# Hay - Costs, How Long it Lasts



## WesternJake (Jan 29, 2011)

I've been wondering this for a while, trying to figure it out in my head, but since I don't actually BUY hay for horses, I just can't come up with the answer. 

For those of you who buy (square baled) hay-
How much do you buy?
How often do you have to buy it? 
How long does it last? 
How many flakes do you feed per feeding?
Do you buy enough to last a certain amount of time - if so, how many months - and how many bales do you have to buy to last those months? 

Jake eats 2 flakes per feeding, so one regular sized bale (think 60 to 75 lbs) lasts about 3 feedings, maybe 4. (This is grass hay - he also gets a flake of alfalfa in the evenings). How many months of hay do I want to buy when I buy it? 

How many bales last 2 to 3 months on this feeding schedule (about 2 flakes per feeding. 1 flake of alfalfa, and I will be graining him at least 1x a day)

I'm curious because I might be free-leasing-to-buy, and am trying to configure all the costs. Hay in my area goes for $4 to $6. Round bales (of cattle quality) are $25, and horse quality is about $35 to $45. I'd buy a round bale every now and then, but Jake is pastured with his buddies, so he wouldn't be the only one eating it; and not to mention that the only place to put it would be the shelter. 

ETA: Figured I would mention that Jake is a bit underweight right now...In the summer depending on weight, he'll probably be back down to just 2 flakes of hay AM & PM. Also, if my BO & trainer were willing to split cost of a round bale (they each have a horse pastured with Jake) then I would consider buying one.

Thanks in advance!








Emily


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## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

WesternJake said:


> For those of you who buy (square baled) hay-
> How much do you buy?
> How often do you have to buy it?
> How long does it last?
> ...


I usually just buy as much as we can fit in the pick up, the hay guy is literally 1/4 mile down the street so we can pretty much get it anytime, but we normally get about 20-30 bales at a time

How often we buy depends on how cold it is out, usually every 3 weeks to a month.

I have 3 horses and a donkey all out 24/7 we usually throw out a bale in the AM and if they need more another bale in the PM, if it's nice out they usually have only eaten 1/2 the bale so they don't need anymore, in the spring/summer when the grass is fully grown they hardly eat any hay and we only go through 1/2 a bale a day


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## deineria (Mar 22, 2009)

You can figure on buying based on 2% of your horses ideal body weight a day - you can figure from there. 
1000 lb horse would need 9-10 bales a month if they weigh 65 lbs each
and he gets no grass.

I go through 2400 lbs every 6th day, typically. I have a lot of animals here though, and I feed round bales at $25 ea.


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## WesternJake (Jan 29, 2011)

deineria said:


> You can figure on buying based on 2% of your horses ideal body weight a day - you can figure from there.
> 1000 lb horse would need 9-10 bales a month if they weigh 65 lbs each
> and he gets no grass.
> 
> I go through 2400 lbs every 6th day, typically. I have a lot of animals here though, and I feed round bales at $25 ea.


Mkay...so 2% for a horse that weighs I think 875 (? can't remember exactly, it's in the 800's though, and he could use about 50 to 75 more lbs.) how many would that be? 

He's getting worked about 1 to 3 times a week for a good 1 1/2 hours on avg.- though right now he hasn't been worked in 2 weeks.


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## deineria (Mar 22, 2009)

If he is underweight, I'd feed 2% of what he should weigh - 
if he is being worked, are you feeding a concentrate, too?

A horse that should weigh 950 - I'm guess he maybe should if he is 
875 and needs 50-75 more - needs at least 8 bales a month
if they weigh 65 lbs each


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## WesternJake (Jan 29, 2011)

deineria said:


> If he is underweight, I'd feed 2% of what he should weigh -
> if he is being worked, are you feeding a concentrate, too?
> 
> A horse that should weigh 950 - I'm guess he maybe should if he is
> ...


He is getting beet pulp when the BO buys it...*rolls eyes*, so no, not every night. When he does, he also gets 2 small scoops (like...less than 1/2 a cup) of Cool Calories 100. (This is going to change as soon as I'm buying feed! - As in, he well be getting grain every day.) 

I would like him to be about 950 - he's a narrow built horse, but 15.2. You can't see his ribs, but I can slightly feel them. 

And thank you!  This will definitely help me to figure out the costs of hay. 

Emily


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## deineria (Mar 22, 2009)

no problem


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## Rowzy (Mar 1, 2010)

I have 2 horses, and I go through about 5 tons of hay a year. I buy 4-5 tons at a time because it can be hard to find somebody to deliver less than that sometimes.
I can pay anything from 200 a ton for cheaper (western washington) hay to 300+ a ton for eastern washington hay (expensive, generally considered "higher quality" hay). Keep in mind those prices include what I pay for delivery usually. I try to get my hay delivered in the summer because where I used to board got their hay delivered in the spring, it rained on the delivery and most of it molded. Could just have been a one-time thing but I try to be cautious.

Also, I have learned in the past buying hay that the $4 bales actually cost more than the $6 bales because they weigh significatly less. I tend to pay more attention to price per ton instead.

Where are you located in Washington if you don't mind me asking? 
Hope this made sense


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

If you can figure out how to feed rounds, in the long run they will be cheaper. Small rounds of straight grass will weigh in the 700# range while large ones can be upwards of 1500#. With 3 horses, I'd stick to the smaller ones. They will go through one a week. Waste can be significant so make sure it's in a horse (open bars on the top) RB feeder. It doesn't need to be under the shelter but keep the bale off the ground by placing it on it's side on a wooden pallet then cover the bale with a tarp (in wet weather) leaving the flat ends open. If you buy one at a time, you can just chain the bale up and pull it out of your truck with another truck in the field or else you need a small tractor with a bucket loader to pick them up.

It is always cheapest to buy all your hay for the year while it's being put up. The problem with that is you need someplace to store it and it can be a sizable chunk of change to pay all at once. Right about now, hay prices are headed up as hay supplies are getting tight.


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## ButtInTheDirt (Jan 16, 2011)

I get large square bales, & round bales, so this won't be exactally like yours.
I usually only feed the horses hay in the winter or when grass isn't available for some reason. I give each horse two flakes, (these are fairly large flakes) once a day. I'm not intirely sure if they both eat their share but they've mantained good weight, (and are actually a bit chubby. xD) 
I'm not sure exactally how long they last, but the horses usually just inhale the roundbales since they aren't controlled to much. The large square bales probably last about three weeks or so. Roundbales probably two weeks, mainly because in the winter we can't put it in the roundbale feeder, so it's just a bale massacre and it ends up everywhere. >.>
We do put round bales in the summer sometimes, but if there is grass the horses just don't care at all and the bale is left there to rot.


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