How much hay do you feed the average horse per day in the winter?
Trying to calculate how much hay to buy for my new horse to get him through the cold seasons.
My horse is a yearling Paint stallion that is already 15.1h tall and weighs a little over 700ibs. I do know for those of you who replied "one bale per day" is too much hay! I figured approximately 4-6 flakes per day, divided into 2-3 feedings, but wanted other experienced horse owners advice. Oh, I am feeding him 100% alfalfa hay, along with Heritage 14% grain and a small amount of cracked corn.
"A healthy adult horse should eat a "flake" of hay twice per day."
"We recommend that you give your horse bran at least once per week to help with their digestive system."
"During winter months, you can supplement your horse's diet with grain to help keep your horse warm."
She might like to compare her list with the four-point list I sometimes use when I'm giving a short talk on the same subject:
give your horse access to clean water, salt, and clean, good-quality forage (pasture or hay) at all times; if you can't provide forage 24/7, at least feed the horses several times a day and be generous with the forage.
learn to do condition scoring so that you can easily evaluate your horse's condition; it's also useful to know your horse's actual weight
weigh ALL feed, so that you know exactly how much hay (and other feed) your horse is getting
talk to your veterinarian about your horse's nutritional program, and ask him to recommend ONE supplement that can make up for actual deficiencies in your horse's daily diet
For people who are willing or able to make only ONE change to their horse management protocol, weighing the feed is probably the most important action they can take. Just as most people make wild guesses when asked to estimate their horses' weight, most people also make wild guesses when asked how much they feed their horses. Since horses require to be fed at least 1.5% of their own weight every day in forage alone, you'd think that every horse owner would make it a point to know (a) what each horse weighs, and (b) how much forage each horse needs at a minimum… but far too many people continue to guess.
At a barn where I taught recently, there were stall cards that showed each horse's name, owner's name and telephone number, what to feed in the morning and at night, and what the horse weighed. The horses' owners had filled out the cards, and oddly enough, almost all of the "horse's weight" lines had exactly the same number: 1,000 lbs. I could easily see that some of those horses actually weighed around 800 pounds; others would tip the scales at 1375 or 1400 pounds. If they're all being fed as if they weighed 1,000 pounds, some are being overfed - and some are being underfed. Not only that, but what happens when it's time to deworm them? Do their owners actually use appropriate amounts of deworming paste (that is, less than a full tube for the 800-pound horses, and more than a full tube for the 1,400-pound horses), or does each owner use one tube per horse and cross off "deworm today" on the calendar?
What happens when you're out of town? If you've ever left your horses in someone else's care for a week or two and returned to find them much thinner or much fatter, you have some idea of the big differences there can be in individual interpretations of "a flake" or "a scoop".
It's much easier just to go ahead and weigh all of your feed - not necessarily every time, but often enough that you KNOW that (for example) when you fill your blue scoop level with oats, it weighs two pounds, and when you fill it with pellets, it weighs three+ pounds, or (again, just as an example) that a 2" thick flake of your alfalfa weighs five pounds, but it takes TWO 4" flakes of your grass hay to add up to five pounds. Your grain may not weigh the same as your neighbour's grain; your hay flakes may be heavier and more dense than your neighbour's hay flakes (or they may be lighter and more loosely-baled); your scoop may not be the same size as the one your neighbour uses, and so on.
FEEDING AND CARE OF THE HORSE, 2nd edition, by Lon D. Lewis (DVM, PhD) is easy to read and understand, and should be required reading for every horse-owner.
Another useful book on nutrition is STOREY'S GUIDE TO FEEDING HORSES, by equine nutritionist Melyni Worth.
Hay is the basic food of domestic horses. Only feed good quality hay to horses. Inspect hay carefully before buying it, asking the seller to open a bale. Make sure the bales are green and dust and mold free. Stick your hand down into the centre of a bale to make sure it's not warm. Feeding moldy hay can cause colic and dusty hay can cause respiratory problems. (To avoid dust, it's a good idea to pull the flakes apart and shake them out well before feeding. As a precaution, you can also soak hay before feeding.)
The type of hay available varies according to the area you live in. Three basic types in Alberta are grass hay, alfalfa hay and grass/alfalfa mix. Common grasses are timothy and brome. Alfalfa has a higher protein content than grass. Many horse people consider a grass/alfalfa mix the best for horses, and timothy/brome/alfalfa is a common combination.
also, here is an excellent link I found on winter feeding.
http://horsedoc_org.tripod.com/winter_feeding1d7.htm
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January 8th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
half to a full squre bale of hay a day depends on the quality
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January 8th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
A bale lasts about 4-6 days, depending on the horse, and size (weight) of bales.. Three or four large pats per day..a pound or two of grain (coffee can) supplement will help him stay healthy..
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experience
January 8th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
we feed 2 to 3 flakes per horse twice a day. thay are also grain fed twice a day.
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January 8th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
"A healthy adult horse should eat a "flake" of hay twice per day."
"We recommend that you give your horse bran at least once per week to help with their digestive system."
"During winter months, you can supplement your horse's diet with grain to help keep your horse warm."
She might like to compare her list with the four-point list I sometimes use when I'm giving a short talk on the same subject:
give your horse access to clean water, salt, and clean, good-quality forage (pasture or hay) at all times; if you can't provide forage 24/7, at least feed the horses several times a day and be generous with the forage.
learn to do condition scoring so that you can easily evaluate your horse's condition; it's also useful to know your horse's actual weight
weigh ALL feed, so that you know exactly how much hay (and other feed) your horse is getting
talk to your veterinarian about your horse's nutritional program, and ask him to recommend ONE supplement that can make up for actual deficiencies in your horse's daily diet
For people who are willing or able to make only ONE change to their horse management protocol, weighing the feed is probably the most important action they can take. Just as most people make wild guesses when asked to estimate their horses' weight, most people also make wild guesses when asked how much they feed their horses. Since horses require to be fed at least 1.5% of their own weight every day in forage alone, you'd think that every horse owner would make it a point to know (a) what each horse weighs, and (b) how much forage each horse needs at a minimum… but far too many people continue to guess.
At a barn where I taught recently, there were stall cards that showed each horse's name, owner's name and telephone number, what to feed in the morning and at night, and what the horse weighed. The horses' owners had filled out the cards, and oddly enough, almost all of the "horse's weight" lines had exactly the same number: 1,000 lbs. I could easily see that some of those horses actually weighed around 800 pounds; others would tip the scales at 1375 or 1400 pounds. If they're all being fed as if they weighed 1,000 pounds, some are being overfed - and some are being underfed. Not only that, but what happens when it's time to deworm them? Do their owners actually use appropriate amounts of deworming paste (that is, less than a full tube for the 800-pound horses, and more than a full tube for the 1,400-pound horses), or does each owner use one tube per horse and cross off "deworm today" on the calendar?
What happens when you're out of town? If you've ever left your horses in someone else's care for a week or two and returned to find them much thinner or much fatter, you have some idea of the big differences there can be in individual interpretations of "a flake" or "a scoop".
It's much easier just to go ahead and weigh all of your feed - not necessarily every time, but often enough that you KNOW that (for example) when you fill your blue scoop level with oats, it weighs two pounds, and when you fill it with pellets, it weighs three+ pounds, or (again, just as an example) that a 2" thick flake of your alfalfa weighs five pounds, but it takes TWO 4" flakes of your grass hay to add up to five pounds. Your grain may not weigh the same as your neighbour's grain; your hay flakes may be heavier and more dense than your neighbour's hay flakes (or they may be lighter and more loosely-baled); your scoop may not be the same size as the one your neighbour uses, and so on.
FEEDING AND CARE OF THE HORSE, 2nd edition, by Lon D. Lewis (DVM, PhD) is easy to read and understand, and should be required reading for every horse-owner.
Another useful book on nutrition is STOREY'S GUIDE TO FEEDING HORSES, by equine nutritionist Melyni Worth.
Hay is the basic food of domestic horses. Only feed good quality hay to horses. Inspect hay carefully before buying it, asking the seller to open a bale. Make sure the bales are green and dust and mold free. Stick your hand down into the centre of a bale to make sure it's not warm. Feeding moldy hay can cause colic and dusty hay can cause respiratory problems. (To avoid dust, it's a good idea to pull the flakes apart and shake them out well before feeding. As a precaution, you can also soak hay before feeding.)
The type of hay available varies according to the area you live in. Three basic types in Alberta are grass hay, alfalfa hay and grass/alfalfa mix. Common grasses are timothy and brome. Alfalfa has a higher protein content than grass. Many horse people consider a grass/alfalfa mix the best for horses, and timothy/brome/alfalfa is a common combination.
also, here is an excellent link I found on winter feeding.
http://horsedoc_org.tripod.com/winter_feeding1d7.htm
References :
January 8th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I try to figure 2 bales per horse, per week. It usually comes out pretty close, with a little left over in the spring. Hay is pretty expensive this year in some areas, due to drought.
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January 8th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
i would say at least a bale a day per horse.
i have 3 horses and a large pony (14hh) and i go though 3 bales a day they get hay three times a day.
this is my 1st year trying round bales of hay.
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January 8th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
What are you feeding? Coastal or Alfafa? type of hay dictates amount.
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January 8th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I have two horses and we buy 1600 pound round blaes.
They get a bale about every 3 weeks in the winter and about every 4 -5 weeks in the summer when on pasture.
I but 20 bales and that is about a years worth of hay for them.
They figure a horse should be getting about 1-2% of his body weight in hay per day do a 1000 pound horse would get 10 pounds of hay.
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January 8th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
1 flake 2-3 times per day along with feed
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January 8th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Very much depends on the horse. I have a BIG QH that gets only 3 flakes a day, 1 morning and two night, otherwise he gets very overweight, I also had an Arab that got 7 flakes a day. You have to look at your horses metabolism and go from there. On average I would say probably start by figuring 2 flakes more per day in the winter than summer and go from there…
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January 8th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I have 2 horses, a 2 1/2yo paint stallion and a 13yo arab mare. Winter feeding schedule consists of 2 flakes of hay, grain, alfalfa pellets and soaked beet pulp. Also, in really bad weather, I add cornoil to the grain/alfalfa/beet pulp mixture. Always presoak the beet pulp as it has a tendency to expand quite a bit and can cause colic if not fed properly. A 50 pound bag of pelleted beet pulp lasts both horses around 1 month ( 4-8oz cups of pellets will expand to 4 times that amount when soaked.) $14 per bag, alfalfa pellet (50ld bag) lasts about 2 weeks and costs $14 each and 50 lb bag of grain lasts 2 weeks at $12 each. about 3 bales of timothy hay a week $4 per bale. Prices change depending on where you live and what you feed but that is a general idea based on prices here in Finleyville PA.
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January 8th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Well i had two horses two winters ago, between the two of them I fed them a bale of hay a day! When it gets colder make sure you feed them decent hay during the winter, since the cold is very hard on them!
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January 8th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
I buy a 500 lbs hay square for my 5 horses every couple of days so I would say for you horse like 100 lbs of hay like every 4 days would be good you can also judge by how much he eats if he is really hungery he may need more
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January 8th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
2 - 3 flakes 2X a day
to 'Horses' - you are feeding your horse WAY too much! a horse gets only about 2 flakes twice a day, not a whole bale!
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January 8th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
General rule of thumb is to feed them 1 % of their body weight twice a day. So a horse weighing 1000lbs would get 20 lbs of hay/feed per day (10 lbs am, 10 lbs pm). With a young horse, I'd give him that much if he's active because he's gotta grow. Best to check with a vet to be sure. Alfalfa will keep weight on better than Bermuda, but has a lot of sugar so can make them hyper.
Bale of hay per day for one horse? LOL Who said that???
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January 8th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Adv feeding per day:
2 flakes per horse. Have 7 horses which equals out to one bale. Which means 2 bales per day.
However, I will just use my mare, who eats the most due to her high metabolism as example for a "one horse" comparison.
Abby is a 2 a bale a week horse. Meaning, she eats 2 large flakes a day. Yet, I also supplement her with extra feeding (extra 5 pounds of alfalfa pellets, brand and mare n foal or senior feed). I do not use oats and will only use sweet feed (corn molasses's) in winter to help keep warm etc.
Calculation depends all on your horse though. Every horse is different. No two stallions, mares or geldings are exactly alike to give enough accurate information on here. So, need to figure out his adv he eats and add based on 1) performance of riding 2) breeding 3) his body.
For his size and stature, I would start out with 2 good size flakes of hay and his supplements. (based on his activity that is). Needs to burn off some calories he puts in to be able to maintainer that weight.
If you feel that is too much and he is gaining, slowly decrease the amount to a flake and half with supplements. etc.
I always have to adjust my horses each year. We bought 25 ton ourselves. I would recommend to buy at least a ton for now and see how that ton works and how long it works for you. Have to see your adv for this horse.
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January 8th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
This really depends upon the type of hay you're feeding. The age of the horse also has to do with it too.
Quality of hay is everything. While alfalfa is a good high protein type hay, it may be too "hot" for your horse - a good quality grass hay is fine and maybe add a bit of Purina Equine Junior to supplement any vitamins or minerals which may be lacking in your area.
I don't usually use a "rule of thumb" for feeding - I go by the horse, body condition and whether or not they clean up everything they are fed before the next feeding. Horses need to be digesting food to produce heat which keeps them warm in the winter - a fat horse isn't necessarily a good thing and doesn't stay any warmer than a horse that's in good, working condition.
Here is a good link that I use for my hay customers when they are asking the same question:
http://www.sport-pony.com/care/hay.html
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We raise hay in Western Montana - horse owner for 50 years.