriate pasture management, and minimal processed concentrate feeds dramatically reduces these welfare risks.