1 we want to choose forage with lots of leaf and crude protein. You want to stay away from forage that is high in starch and sugar. When choosing hay you want to make sure your going hay from a good supplier. Feed store hay is more but is most likely tested for quality. If not you can test your hay to make sure the quality so good. You can also exam on yourself for trash, forage that should nor be in the bale, and amount of leaves and stems. 2 to weigh your horse with out a scale you use, heart girth x heart girth x body length / 330. What we learned at the training day. My family has had covid this break and I have not gotten help to use the tape to measure Buddys weight. He is to big for me to do alone so I will update this. I am going to say he needs at least 15lbs a day. We do leave buddy out to pasture 24/7 to help him eat the full amount he needs.
3 body condition scores are a 1-9. After feeling along the next, withers, rib, behind the shoulders, flank, crease down back, tail head, and inner buttock, I would say Buddy is a 7. This is something I would like more practice with to be confident in my scoring.