Easy-keeping performance horses are sometimes a little tricky to feed as it is important to keep their weight under control while also ensuring they receive the necessary nutrients to fuel the demands of work.

You didn’t mention if he needs to lose or gain weight, so I will assume you are happy with his current body condition. Your plan to base his diet around good-quality forage is great. You mentioned feeding 2.2 kg (1 lb) of a performance horse feed. I suspect that feed was formulated to be fed at a higher daily intake (probably 3-4 kg/day or 6.6/8.8 lb), and thus it is unlikely that your horse is receiving the full daily recommended intake of nutrients, especially vitamins and minerals.

For horses that don’t need the additional energy that a high-intake performance horse feed brings, we recommend a concentrated balancer. Balancers are great for easy keepers as they provide protein, vitamins, macrominerals, and trace minerals in a concentrated, low-intake, low-energy package. I recommend feeding at least 1% of his body weight in forage including pasture, hay, and/or chaff (ideally 1.5% of body weight), swapping the performance horse feed for a balancer fed at the recommended daily intake (common intakes for balancers range from 800 g-2 kg (1.8-4.4 lb) per day), and having a salt block available in the field.

I also encourage you to constantly assess his body condition and adjust energy intake accordingly, especially if his workload changes.