# Horse Hay Question



## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

For the horse masters… The horse I have up wastes hay, lots of it. He’ll weigh about 900lbs. Question, about how many square bales will he eat in a week?

I only have round bales. As you can see in the photo, this horse pushed a small roll of hay off a pallet (that was under a shed). Then slightly up hill, around behind a pole and scattered all the hay out in the rain. :gaah:

My nephew who sells square bales is coming tomorrow for Christmas. He’ll bring me some hay. I’ll have to build a hay rack on the wall of the shed to cut down on waste. Just trying to get an idea of how much hay the horse needs each day. I’m not about to let him waste another roll. :brickwall:


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

Well..a few factors in determining how much hay they get. 

Taken into account the quality of the feed/ hay ..if its nutrient rich good stuff less than a poorer quality feed/hay. 

As well as how big is your animal, what energy expendatures is your animal doing like, heavy training or working animal or light training n riding and spending lots of time hanging in a stall or pasture. 

Is the animal growing still..any other stressors or energy requirments?? 

Weather ...is it freezing cold out..horses can spend alot of energy just keeping warm in winter. Often a lower quality hay will be giving along at night with maybe a better feed just to help the animal produce the energy at night to warm up. A fiberous night hay fills them up and digestion keeps them warmer. 

The overall health of the animal your feeding if good already makes for a eaiser keeper in figuring out what n how much to feed. A wormey horse with a need to have its teeth floated will eat alot but not extract nutrients well no matter what you feed them. 

Hay n feed real hot nutrient wise could give your horse diarrhea n jack them up like they drank a pot of coffee, making it hard to work with n they dont feel good spun out n crapping loose turds. 

If your not sure on quality you have..ask the local feed store or supplier..ask a few folks around there and if they are stressed n loosing weight..start trouble shooting. If they are getting too fat..cut back portions. Not all pasture grass is good quality either so just really pay attention to the animal.

Dont forget a salt lick...


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

Oh...never feed hay that has become wet n moldy or real old full of rodent turds..

You can colic a horse n kill it giving it bad feed. 

Goats n cows can handle bad hay so its not wasted. Most horse folks I know try to purchase hay that will be used up at least in a year n store it in a dry area out of the weather. 

But for horses..the fresher the bales ( a yearish) the better


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## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

Well, thank you Hooch. I’m not designing a regimented feeding system here. I’m just looking for a ballpark number for a healthy 3yr old, about how many pounds per day.  Lately he’s been getting lazy and fat eating all the rolled hay he wants, at least the part he doesn’t waste.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

Have you considered putting your rounds in a hay feeder?


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## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

Country Living said:


> Have you considered putting your rounds in a hay feeder?


When he's in the pasture he eats from the hay rings with the cows. He's in a pen right now and I don't have a spare ring. Since he's wasting hay I'm having my nephew bring some square bales tomorrow and will quickly build a rack on the wall.. If I knew approximately how many pounds of hay a horse eats each day I could tell my nephew how much to bring.


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

No problem...thats really just some basic guidelines to hopefully help. Horses tend to be the livestock people keep around for years as well as use them as a resource on the ranch like they would a good ranch dog and feeding them properly to avoid colic and health issues isnt always as simple as giving them 5 pounds of some feed n calling it good. 
Hay can be nutrient rich, dense alfalfa that you give a good size flake to twice a day to a hard working horse in training or working cows while they graze on off days on nice pasture n its all good for that animal, for others doing the same it might not.
Hay can be a medium quality grass/ alalfa mix or low quality or low nutrient type feed too...what feed you have they can all eat. How much they get of it depends on the animal and its situation.
A 3 year old with some horse breeds are still growing, so they need good feed just like any animal n usually more of it if they are still growing. 
A pregnant mare or lactating mare needs more digestable protein n energy and so on...feeding horses can get very technical. Most folks consider a working or show horse a considerable long term investment and unfortunately they can colic or go lame easily from health issues. So feeding them to avoid issues is a wise endeavor. 
If yours is doing good on whatever your feeding him with a little weight gain recently maybe back off a tad. Just keep in mind if he now has no access to free grazing, is a breed that is still growing and your intending on working him in training soon, youll just have to adjust as you go. 
Try 2 nice size flakes 2 times daily if its good quality feed if hes penned up alot. Watch his behavior, turds loose or firm, n weight loss or gain, agjust as needed.


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## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

I know some folks take horse feed to extremes. To each his/her own. My view is a bit more practical than some I’ve heard of. Horses grazed beside bovines for millions of years before mankind and the way things are going they will do so long after we are gone. To me, livestock is livestock.

I grow my own hay and tend my own pastures. All my critters are in good condition. This horse had always eaten as much as he wanted from round bales winter. I just had no way to know how much he actually ate in pounds. My nephew grows good hay also but bales square.

After I started this thread I found a couple of references on the net of 15 to 20 pounds per day, sounds about right to me. That’s about 4 flakes or 1/2 bale.

The reason… This horse needs to be cut (castrated). I have a Jack (donkey) that also needs to be cut. They were foals together but now the boys aren’t playing nicely anymore. Somebody is going to get hurt (probably me), this is why I’m having to play musical pens in winter! :brickwall:


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

...lol...ok ...


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## bbrider (Sep 27, 2013)

Good advise from Hooch. The amount will depend on three things. 
1- condition of the horse. Fat or skinny?
2- quality of hay you are feeding. Pure alfalfa, orchard grass, mixed, local grass, etc
3- amount of grazing available. Tall grass or mud.
An average horse will go through 3 or so tons of quality alfalfa/grass mix per year. Adjust for your horse based on the 3 criteria above. 
Ps- I'm not an expert, just my most basic advise from many years around the critters.


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