How much hay do your horses get through a month?

We have 6 horses a Shetland, welsh sec a x pba, Arab, cob x, ISH & warmblood. We use 2 big round bales a month & like the rest having to put hay out as there is no grass. Ours are £35 each delivered.
 
3 native ponies living out, just coming in for a few hours a week when ridden and for farrier. They have 5 acres of good grazing, still loads of grass left so I haven't fed any hay at all yet :) even when they come in they don't touch it; So atm I'm only using about 2 bales a month @ £3.50 a bale.
 
My mare is out from about 7-4 and a small bale of hay goes out daily for her and 3 fieldmates. She then gets 1/3rd of a small bale overnight and always has a little left in morning. I buy 10 bales a month at £4 each. Field hay is bought in summer, generally £3 a bale and everyone buys 20 each.
 
ive started to weigh my hay. According to a Hazel Reed BHS stage 3 book, your horses appetite should be 2.5% of his body weight, so mine works out that his daily allowance is 9kg. Ive been doing this for a little while, he gets nothing else, just hay and obviously grass when he is turned out and he looks great. It works out 3-4 small square bales a week at £3.50 a bale so between £42 and £56 per month. We can only have square bales as we wont get a round bale in our storage area, which is a shame as I think it would be a bit cheaper for me!
 
2 horses - 16.2 Wb x Tb, 16hh ID x Tb. In at night, on grass 6am - 6pm. 1 x 4ft round hay bale lasts a fortnight (ad-lib) and cost £30
 
I am not sure it's as easy as just amount of hay per size of horse, generally speaking a bigger horse will of course eat more but I have a very big 17.1hh and he eats less hay than the 15hh we have. I have five here and they go through 1 large square haylage bale every 6 or 7 days (more when it's frosty and they have hay in the field).
 
Liane said:
I am not sure it's as easy as just amount of hay per size of horse, generally speaking a bigger horse will of course eat more but I have a very big 17.1hh and he eats less hay than the 15hh we have. I have five here and they go through 1 large square haylage bale every 6 or 7 days (more when it's frosty and they have hay in the field).
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I agree my 18.1hh eats less than the 16hh filly It's all on individual requirements I use haylage nets to reduce wastage
 
Yes I also agree that it depends on the horse not just the size, I think as my mare is a late growing breed she needs a lot of hay to keep her weight on as the vet thinks she's got an inch or two left to grow and then plenty more bulking out as she tends towards the lean side.
 
sasha1414 said:
Ah sorry yes I mean the large rectangle bales not round ones.
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In that case I would say that sounds about right. But every horse is different so it's hard to say. If that is what yours is taking, and they are of a decent weight/keeping the right amount of weight on, then I wouldn't worry. However, I would say that you are being seriously ripped off with the price of the hay....Eek
 
£33 large round hay bale delivered every 5 wks approx depending if it snows. Only has hay when in unless snow, its soaked & double netted approx 5kg and small net to munch whilst grooming etc. He is a good doer turned out on good amout of grass. Would hate to have some of your forage bills.
 
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Wow I am pleased I use winter to slim my natives down for the spring and summer we have 4 and between them they get 2 small bales per week will be three soon as the grass is going down now. Out 24/7 so are wandering about grubbing for the shoots they are on 4 acres so not quite enough to go without altogether No wonder to me that there are so many horses that are overweight and with metabolic issues they are designed to lose a bit in winter to gain it again in spring and summer. Not saying some of the poor doers don't need ad lib and they certainly need forage if stabled but blimey I couldn't afford many of your forage bills. Maybe that is where living out is cheaper never could work out the snide remarks of it being for lazy people doing it on the cheap by 24/7 outside living. The ponies are all fed a bucket of feed for supplements but it is only soaked grass nuts, alfalfa chaff and beet so all fibre feed. Best thing I have read recently is to weight haynets as that means you can make sure they are not over fed
 
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