Working out how much hay a horse needs

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starry94

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How do you work out how much hay your horse gets overnight?
Weigh taped mine tonight and he is 350kgs according to that & is out from about 8-6 during the day. Could someone give me the 'equation' to work it out? Tanks :)
 
I always go by 2.5% of your horses bodyweight to maintain - so for you 8.75kg. About 1/3 - 1/2 of that will be grass depending on how greedy the horse is and the state of your fields. You then need to take out the weight of any hard feed.

So, 8.75kg overall. Take off 3hg for grass which leaves you 5.75kg to split between concentrate/hard feed and forage. Assuming you have a normal workload and not an event or Prince Phillip pony I would be feeding either all hay/forage, or 20/80 ratio which is approx 1kg (ish) hard feed and the remainder as hay.
 
OP, I am presuming that at 350 kg your 'horse' is a pony? How big?

As a rule of thumb, a horse should get 2% of its ideal weight in forage a day. If it needs to lose weight then work on 1.5% and if it needs to gain weight, then feed as much hay as it will eat.
 
However much it eats, so there's always a small amount left the next morning. Unless overweight or on box rest, in which case I would feed ad lib but mixed with straw.
 
Sorry yes he's a pony, 13.2 :) and I can't give him as much as he will eat as he's a good doer and wouldn't probably eat bales and bales if he had a chance haha! I do triple net his hay to slow him down though :) he is slightly overweight but I am soaking his hay and not rug going him which his helping him lose it
Thanks for the info guys. He doesn't get any hard feed, might get a handful of hifi lite/ good doer in the evenings during the worst bit of winter though. Also looking as swapping to fast fibre. But haven't decided if he will need any extra feed yet.
 
2% of body weight in forage for maintenance 1.5% for weight loss. This includes grazing. As your pony is a good doer I would split his ration half soaked hay half oat/barley straw. He may turn his nose up at first but will soon eat it when he gets hungry.
 
I give mine as much as he can eat and ensure staff know to make sure he always leaves some by morning so I know he does not go without at all.

I'm in fear of ulcers, so try my best to make sure I don't cause him to get them.
 
Grumpymoo said:
My vet told me 1.5% of horses body weight to maintain and drop it a little if you want to lose weight.
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I was told it was dangerous to feed less than 1.5% of bodyweight unless under medical supervision. Maintenance is 2%. Liverpool Veterinary College did an experiment on losing weight, they went down to feeding 1.5% of bodyweight but this was under supervision and was only for a short period of time.
 
To lose weight, my vet reckons 1.5% of the overweight horses current bodyweight OR 2% of whatever his ideal weight is, use whichever works out the highest.
Have had to go for the first option as I'm not entirely sure what my horses ideal weight is until he gets there!
 
Working the % bodyweight out only works if you know the horses exact weight. Seen as most people use tapes, which are usually inaccurate, rather than weighbridges, the so called correct % is likely to be wrong in many cases.
 
I know my horses weight, we had a portable weighbridge brought to the yard. She eats significantly more than 2% of her bodyweight in haylage (I know haylage is wetter so weighs more) currently on box rest and she's settled a bit now but at one point was going through about 5% of her bodyweight!
 
Ditto kat, & if feeding ad lib it doesn't matter anyway. But how many people spend time weighing haynets accurately, without using a weighbridge?
 
Littlelegs I'm on a yard of 40+ horses and everyone weighs their nets.

Nets should be weighed even if you're feeding ad lib so you know how much they're eating. Then if they start leaving more or eating it all go can put the amount up or down. Plus it means the horse gets the right amount no matter who does it, even an unhorsey person can weigh a net.

OP to give you an idea I ride a 13.2hh that weighs 370kg. He's currently hunting and doing dressage up to medium. He gets 8hrs of turnout on good grass and 8lbs of hay at night, of which he leaves maybe 1lb.

In the spring/summer he gets 4hrs of turnout, 2lbs of hay at 4pm and 4lbs at 9pm, plus ad lib straw.
 
I seem to have managed ad lib ok without constant weighing. And monitoring increase/ decrease in appetite. Doubt I'd fit in well at your yard, a well judged pile of loose hay on the floor is how I do ad lib. Not in the habit of getting non horsey people to hay my horse, but if necessary, most would understand 1/3, or 1/2 bale. Not saying weighing doesn't have a use at all. But unless you have the horses actual weight, & it doesn't graze ever, it seems a waste of time to me.
 
littlelegs said:
Ditto kat, & if feeding ad lib it doesn't matter anyway. But how many people spend time weighing haynets accurately, without using a weighbridge?
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I use a spring balance to weigh my nets, and ask anyone who is feeding her to weigh her nets too. I don't want her standing hungry in a morning because one persons idea of a full net isn't the same as another. It is a good way of ensuring she gets enough each day and keeping tabs on what she is having. I don't relate her hay intake to her weight, she just gets as much as she needs.

The trouble is that people have vastly different views of how much hay a horse needs and someone used to feeding good doers may well under feed mine who needs every last bit!
 
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