How Does a Horse Obtain Food?

Domesticated horses, or horses that are managed and cared for by humans, are given food by their owners. Wild horses, on the other hand, forage for their food much like cattle. They can be divided into two groups: Feral horses, who were born to domesticated horses but now live in the wild, and equines, who have never been domesticated. There is only one type of horse equine that has never been domesticated and is still living: Przewalski's horse. The rest are extinct. Other equines include zebras and donkeys.

Feral or wild horses are herbivores. They gorge themselves on grasses and foliage in the spring and summer. In the winter, horses in the West feed on brushes such as sagebrush and salt brush. Wild horses in the East (Assateague) feed on salt marsh grasses, beach grasses, reeds, and--in the winter--any woody plant. Wild horses will only drink fresh water, and they frequently return to their favorite freshwater source several times per day. Most herds usually have several favorite freshwater ponds, springs, streams, or pools in different locations in their roaming territory.

Wild horses only eat between five and six pounds of food per day. Domesticated horses, on the other hand, can consume between 15 to 20 pounds of food per day, much of it corn or grain. It is the lead mare's responsibility to lead the other horses to food and water. Each herd has one lead mare only. Each herd is also led by a stallion, who chooses where the horses will shelter and protects them as they graze. In America, an estimated 75,000+ wild horses roam the land in ten Western states and on many barrier islands of the Atlantic. There is plenty of food for them in these areas. In fact, the grazing behavior of wild horses can speed up erosion and foul up fresh water sources that farmers depend on.