# How Much Does Your Feed/Hay Cost$$$



## 7Ponies (May 21, 2009)

Just curious.

I live in a hay deficit state, meaning we truck in a lot of hay as we don't grow enough (and our Coastal hay is really sucky too).

I paid $17.95 for One bale of timothy hay today at the feed store. Very nice looking hay.

I've found Timothy/alfalfa mix for $11.00 from a local woman, but the feed store sells it for $22.00 a bale.

I've been able to get a blend of orchard grass/timothy for $9.00.

Our yucky coastal bermuda hay runs anywhere from $6.95 to 8.00 per bale.

I also use the Alfalfa Cubes, which I soak in water. I paid $18.00 for a bag of them (and that lasts me a long time.)

I am feeding Nutrena Vitality 10%. I pay $16.50 for a 50 pound bag.

And just for grins and giggles, I pay $5.00 for a big bag of pine shavings (I use 3 bags per stall, about every two to three weeks).


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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

I pay $3 for a bale of very nice looking Prairie hay. My horses love it, it keeps them fat and shiny. 

$13 and some cents for a bag of Purina. I go through about 2-3 per week. Right now, I'm managing to feed only two.

Or, I can pay $1.75 at the auction for crapper grass hay which is being eaten at the moment. It's really mostly played with. They like to pull it out and toss it around. It gets munched eventually though. 
The guy with the nice hay is out...all he has it mixed. As soon as I'm done with the grass, I'm going to buy ONLY the guys hay. Mixed or prairie, I don't care. No more of this horrid grass stuff!


I payed about $17 for a bag of beet pulp. Between $5-$7 for a bag of whole oats. I'm not feeding either, just making horse treats 8D


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## 7Ponies (May 21, 2009)

Okay, I want to live where you live. $3 for a bale of hay... I haven't seen those prices since (and I'm not kidding) 1987 when we first moved here!!!


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

We pay between 8-15 dollars for lucerne hay at the moment, but it can bet up to $25 in feed stores.

$25 for a bag of Vitality plus, was $14 a bag when we started buying is about 6 years ago.


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## 7Ponies (May 21, 2009)

Is that for a 50lb bag of the feed?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

In my area right now 

Good quality alfalfa will be about $185 a ton (large square bales)

Good grass hay will be about $90 a ton (large round bales)

Crappy grass hay will run around $65 a ton (that is mainly for cattle though, I wouldn't feed it to my horse). (large round bales)

I gauge by the ton because we don't buy the small bales anymore. They are nearly impossible to find and when you do, they are about $12 bucks a bale and average about 75 lbs. Sorry but a 2100 lb big bale for $190 is much cheaper. Plus the flakes come off just as easy as they do on the smaller bales so we can still separate them if we need to.


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## close2prfct (Mar 9, 2009)

$25 for a large round bale 3$ for small squares if I get them from my uncle 45 at the feed store. 
Feed I pay $8.50 per 50lb for a mix of grain/kibble and 9$ for 50lb alfalfa pellets


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Uh... The bag comes up to my waist, and weighs about 20/30kg. I don't think in lbs, sorry!


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## 7Ponies (May 21, 2009)

Question for those feeding the big round bales, does it spoil?

I have a lot of problems with my hay getting mildew in it (from our humidity). That's why I get the small bales, and I only get a few at a time or they will mildew.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Can you keep them in a shed or similar indoor environment?


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

It's frustrating how delicate horses are, the cows love mouldy hay :]


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## 7Ponies (May 21, 2009)

I do store my hay in my barn, doesn't matter, it still will mildew. Everything here mildews, it gets on my saddle, etc.

The only way to really avoid it is to air-condition, but I can't afford to do that in my barn!!


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## nldiaz66 (Jul 27, 2008)

I pay about 70 for the big round bales of coastal hay, 17.00 for the square bale of alfafa and 8.00 a bag for 2 of my horses grain and 17.00 for purina equine senior grain, I usaully get tifton 44 hay but cant find that right now, the big round bales dont go bad for my horses I go though about 3 a month with my 3 horses, I have never smelled or seen mildew.the small square bales are a pain in the butt, to me, lol


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

7Ponies said:


> Question for those feeding the big round bales, does it spoil?
> 
> I have a lot of problems with my hay getting mildew in it (from our humidity). That's why I get the small bales, and I only get a few at a time or they will mildew.





7Ponies said:


> I do store my hay in my barn, doesn't matter, it still will mildew. Everything here mildews, it gets on my saddle, etc.
> 
> The only way to really avoid it is to air-condition, but I can't afford to do that in my barn!!


Sometimes they do get a little bad on one side or another. Usually the side that was sitting on the ground. I think your problem comes from your constant humidity that we were discussing in another thread. There really isn't much that you can do about it except what you are doing now. Get small bales a few at a time and hope like hell they don't get moldy. :/

When we put out the bales that do have some mold, we put that side on the ground. When the horses start to get to the area that they smell the mold on, they will just stop eating on it. I love self regulating horses.  That's when we put out a new bale. Everything at our house gets fed by free and frequent access so they are never hungry enough to eat something that tastes a little bad. And now they have fresh grass to choose from too.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Hay is a bit scarce right now, as it's been too wet for a first cutting, which usually goes to cows, and horses get the second and third cutting. So, all that's available is last year's hay. I got some mediocre quality bermuda, that has 30-50% wastage depending on the bale, for $2.00 a bale out of someone's barn. I won't be going back... I can get NICE Bermuda, last year's 3rd cutting, for $4.00 a bale (normally $5.00 a bale when fresher). I can get pretty good Bermuda delivered and stacked for $5.25 a bale, though I don't know if he has any left.

In about 4 weeks I'll get the first available horse hay, decent Bermuda, 10-20% wastage, for $3.50 a bale out of the field, or $5.00 a bale for good Bermuda (5-10% wastage) that's barn cured.

Good Tifton Bermuda runs $7-8 a bale, out of the barn.

All of these Bermuda bales are light, 55-70 lbs, usually on the low end of that.

Of course, feed store prices on decent common Bermuda is $6-7 a bale, picked up. Timothy, if you can find it, runs $14-16 a bale or Alfalfa at $12-18, both trucked in from northern states.

We go through half a bale of Bermuda a day per horse, so that's about $50-90 a month per horse.

For feed, we make our own using Alfalfa pellets, flax, and a vitamin supplement, which runs about $35 a month per horse.

We don't do stalls, just a shelter and feed bowls at opposite ends of the pasture, lol. Barns are too much work, unsanitary (no matter what you do), and just not needed here. I rake the pasture twice a week and clean up under the shelter every other day. No shavings, nothing to mess with.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

7Ponies said:


> Question for those feeding the big round bales, does it spoil?
> 
> I have a lot of problems with my hay getting mildew in it (from our humidity). That's why I get the small bales, and I only get a few at a time or they will mildew.


If you get net-wrapped, barn cured bales it shouldn't. Keep them off the ground on pallets and in a barn, or carefully tarped. We have high humidity here too, and never had a problem with round bales. I just don't have the right place to store any right now, otherwise I'd buy them!!


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## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

I pay $23 for a bag of feed it last me TEN days for three horses  

My square bales average $1.50 per bale they weigh approx 45 -50lbs

My round bales cost me $35 and last about ten days as well


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## twogeldings (Aug 11, 2008)

7Ponies said:


> I do store my hay in my barn, doesn't matter, it still will mildew. Everything here mildews, it gets on my saddle, etc.
> 
> The only way to really avoid it is to air-condition, but I can't afford to do that in my barn!!


I would try a de-humidifier, or just a few fans. We have both a humidifier and a de-humidifier around here somewhere. They work awesomely ;D


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## kickshaw (May 7, 2008)

$17.25 buys one bag of TC Senior

$3.85 gets one bale of nice rye/fescue hay delivered and stacked

$11.95 buys one bag of alfalfa cubes

$13.85 buys one bag of beet pulp

$20.00 buys one bag of steam rolled oats

$10.50 buys one bale of nice Timothy at the feed storre

$4.95 buys one bag of shavings (standard size)

i'm in northern georgia

$350 gets one 22ft load of shavings delivered


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## AussieDaisyGirl (May 21, 2009)

I pay $2 a bale or $15 for a 5x5 round bale of very good timothy/orchard mix. I pay $12 per bag of complete feed. I also get military discount so that helps. But there is a feed store charging $7 a bale already for not so fantastic hay. I buy direct from the farmers though.


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

I pay a little over $12 for a 50lb bag of Horseman's Edge 12:6

Hay is expensive here. $8 a square bale coastal and not great quality from the feed store (its just old you can tell) $80 for a large round bale that I get from a lady in town. I am getting some freshly baled hay in a couple of weeks for $6 a bale in the pasture.

That is all my horses get. I go through 6 bags of feed a month and 1-2 round bales. We don't have much grass for them so I have to keep the hay for them.


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## 7Ponies (May 21, 2009)

A dehumidifier would probably work if my barn were enclosed, it's not. It's basically stalls built under a roof, all open for the breezes.

I have my hay stored on pallets, under the roof of the barn. It still will mildew if it's out there more than about a month. It doesn't mildew just on the bottom, but all around it.

I am able to "shake" it off for the most part (you can see the mildew dust flying off) and leave it to bake in the sun for a bit and the horses will eat it and have never gotten sick... but I don't like to do that and hate that I spend good $$$ on the hay and then it yucks up on me.


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## knaskedov (Jul 24, 2008)

Wow, we pay a lot!
Bale Bermuda $15.99 (enough for a week)
Bale Alfalafa $11.99 (would be nice, but makes my guy too hot)
Mix $13.99 (again, can't feed alfalfa)
BGal Timothy $23.99 (not feeding that!!)

80 Pounds Bermuda/Alfalfa pellets $13.25 (lasts a week)
Manna Pro Sho-Flex $23.50 (lasts a month)
99% MSM 12.50 (lasts months and months)
Legend shot $115.00 plus vet visit (lasts 3 months)

I would love to live somewhere where there is grass in the pastures, would save so much money...


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

knaskedov said:


> Wow, we pay a lot!
> Bale Bermuda $15.99 (enough for a week)
> Bale Alfalafa $11.99 (would be nice, but makes my guy too hot)
> Mix $13.99 (again, can't feed alfalfa)
> ...


How heavy are your bales? If one bale lasts a week for one horse, then that is a LOT of hay. We typically feed 20-25 lbs of hay a day, so that's nearly half a bale a day. In one week, one horse goes through 3-4 bales of hay.

Or maybe you're feeding half hay and half cubes?


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## 7Ponies (May 21, 2009)

Feeding half a bale a hay a day to a horse seems like a lot to me. My horses would balloon to little piggies if I did that.

I feed one flake, split between my two horses in the morning. Then at lunch time I give them the dehydrated alfalfa cubes (that I've soaked in water so they are re-hydrated) and then when I put them out in the pasture at night I split another flake of hay for them. A bale of hay lasts me a week for two horses.

Then again, I do have easy-keepers!


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

7ponies 1 bale lasts us a week between 2 horses also. i feed the way you do when we aren't doing a round bale. Typically our bales are about 65#.


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## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

we also need to compare BALES SIZES...my squares are 40 to 50 lbs so each of my horses goes though about 1/2 to 3/4 a day ...


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## EternalSun (Mar 29, 2009)

Around here, a decent quality bale of timothy will cost you around $6.50, and a really great quality bale will cost between $8.50 -$9.50. The cheaper bales are between 25-30 lbs, the better quality bales are around 40-45 lbs. When I kept my horses at home, each one got 1 of the cheaper bales of hay a day. With 5 horses, that was expensive but worth it. Now that I'm boarding, I'm supplementing my horse with a few pounds of dried timothy cubes (soaked) around mid afternoon. A 50 lb bag of timothy cubes is about $22.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

In times like this, I love living in Canada where it's wide open prairies (Manitoba) and mostly rural agriculture. Though this year could change, with all the flooding we had, crops were very late getting in so I suspect a shortage of hay.

It varies a lot, but obviously more is less. Right now our hay guy is out, but he sells us large 800lb squares of a beautiful alfalfa/timothy/grass mix for $55 delivered. And his dad sells the same mix in small 50lb bales for $3.50 each.

We've been getting some hay off a neighbour who sold his horses, very nice green grass bales roughly 40-50lbs each for $3 a piece.

Round bales anywhere from 800-1200lbs will run you anywhere from $40 to $60.

Thankfully, we also have an 8 acre pasture with 5 horses on it now, plus an extra 2 acres the neighbour lets us use which is fenced off for now, letting it grow up nice. We only have to supplement roughly one grass bale a day for all 5 horses, they'll pick at it when they feel like it, but the feeder is never empty and they're all getting fat and glossy.

As for grain, it's roughly $10-$15 for a bag of sweet feed or complete feed, depending where you get it, about 50lbs. We don't feed much grain though, we're easing them back now that summer and grass is here.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

7Ponies said:


> Feeding half a bale a hay a day to a horse seems like a lot to me. My horses would balloon to little piggies if I did that.
> 
> I feed one flake, split between my two horses in the morning. Then at lunch time I give them the dehydrated alfalfa cubes (that I've soaked in water so they are re-hydrated) and then when I put them out in the pasture at night I split another flake of hay for them. A bale of hay lasts me a week for two horses.
> 
> Then again, I do have easy-keepers!


I have easy keepers too, well one is. If your bales weigh as much as mine, you would only be feeding 4-5 lbs of hay a day, plus however much of the cubes you feed (dry weight, I suspect about 3-5 lbs a day). That's only 7-10 lbs of forage (not considering pasture, which you shouldn't if it's less than 3" tall). 

A horse should get 1.5%-3.5% of it's body weight a day in forage or hay products, to maintain a healthy gut and proper body condition. That's about 15 to 35 lbs a day for an average 1,000 lb horse. At least 70% of your horse's daily intake of food should be in the form of long stem fiber, hay, pasture, or hay cubes.

To figure out how much hay you're feeding, get the average bale weight from your hay supplier or feed store, then break a bale up to see how many flakes you have.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

stacieandtheboys said:


> 7ponies 1 bale lasts us a week between 2 horses also. i feed the way you do when we aren't doing a round bale. Typically our bales are about 65#.


For ponies maybe. An average sized horse should be getting at least 15-20 pounds of hay a day, which would make your bale last ONE average horse 3-3.5 days, max.

That is, for bermuda, timothy, or other grass type hay. Alfalfa or mixed bales that contain 40% or more Alfalfa hay can be fed in less amounts because of the increased calories and protein.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I feel so bad for the folks who live in areas that are grass/hay deficient or are in drought conditions. :-(
We are fortunate to live in an area that supply's a lot of the hay to you. Many of my neighbors are in the hay business, shipping nationwide. 
I cut a deal with my neighbor to lease a prairie grass hay meadow and I take whatever comes out of it. I think it averages about $50 a ton, I have it baled in small 5-6' round bales (I have a small tractor) 
When I need small square bales I get them from another neighbor for $4.00 a bale (brome hay) They are big heavy bales. 
Thats non-delivered prices. If I had them delivered the price would go up.
I have never fed alfalfa. I do let the mares graze it a bit when we ride down the road....don't tell my neighbor ;-)


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## hotreddun (Jun 27, 2008)

From the feed store its $8 a bale. I've been buying that because we don't have storage or a flat bed trailer to haul bulk yet. When we can get it from the field it is $3-4.50 a bale. That's usually coastal/bermuda mix. A bale lasts 2 horses 2 days...feeding 3 times a day. I also feed ADM Stay Strong that is $22 a bag but lasts 2 horses 2 weeks. I feed One and Only at lunch time that is $14 a bag and lasts 2 horses 2ish weeks.

I used to feed Triple Crown Low Starch which was $18 a bag and lasted one horse 9 days.


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## hotreddun (Jun 27, 2008)

I forgot to add that Im in east Texas. My parents live in west Texas and there hay is $10-$15 a bale. Yikes!


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

luvs2ride1979 said:


> For ponies maybe. An average sized horse should be getting at least 15-20 pounds of hay a day, which would make your bale last ONE average horse 3-3.5 days, max.
> 
> That is, for bermuda, timothy, or other grass type hay. Alfalfa or mixed bales that contain 40% or more Alfalfa hay can be fed in less amounts because of the increased calories and protein.


Nope not ponies. Any more hay and they get hay belly. I have super easy keepers. Of course right now they all are chunky because of the round bales but we have no grass for grazing so they get however much they want.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

stacieandtheboys said:


> Nope not ponies. Any more hay and they get hay belly. I have super easy keepers. Of course right now they all are chunky because of the round bales but we have no grass for grazing so they get however much they want.


How much grain do you give them? What kind of hay is it? 

I'm just trying to wrap my head around this, lol. I've had some easy keepers before, and when there was little to no grazing, they still required at least 15 lbs of hay a day, more like 20.


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## mystikal222 (May 26, 2009)

Bale of decent alfalfa-$5.00 
50lb. bag of Strategy-$11.00
Large bag of alfalfa cubes-$10.00
23 happy little "good morning" whinnies when I walk in-priceless lol


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

mystikal222 said:


> Bale of decent alfalfa-$5.00
> 50lb. bag of Strategy-$11.00
> Large bag of alfalfa cubes-$10.00
> 23 happy little "good morning" whinnies when I walk in-priceless lol


^^^^


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

stacieandtheboys said:


> Nope not ponies. Any more hay and they get hay belly. I have super easy keepers. Of course right now they all are chunky because of the round bales but we have no grass for grazing so they get however much they want.


Hay belly doesn't neccesarily have anything to do with being fat. It's a distension of the abdominal cavity, which can be caused by the volume of intake being to high, as well as feeding completely unutritional hay and not digesting properly. Ponies are prone to hay belly because they have difficulty getting the proper amount of nutrients without gorging themselves. An ideal example is the starving children we see on TV with swollen distended tummies - they're still starving to death, but the garbage they eat causes distension from not being digested properly. So just make sure you aren't confusing being fat with lacking nutrients. I'm not saying you are, I just wanted to note that for anyone else reading who thinks hay belly is from being fat. A good solution for hay belly is better quality hay, as well as supplementing with a complete feed to pack more nutrients into a smaller volume.


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

I feed a pelleted feed as per their weight. 1 flake am feed 1 pm feed. I don't know what else to tell you  I take whatever hay I can get around here I am in west Tx and its super hard to come by locally and so we get whatever is shipped in or I have a guy south of town that bales good hay. Once he is out though that is it. My horses are at good weight. Their bellies are not distended as described above. I have always fed all of the horses I have ever had this way and never had an weight issues with my horses. Maybe my bales are just bigger. I do have some smaller ones that we are using now that no way would last a week.


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## MacabreMikolaj (May 9, 2009)

I think you described a perfect situation stacieandtheboys about how different horses can completely mess with these "calculations" set aside for how much food a horse needs. A general guideline is good, but your only confirmation is going to come from looking at the condition of your horse.

I had a big Arab gelding who could LOOK at food and gain weight. His normal weight was around 900lbs, and at one time he was ballooned to 1200lbs (which caused him to develop severe laminitis). So while a standard calculation would say he gets a minimum of 13.5lbs of hay per day based on 1.5% body weight, he was lucky if he got 10lbs in a day.

Meanwhile, my Arab mare totally mixed me up. I started listening to feed experts and modifying her feed and she lost so much weight it was ridiculous. I finally figured out the problem was that despite her being 800lbs and "supposedly" needing 20lbs of hay daily based on a 2.5% of body weight ratio, she'll get skinny if she's packing away anything less then 25-30lbs a day. I realize a 3.5% ratio was posted earlier, but everything I found said 1.5% - 2.5% of body weight. Definately doesn't work with my high spirited mare!

Haha, ANYWAY, as long as you horse is in good conditon, it shouldn't matter how much they technically eat. I've found a much better system in finding a loose approximation and then just judging based on how they look.


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

I couldn't agree more. We also do not compete or do heavy riding so they don't expend as much energy as a show horse or ranch horse. I am sure that i will have to make some adjustments as we start trail riding. For now though they hare super happy and healthy


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## racer179 (Jun 7, 2009)

i buy the big round bales. they are very good quality. they are a mix of alfalfa, timothy, and good slew grass believe it or not. i come from saskatchewan canada though. so we dont really have that high of humidity. they dont mold or mildew unless they sit in the rain and dont get used. i pay from 20-25$ a bale. my horses love it and it keeps the weight on them in the winter time. (we have harsh winters here, it gets up to -45 degrees celcious, about -40 farenheit ! )


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

stacieandtheboys said:


> I feed a pelleted feed as per their weight.


Okay, I see. So you're feeding 5-8 lbs a day of feed daily, along with minimal amounts of hay. That's not really healthy for the horse in the long run. A horse's digestive system is meant to digest low protein, long stem fiber. Grain and feeds are not that, at all. 70% of the horse's feed intake (by weight) should be long stem fiber, hay, hay cubes, or pasture. If you feed less than that on a regular basis, you risk long term problems like ulcers, colic, and founder/laminitis. 

Ingredients like corn, wheat, grain sweeping, and "middlings" have shown to cause colic and/or founder, negative metabolic changes, and behavioral problems. Even if a horse on a grain diet is fine now, he/she may not be in the future. Low-grade liminitis can not show any obvious signs, except for maybe slightly shortened strides, a reluctance to work on certain surfaces or down hills, or a general "grouchiness" that slowly creeps into a horse's attitude.

My horses get 20-25 lbs of hay plus 1.5 lbs of Alfalfa pellets, along with a vitamin supplement and some flax. 94% of their diet is long stem fiber. This is the diet they get when not working or in light work. When we start riding a lot I increase the Alfalfa pellets to 3 lbs and sometimes add in 1-1.5 lbs of whole oats.

Feeding more hay and less feed is healthier for the horse in the long run and it's actually cheaper, even if you have to add a vitamin supplement like I do.

Read up:
Safer Grass - A Resource for Equine Forage Nutrition
Horse Digestive System Basics

Something you might consider switching to, instead of high volumes of feed/grain:
Ration Balancer
Ration Balancer Reference Thread - Horse Forums (HGS)


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## racer179 (Jun 7, 2009)

i also buy the Front Runner phase four 10% pleasure feed ( its for pleasure horses ) but it also comes in phase one 16% foal, phase two 14% mare and yearling, phase three 12% performance, phase four 10% pleasure feed,phase five 13% senior, low starch, and 10% and 30% supplement pellet feed. I dont know if you guys have heard of it, but in my area it is very high quality feed. i pay 18$ canadian for a 25 kg bag,(55lbs) but that is just for the pleasure feed pellets. prices vary for the other bags. my family are farmers so we dont buy oats. we use our own high quality oats.


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## racer179 (Jun 7, 2009)

u can take a look at the front runner feeds at Front Runner - Home


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## racer179 (Jun 7, 2009)

sorry frontrunner.com or frontrunner-home.com


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## racer179 (Jun 7, 2009)

oh ya and i also use small squares that are made of high quality timothy,alfalfa, and yes good quality slew grass.  i pay 3.50-6 $ a bale


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

Thank you for the reading.


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

luvs2ride1979 

Thank you so much for the links. I love stuff that saves me $$ ha ha. Right now they have 24 hour access to a round bale so they are getting whatever they chose to eat. So i would say now they are getting ample hay plus feed. Usually winter time when they are stalled is when we feed square bales. I changes to the feed I am feeding because I can feed way less of it than the sweet feed I was feeding. My mare only gets about 3 lbs lactating pony about 3 and my gelding about 6...so we could really benefit from this. I plan on taking a look at my feed store and seeing if they carry any of the brands on that site. Never hurts to try something out.

I like the idea of a more "natural diet" Sometimes it is hard to get away from what you have always done or what you were taught. Thanks for making me think and look into alternatives. You never quit learning.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

I wish we could feed round bales... I just don't have anywhere to store them and if I leave one out in the field, my mare will eat and eat and eat until she's about to pop, and that's without any grain! lol 

She'll end up like this...



















Instead of this:










And you're right, if they have a round bale, they're getting plenty of hay/forage. Keep in mind that in the winter, hay keeps a horse "warmer" from the inside than grain. Hay takes longer to digest, which creates more internal heat. Hay also takes longer to eat, so horses are less likely to become bored or chew fences if they have more hay and less grain/feed.


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## SpringWolf (May 6, 2009)

we pay the following:

inside stored round bale - $35

Inside stored squares - $3.50

13% sweet feed (40 kg) - $20

whole oats (40 kg) - $14

Hi Fat and Fibre (25 kg) - $18

Beet Pulp (25 kg) - $15

Bran (25 kg) - $13

Flax seed (25 kg) - $35

Cull carrots (50 lb) - $6


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## 7Ponies (May 21, 2009)

Very informative thread.

I don't agree with this statement... "If you feed less than that on a regular basis, you risk long term problems like ulcers, colic, and founder/laminitis."

I have fed horses as I've described here for over 25 years and rarely have colic, founder, and never have had ulcers. My horses look good, shiny coats, nice muscle tone, etc. I don't ride a lot (twice a week now).

My pasture grass is not long, but I only have the two horses on it (about five or six acres) and they get heavier in the summer, sometimes to the point I don't feed hay at all.

Do you think my horses look too thin?

Sometimes what "they" say you should feed, is just too much for your horse (in most cases manufacturers want to sell feed so they really up the amount "they" say you need to feed.) It's the same with dog food. If I fed my dogs what the bag said to give them, I'd have 120 lb. labradors. As it is, I feed them top quality food and they get 1 cup 2x daily and weigh their proper weight of 75-80lbs.

I think it depends on the quality you are feeding, more so than the quantity. And again, having easy keepers makes it easier


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## Peggysue (Mar 29, 2008)

the level they recommend is for NUTRITION needed not calories. 

which most horses get more then enough calories from their pasture or hay what they do need is vitamins/minerals to BALANCE the type of forage they get


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## kchfuller (Feb 1, 2008)

I am in CA ...

I board and they get the hay in large amounts so I don't know the break down but at our local feed store grass hay is like $15 a bale and alfalfa is like $19 a bale.

I also buy Strategy(for both horses) for $14 a bag and alfalfa pellets (for my gelding) for like $12 a bag... sometimes i get some cob and split a 50 lb bag between the two horses feed trash cans...


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

7Ponies said:


> Very informative thread.
> 
> I don't agree with this statement... "If you feed less than that on a regular basis, you risk long term problems like ulcers, colic, and founder/laminitis."
> 
> ...


I said you "RISK" those problems. If you have decent pasture, like you obviously have, then no, you don't need to feed much if any hay when the grass comes in. You risk those problems when your horse's grain/feed intake go higher than 30% of the overall food your horse eats in a whole day. 5-6 acres is a lot of ground for two horses to forage on. Mine have barely 0.75 acres for two horses, so obviously mine need hay, otherwise they'd be eating my fences and trees too, lol. 

Really though, if your horses get too heavy in the summer, the first thing I'd cut back is the grain. Hay is a lot cheaper, and healthier (if it's quality hay). But that's just my experience :wink:.


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

Around here small bales fluctuate between 3 and 5 dollars a bale and round bales are between $25 and $50. I can't believe what some of you have to pay! I wouldn't be able to keep my horses anymore if hay went much higher than what it is now. 

Right now we're paying nothing. They live soley on pasture during the summer and my husband is helping a guy he works with do his baling and getting hay in return so we will end up with more than half of what we'll need this winter for free. Well, my husband wouldn't say "free" I'm sure.


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## loric (Oct 22, 2008)

we pay 8.50 for 2 string square bale or 17.00 for a 3 string. roundbales are averaging 75 to 90.00. I am going through 1 2 string bale a day

18.00 for a 50lb bag of BOSS last oh...about 2 1/2 weeks 

8.99 for 50 lb bag of 12% pelleted feed...I go through 2 a week

I'm looking at adding beet pulp or alfalfa cubes. beet pulp is about 16.00/bag for the shreds, and I have no idea what alfalfa cubes are running, but the hay can run 18.00 for a 3 string bale.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

I pay $3.50 a bale for 50lb bales of grass/alf mix.
The alfalfa pellets and beet pulp I feed are $13.99/bag (50/lb alf, 40lb beet)
I pay $24.99 (I think - it's been a while since I had to buy any) per 40lb bag for rice bran....but only feed 1 lb a day so it lasts a while.


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## CheyAut (Nov 26, 2008)

Alfalfa is down (love saying that!) to $8 a bale now, bermuda is either 50 cents or a dollar more. Timothy, if you can find it, is over $20 a bale. That's pretty much all we have here. 

The pellets I feed are also down (whoo!) to $7.50 a bag, and then Jr is up  to over $20 ($22 or $24 I forget) and I forget what beat pulp is up to.


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