Feeding Horses for Sales Preparation

Nutrition plays an important role in preparing sale horses, as having a quality feed program is essential to have horses looking and feeling their best.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Nutrition has an important role in sales preparation for all horses. If you want to maximize the value of the horse, it is essential to have the horse looking its best at sale time.

There are a number of key elements including the following:

  • Size and body condition: Young horses being prepped for sale should be on a smooth growth curve to avoid growth spurts and to reach optimum height at sale time. Size for appropriate age is a plus for most disciplines, and the sale horse should normally have a body condition score at 5 or slightly higher (on a 9-point scale).

  • Muscle, not fat: The modern sale ring rewards horses that have well-developed muscles rather than just being fat. Thin is not good, but obese is not desired.

  • Hair coat: Slick and shiny is always good. This will require a combination of grooming, health care, and nutrition.

  • Hoof quality: High-quality feet with no growth or fever rings are essential.

Sale preparation is an ongoing process for young horses. If they are weaned properly and maintained at a body condition score of about 5, there will not be as much pressure for a sudden feeding change when they are being prepared for a sale. Solid sale preparation takes a minimum of 90 to 120 days of exercise, proper nutrition, and grooming.

Having a quality feed program is essential to have horses looking and feeling their best

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Roy A. Johnson, MS, is an equine technology manager for Cargill Animal Nutrition. In his role, he is responsibile for the development of horse feeds for U.S. business, including feeds for Nutrena, ACCO, Agway, and private label brands. A former professional horse trainer, farm manager, and horse judging coach, Johnson was an assistant professor in the Agricultural Production Division at the University of Minnesota-Wasecae before joining Cargill. Johnson has also participated in a successful Thoroughbred racing partnership._x000D_

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
289 votes · 289 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!