The Smart Way to Feed an Easy Keeper Horse

What Is An “Easy Keeper”?

Easy keepers are horses that maintain or gain weight easily—sometimes too easily. While that may sound like a blessing, it can be a real challenge to keep these horses healthy without overfeeding them. Improper feeding can lead to obesity, insulin resistance, laminitis, and other metabolic problems.

This guide explains how to safely and smartly feed your easy keeper to support longevity, soundness, and overall well-being.

Focus on Forage—But Choose the Right Kind

Easy keepers should still have free or near-free access to forage to support digestive health and mental well-being. But the type of hay matters:

• Low-NSC grass hays such as mature timothy, Bermuda, or orchardgrass.
• Avoid legume hays like alfalfa, unless directed by a vet.
• Test your hay for sugar and starch levels. Soak it for 30–60 minutes to reduce non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) if necessary.

Pro tip: Use slow feeders to mimic natural grazing, reduce boredom, and extend chewing time, which supports digestive health without calorie overload.

Limit or Eliminate Grain

Most easy keepers don’t need commercial grain, sweet feed, or high-fat rations. These feeds are designed for performance horses—not horses prone to fat pads and metabolic stress.

• Avoid sweet feeds and textured feeds with molasses.
• If extra calories are needed (e.g., in winter or light work), choose a low-calorie balancer pellet or small amount of high-fiber feed.

Provide a Ration Balancer or Vitamin-Mineral Supplement

Even on hay alone, horses still need essential nutrients that forage alone can’t supply:

• Trace minerals like copper, zinc, selenium
• Key vitamins like E and A
• Amino acids like lysine and methionine

Choose:

• A ration balancer with complete trace minerals, protein, and no added energy
• Or a low-calorie loose mineral supplement with plain salt offered free-choice

⚠️ Avoid overlapping supplements. More is not better—it’s about balance, not bulk.

Watch Body Condition Closely

Use the Henneke Body Condition Score (BCS) to monitor your horse’s fat coverage:

• Ideal score: 4–5
• Warning signs: Cresty neck, fat pads on shoulders, tailhead, or behind the girth area

Weigh your horse regularly or use a weight tape. Take monthly photos for comparison.

Exercise Matters

Diet alone is not always enough to manage weight in an easy keeper. Movement helps regulate:

• Blood sugar and insulin sensitivity
• Calorie burn
• Gut motility and mental health
• Hoof function

Daily turnout and light work (even hand walking) can help immensely.

Manage Pasture Access and Encourage Natural Movement

Lush pasture—especially in spring and fall—can be dangerously high in sugars. Free access may look natural, but it’s not safe for easy keepers.

Pasture management tips:

• Use a grazing muzzle during turnout to slow intake
• Create a dry lot or sacrifice paddock to offer movement without sugar overload
• Turn out in the early morning, when grass sugars are typically lowest

🌀 Bonus: Consider a Paddock Paradise Setup

Inspired by wild horse behavior, Paddock Paradise track systems are ideal for easy keepers:

• Encourages continuous, low-level movement
• Reduces boredom and stress
• Places hay in multiple slow feeders to mimic foraging
• Supports hoof health and digestion
• Minimizes risk of overgrazing

It’s one of the most effective ways to combine exercise, forage control, and herd dynamics—all essential to keeping your easy keeper lean and happy.management with a dynamic environment, you can safely support your easy keeper’s need for movement without excess calories.

Stick to Plain Salt, Not Treat Blocks

Some salt licks are flavored or sweetened. These can encourage overconsumption. Instead:

• Offer plain white salt blocks or loose salt
• Consider individual mineral supplements if needed

Avoid Over-Supplementing

More supplements ≠ better health.

Many products are over-fortified or high in unnecessary calories. Stick to a forage-first philosophy and only add:

• What your horse truly needs based on work level, age, or diagnosis
• What your hay lacks (from a hay analysis)

Get Regular Vet Checks

Obesity can hide deeper metabolic problems, including:

• PPID (Cushing’s Disease)
• Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS)

Annual metabolic screenings, body condition assessments, and dental checks are vital to long-term health.

Final Thoughts

Feeding an easy keeper isn’t about restricting food—it’s about making smart, informed choices that support health without triggering weight gain or laminitis. From choosing the right hay and supplements to managing turnout and encouraging movement, every decision adds up.

When in doubt, less is more.

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