I love to hear my horse whinny to me.
 The sound of his satisfied munching is another reward I find in horse ownership.
 Of all the things we enjoy doing for our horses, feeding can be one of the most emotionally rewarding.
 Sometimes we can be guilty of "over-kill" when it comes to feeding our horse.
  In order to avoid causing damaging imbalances when feeding our horse we need to calculate the nutrients the horse is receiving from his basic feed ration in the first place.
 Once that is established then a decision to add supplements to his diet can be made.
 Supplements can be beneficial to our horses if they need them.
 Overloading nutrients can be harmful when we are feeding our beloved equines and must be avoided.
  When feeding our horse we must not overlook the significance of availability of fresh water at all times.
 Having access to fresh clean water will reduce the chances of impaction colic.
 This is very important for horses kept mainly on dried forage.
 The horse will drink more often if he is offered fresh clean water.
 This will help prevent dehydration in the horse also.
 In cold weather heated water will encourage horses to keep drinking water.
 Heaters for water tanks are available commercially that keep the drinking water at a palatable temperature.
 This will encourage them to drink more water during cooler weather.
 Often decreased water consumption as the temperatures drop can lead to colic.
            Another consideration if you have more than one horse make sure there is more than one source for water and easily accessible to all of the horses.
 When feeding more than one horse sometimes horses will bully others.
 More than one water source can help this situation.
  When feeding horses we must not overlook salt.
 Sodium and chloride (salt) is essential to many bodily functions.
 Not naturally present in grasses and grains salt is a vital nutrient that we need to add to our horses' diet.
 Horses lose salt when sweating and it is necessary for it to be replaced.
 A block of salt may be placed in your horses pasture.
 It will be available to him when he needs it.
 If the horse has a balanced diet a mineralized salt block will not be necessary when adding salt to his diet.
 In the winter additional salt (no more than a tablespoon) to your horse's food at night will encourage drinking as nighttime temperatures drop.
This can aid in preventing colic that sometimes occurs as temperatures become cold outside.
  If given an opportunity horses will consume the salt they need.
 Horses have a natural appetite for it.
 Sometimes horses kept in stalls will get bored and consume too much salt.
 There is a solution for this.
 When feeding such a horse loose salt, an ounce or two may be added to the diet.
 Table salt may be used if the horse already has a balanced diet.
    As we give our horses food we must make sure our desire to care for them does not conflict with their need to graze and roam.
 We must make sure we do not create imbalances in their nourishment.
 After all the time and money we put into our horses we want to enjoy them for many years to come.
 When we are feeding our horses right we are well on our way to obtain that goal.