Feeding your horse before riding: fact or fiction?
|
|
Read time 4 min
Should you feed your horse before exercise?
The answer isn't as simple as you might think...
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Small fibre feeds before exercise are beneficial.
Large cereal meals before fast work should still be avoided
Hay or grazing before riding helps support normal stomach function.
For years, horse owners were told one golden rule:
"Never feed your horse before you ride."
Like many pieces of traditional horse care advice, there's some truth behind it, but we now know the full picture is much more nuanced.
The real question isn't whether you should feed before riding.
It's what you feed, how much, and what type of exercise you're about to do.
Image from Canva
Why did we use to avoid feeding horses before exercise?
The original advice was based on horses receiving large cereal based meals before fast or strenuous work.
A big bucket feed high in starch can:
Sit heavily in the stomach.
Be less comfortable during hard exercise.
Be unnecessary immediately before work.
For racehorses and performance horses fed substantial concentrate meals, avoiding these feeds just before exercise made good sense.
Over time, however, that advice became simplified into don't feed your horse before riding. We now know that's not always the best approach.
What happens inside your horse's stomach?
Unlike us, horses produce stomach acid continuously, whether they're eating or not.
That's because horses evolved to graze for up to 16–18 hours a day, with a near-constant supply of forage entering the stomach.
When the stomach is relatively empty, there's less fibre available to provide that protection.
Long-stem fibre and forage help by:
stimulating saliva, which naturally buffers stomach acid
forming a fibrous layer over the stomach contents
helping reduce acid moving around inside the stomach during exercise
Why gait matters
This is where the old advice starts to make sense.
As your horse moves, so do the contents of the stomach.
Walking: very little movement.
Trotting: stomach contents begin moving around more.
Cantering and jumping: acid is pushed around much more forcefully.
Galloping: the greatest movement occurs.
The upper part of the horse's stomach has very little natural protection against acid.
During faster work, stomach acid can splash upwards onto this sensitive area which is a process commonly known as acid splash.
For horses prone to gastric ulcers, repeated acid splash may increase the risk of irritation to the upper, squamous region of the stomach.
Image from Blue Chip Feed
Image from Blue Chip Feed
So should you feed before riding?
Yes, but choose fibre, not cereals.
A small fibre feed before exercise is now widely recommended, particularly for horses that are schooling, jumping or doing moderate work.
The best option is always long stem forage wherever possible.
In order of preference:
Hay or haylage – the best choice before exercise, as the long stem fibre helps form a protective fibrous layer in the stomach.
Fresh grazing – another excellent source of long stem fibre if your horse has access before riding.
Chopped fibre – a useful alternative if hay or grazing isn't practical.
A small fibre mash or soaked grass pellets – better than exercising on an empty stomach, particularly when away at competitions, although they don't provide the same long stem structure as hay or haylage.
This is to ensure there's some fibre in the stomach to help reduce acid splash during exercise.
Does it depend on the type of work?
-
Hacking and light work
If you're mainly walking or doing gentle hacking, stomach movement is relatively limited.
A small fibre feed beforehand is perfectly appropriate.
-
Schooling and jumping
Once you introduce sustained trot, canter and jumping, stomach movement increases.
Offering a little fibre before you ride may help support normal stomach function during exercise.
-
Fast work and galloping
This is where the original advice still applies.
Avoid feeding large cereal or concentrate meals immediately before strenuous exercise.
Instead, keep to forage or a small fibre feed, leaving larger meals until afterward
Top Tip
Let your horse eat a little hay while you groom or tack up.
If you're riding within the next 20–30 minutes, choose fibre rather than cereals.
Never exercise immediately after a large bucket feed.
If you're travelling to a competition, provide hay during the journey where safe and practical.
On long pleasure rides or endurance rides, offering fibre during rest stops can help maintain digestive comfort and encourage hydration.
Try to avoid your horse standing for long periods with an empty stomach before exercise.
Where does a feed balancer fit?
A feed balancer doesn't replace forage and it isn't intended to create the protective fibre layer that hay or grass provides.
However, if you're feeding a small fibre meal before riding, it's the perfect opportunity to feed your horse's daily balancer too.
For horses needing additional digestive support, Blue Chip Ulsa-Cool Balancer contains highly digestible fibre alongside yeast culture, beta-glucans and marine minerals, helping to support a healthy digestive system and gut microbiome as part of an overall fibre first feeding programme.
The bottom line
The old saying "don't feed before riding" isn't completely wrong but it's no longer the best advice.
Large cereal meals before hard work are still best avoided.
However, feeding a small fibre-based meal before exercise can help support normal stomach function, particularly for horses undertaking schooling, jumping or faster work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I feed my horse hay before riding?
Yes. A small amount of hay or other forage before exercise can help provide fibre in the stomach and stimulate saliva production, making it a sensible option for many horses.
How long should I wait after feeding before riding?
After a large cereal-based meal, it's generally advisable to wait at least 1-2 hours before harder exercise. If you're feeding hay or haylage, allowing your horse 15-20 minutes to eat before you ride is ideal, giving them time to chew, produce saliva and build up a layer of long stem fibre in the stomach. A small chopped fibre feed or fibre mash can also be offered shortly before exercise if hay isn't practical. Is it bad to ride a horse on an empty stomach?
Not always, but horses working with an empty stomach (particularly during canter, jumping or faster work) may be more susceptible to acid splash if they're prone to gastric ulcers.
Can I feed a balancer before exercise?
Yes. Feed balancers are designed to be fed in small quantities and can be given alongside a fibre feed before exercise as part of your horse's normal daily ration.
