# How much hay per month/year for one horse?



## 8665eh (Mar 7, 2015)

I am planning on getting a horse, and I need to know how much hay I need to buy, I'm thinking large square bales. The horse is a 16.1 Thoroughbred, that I'm going to use for jumping. I live in Wisconsin so winters will add more hay.


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## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

In our mild winters, my mare (who is an easy keeper) goes through about 2 90lb bales of orchard grass a week.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Figure 2% of body weight of forage per day and 2x that in the dead of winter to be safe.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

The "average" horse eats roughly 20 lbs of hay per day (although hard keepers may go through closer to 25 lbs daily). 20 lbs per day translates to about 600 lbs per month and 3.6 tons per year. Hay is frequently sold by the ton. Prices vary dramatically depending on where you are located and the quality of the hay. In my area, it's fairly normal to see the good quality grass hay go for $350 per ton.


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## Textan49 (Feb 13, 2015)

8665eh said:


> I am planning on getting a horse, and I need to know how much hay I need to buy, I'm thinking large square bales. The horse is a 16.1 Thoroughbred, that I'm going to use for jumping. I live in Wisconsin so winters will add more hay.


 For a TB of that size I would say a minimum of 20 lbs per day probably 25 lbs minimum through the winter. It sounds like you have a horse already picked out and you can check with the present owner. You can calculate hay by weighing the amount that the horse gets at each feeding then converting it to tons. You can step on a bathroom scale holding the hay then deduct your own weight,


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

My QH will eat upwards of 25lbs/day to keep weight on in the winter with the cold and in the summer when he's working. I go through 175-200lbs a week, so that's 800lbs a month, 4.8 tons a year (2000lbs=1 ton?). Yikes.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

My hay consumption can double in the winter when it goes subzero. Lot of wet snow will make it go up a lot too.


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## LopinKing (Sep 20, 2014)

I have one horse and our biggest expense is shavings.. 
We buy 20 bays of hay a month. 
It depends on if your horse is outside or in a stall.. We go through hay more because king is in the stall all the time.. He may get an hour of outside time. plus ridding.


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

Horses should be fed 1.5% of their body weight a day in forage. In situations where temperatures drop below 27 degrees F, additional hay will be needed to help maintain body heat. Some horses also need more forage just to maintain body weight. So, you can use 15 lbs of hay per day for a 1000 lb horse as an estimate of minimum daily hay needs.


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## cobra (Jan 30, 2013)

Horses need between 1.5 & 2 % of their body weight in forage daily, as a rough estimate. Some hard keepers require more than 2%. Will he be kept in a stall, or will he have pasture to graze? That will make a difference in how much hay you need for a full year. If he has good pasture to graze, he will require less during the months when the grass is growing. If he will be stall-kept you will have to provide him with the full amount he requires all year round. Hope that helps.


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## anameli (Jul 4, 2014)

i usually buy 20 bays of hay a month


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

A horse needs 1.5% of their own body weight in dry matter per day to keep their internal organs functioning. Most horses need 2% to maintain with light work. More in heavy work and/or cold weather.

Let's assume your horse weight 1200 lbs (pretty average for a 16hh TB I would guess). 2% of 1200 lbs is *24 lbs per day*
24x7 = *168 lbs per week*

168 x52 (weeks per year) = *8736 lbs per year *

I would get 4-5 tons, probably 5 ton to make sure there is extra for hard work outs or a brutal winter. This is assuming no pasture.


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## RedHorseRidge (Nov 3, 2012)

We plan on 15 pounds per horse per day (1.5% of body weight -- they get less on days when they can be out for an hour or two and more when it's really cold). We weigh a dozen or so bales (we buy the small squares) to get an idea of how much each weighs, and then calculate how many bales we need.

You said "large square bales"... do you mean the 3x3x8' bales? If so, it's going to be a little difficult to weigh them, but the person doing the hay should be able to tell you their approximate weight (unless you can get the trailer on a scale).


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## Luv equins (Oct 10, 2014)

Have hay in a hay net 24/7.


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## Roman (Jun 13, 2014)

We just put out a round bale of hay (5x4 I think). We have 17 cows as well, so 18 animals eat through a round bale in about two days.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

You can buy hay as often as you desire depending on available storage..


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## RedHorseRidge (Nov 3, 2012)

Yogiwick said:


> You can buy hay as often as you desire depending on available storage..


Wisconsin weather might make this more difficult, particularly during the winter. We live in PA and can't plan on having any deliveries (or getting it ourselves) due to a 1/2 mile long snow and ice covered steep driveway... 
: )


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## Cherrij (Jan 30, 2013)

I found it works for my horse to have 1 small square bale of hay per day, fed in slow feed hay net.

One bale is 13-15 kg - over 28 lbs. 
So I need 30-31 bales per month.
390 kg per month. 
That is 2.340 tonnes for 6 months, 4.68 tonnes for the whole year. 
I am planning to stock up on 540 bales this summer - estimating more consumption in colder winter time, having some extra hay if needed.. but I am almost 100% sure I will need more. 
My horse ate 4 round bales in a month... we kinda ran out.. had to buy more, difficult to get.. though compared to you guys, our prices are better.. it is 10-15 euros per round bale - very simmilar in USD at the moment.. 

Small square bales - 60-70 euro per tonne... so with less than 500$ I should be able to stock up enough hay for 2 horses


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