How much to feed a horse? and how much to pay?

[Dawny]

Hello!

I'm going to be getting my first horse a some point this year. I have loaned before but they have always been at riding schools where hay is provided, so im not really sure what to do about feeding.

I am hoping to have a horse/pony who is between 14.2hh-15.3hh that would be used for schooling, light hacking and maybe a couple of competitions , also i plan on getting anything like a cob if that changes anything. I'm not sure how much hay i would need, and i know its different for all horses but could anyone give me a rough idea?

along with that could you possibly tell me a average price of that amount and how long it would last e.g. a small bale would last 3 days or something like that and also, sorry if its a dumb question, but the livery yard will have a place to store hay that boarders would be able to use, yes?

 

[Dawny]

sorry i ment I DONT plan on getting anything like a cob

 

[SpringArising]

I'm not sure how much hay i would need, and i know its different for all horses but could anyone give me a rough idea?

All horses should, ideally, have access to hay around the clock.

along with that could you possibly tell me a average price of that amount and how long it would last

Completely depends on how you keep your horse and if you decide to give him ad-lib hay or not. The average price for a small bale of hay (the square ones) is around £3, depending on where you live.

I would recommend buying a large round bale of hay, which will cost you around £30 and last for a couple of weeks.

the livery yard will have a place to store hay that boarders would be able to use, yes?

Most places do, yes.

 

[Palindrome]

I would think a 15hh horse would go through half to 3/4 a small bale if fed ad-lib and in at night (my 16.1hh goes through 3/4 to a bale). A bale of hay is £4.50 around here, straw is £3.50. If you are on livery you might not be able to buy large bales, but then if the fields are well drained and not overpopulated your horse might be able to stay out/have grass.

ETA: you can generally buy hay from the yard manager/owner and have a space to store a few small bales (generally a wood pallet) if on grass or DIY.

 

[kobi]

This is all stuff you need to learn before you get a horse. Do any of your local riding schools do courses on horse care? If not I would recommend finding a livery yard where you can get a lot of help and support to make sure you learn how to care for your new horse.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

When I had CM at livery (she's a 15.2hh anglo-arab) she had no hay most of the year as she was turned out 24/7 on grass. In the winter she came in at night and had approx 1/3 of a small bale in a small holed haynet, which she just about finished by the morning. In the field the farmer put out big round bales so all the horses had access to hay in the field too. The cost of the bales that month was split between the owners and then added to our livery bills.

 

[AngieandBen]

Its a bit like asking how long is a piece of string! Mine are out 24/7 and rarely have hay, so I bale at £3.50 could last me a month.

So depends on where and how you keep it.

Once you'e found a horse and somewhere to keep it then you will know how its going to be kept, then take it from there

Don't forget to take into consideration other feed/bedding/teeth/saddle checks/back checks/jabs the list go's on!

Good luck

 

[Pinkvboots]

I have two arabs 15.h and 15.3 they go out in the field for about 10 hours a day in at night I have hardly any grass so they get hay in the field morning and lunchtime, a big round of hay is £25 small hay bales are £4.50 I get through one round and about 3/4 small bales about every ten days at the moment, they get a large net when they come in at about 5pm then another net at about 10pm, in the summer they get less once the grass comes through. I find the round bales much more ecomomical but some livery yards I know will not have storage for liveries to have them, and most yards will only allow you to buy there hay so thats another thing to consider when looking for a yard.

 

[booandellie]

There are too many factors to take into consideration for anyone to give you an accurate answer to this one. whether you are planning 24hr turnout or have restricted grazing set by your livery yard, what condition your horse is in ( and this can change seasonally), the health and whether supplements are required and also even if you are only feeding a forage based diet you will need a vitamin and mineral supplement. The horse i share turned out to have gastric ulcers so her hay bill doubled aswell as her supplement bill.the one thing you can guarantee with horses is that NOTHING is certain!

 

[rug~addict]

Have you thought about feed costs too as in hard feed. If you are going to be at a livery yard the chances are the hay/haylage will be included in the cost of your livery.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

For my 14.3+ pony I shared a large bale of hay with others, and I paid less than a £1.00 per day for ad lib hay overnight, they got hay in field if weather was really bad, so allow £1.00 per day if you can get large bales, small bales can be two or three times as expensive. Hard feed was £1.00 a day, bedding £1.00 per day, shoes £1.00 per day, vets bills £200 per year [plus a lot more if there is a problem] Summer is a lot cheaper but it is still an expensive hobby.

 

[Reacher]

I pay £5 for a small bale of hay! If you search these forums there are plenty of estimates of how much a horse costs to look after. Echo suggestions about stable management courses, and keep horse at livery so you have someone to help if needed. Lessons with a good instructor are also a good idea to keep you on track and spot any problems (sorry I know you didn't ask this but it is a steep learning curve)