What should you feed your horse?

I’ve owned horses all my life, and I’ve tried about every recipe out there.
I have finally decided that whole foods I mix myself are the best.
Yes, I used to feed pellets, and yes, I know they have some advantages, like higher digestibility and (supposedly) more ingredients for less money.

However, after I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that God made horses with inefficient digestive systems, and maybe that’s how it’s supposed to work. Maybe all this messing around with compressing feed into a tiny pellet isn’t good for a horse over the long term. (Also, some horses are more prone to choke when fed pellets, especially if they are the type that “gulp” their feed).

I know there are many varying opinions out there about what to feed, and this is just my opinion, based on my own experiences.
I feed my horses a blend of whole grains I mix myself: oats, barley, and flax. I also add in some beet pulp and some loose minerals. Once a week, I feed a bran mash with some psyllium fiber added in to push all that sand out the back end of my four-legged friends.
I came up with the exact choice of grains based on where I live and what’s available. The whole grains available to you may be different.
I also vary the amounts of the grains I feed by the season. My horses get almost no grain during the summer. They are used only as trail horses and don’t need a lot of extra protein over and above the wonderful grass we have in summer.
In winter, I add some sunflower seeds and a handful of cracked corn to their feed buckets once a day.

Your recipe for your horses will likely vary from mine, depending on where you live, what’s available, how much grazing and grass are available, etc.
The bottom line is, no matter how you decide to “mix it up,” I believe feeding whole grains and supplements you mix yourself trump pellets every time. Not only do I instinctively believe horses weren’t meant to eat pellets, my horses seem to do better on the mixture I’ve come up with myself (fewer colics, fewer strained muscles, etc.).