Maintenance requirements

Maintenance requirements refer to the basic need for nutrients and energy to sustain all vital functions, such as heart function, respiration, digestion, light spontaneous movements, metabolic and cellular functions, etc.

Horses generally have high maintenance requirements. The lower the energy requirement for performance, the higher the relative proportion of maintenance in the total energy requirement. Up to moderate levels of performance, the maintenance requirement – at more than two-thirds – therefore accounts for the majority of a horse’s total energy requirement.