Breed Guides
GoldFields Nutrition Team•
•
5 min read
The Belgian Draft: A Tonne Of Horse, Not A Tonne Of Grain
GoldFields Nutrition Team•
•
5 min read
A Belgian Draft can weigh 900 kg or more. The instinct is to scale up the hard feed. The correct move is to scale up the forage and leave the grain alone.
Why grain is risky here
Draft breeds carry a high incidence of polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM). In practical terms, these horses handle starch and sugar badly and tie up when fed like a sport horse.
Low starch, high fibre, high fat. That is the whole strategy for a heavy horse.
The numbers
| Bodyweight | Forage at 2% | Forage at 2.5% |
|---|---|---|
| 800 kg | 16 kg | 20 kg |
| 900 kg | 18 kg | 22.5 kg |
| 1,000 kg | 20 kg | 25 kg |
What that looks like in bales
A 900 kg draft in moderate work eats roughly 18 kg a day, or about 12 of our 45 kg bales a month. Plan storage accordingly — heavy horses empty a barn faster than owners expect.
Add energy without starch
- Alfalfa for protein and calcium
- Oil for slow release energy
- Sprouted fodder for hydration and palatability
GoldFields Nutrition Team
Equine Nutritionists
The people who write your feeding plans.
