how much hay to feed a horse on pasture

Monthly expenses can run to $130 to $275. Horses should consume about 2% of their bodyweight per day according to their condition and workload. Think of this as the amount of energy (via hay), needed to stay at “maintenance level,” also known as your horse’s baseline of optimal weight and Body Condition Score (Don Henneke Ph.D., 1979, Texas A&M, “A measure of body fat and condition”). OK, great. After many winters with horses, I’ve come to understand the negative impact of letting a horse go too long between meals. Depending on the lime needs and species present in the pasture, it may take one to three years for the sod to become thick and productive again. About 2% of your horse body weight is how much hay or pasture your horse needs a day, and so if your horse is 1,000 lbs, about 20 pounds of hay per day. Hay The average horse maintained on forage (not pasture) eats 1.5 to 2.5% of its body weight per day in hay (between 18 and 30 pounds per day for 1,200lbs horse) depending on body type and workload. The first factor which will require you to feed *extra* hay (i.e. Your go-to resource should be the National Research Council – Nutrient Requirements of Horses, which offers comprehensive charts on exactly what your horse needs. It’s recommended that you add *an additional* 2 pounds of hay for every 10 degrees F drop in temperature below 32 degrees. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website. When the weather is severe, and a horse spends many hours between meals, this can impact their ability to stay warm. Match horse energy needs to energy supplied by type of feed. Prepared by Marvin H. Hall, associate professor of agronomy, and Patricia M. Comerford, instructor of animal science. Hay availablility is dependent on the locale. Many horses are to thank for crafting who she is as a horsewoman today. If your horse weighs 500kg he needs around 10kg of food every day made up of at least 70% forage. A general rule is that a horse needs half a bale of hay per day to satisfy baseline dietary requirements. forage and fiber sources). Ensuring horses have enough hay to eat through the night is essential. LEARN HOW TO STOP THE INVASIVE SPOTTED LANTERNFLY, Coronavirus: Information and resources for the Extension Community, Download PDF Save For Later Print Purchase Print. Horses thrive on diets rife with forages, whether it is a medley of pasture grasses, baled hay, or another forage product, such as hay cubes, hay pellets, or haylage.They are capable of processing huge quantities of forage to meet their nutritional demands, but where does a horse owner start in determining how much forage to feed? A soil test will determine pH (acidity), nutrient levels, and requirements. Keep yourself warm too! An average sized hay bale (95 pounds) makes for an average of about 21 bales to a ton of hay. Answer: 60 ÷ 12 = 5. Yields on many pastures can be doubled simply by applying lime and fertilizer. Horses naturally use forages as a primary component of their diets. If 1 bale of hay weighs 60 lbs, how many days worth of hay will you get from one bale for one horse? Depending on quality and quantity consumed, forages provide varying amounts of required nutrients. There are no magic supplements, high performance feed secrets, or short cuts that will transform any horse into a champion. This is especially true when it comes to decoding nutritional needs for my specific horses. If you already have good stands of desirable grass and legume species, you can maintain a satisfactory horse pasture with proper soil fertility and management practices. If you are feeding 100% hay and your hay contains 90% DM (or 10% moisture), your 1000 lb horse should be fed 20 lb of hay (18 lb DM/0.9) straight from the bale each day. In some very special cases, such as a horse that is racing, horses are fed only 1% of their body weight in hay. Like any other preserved forage, the quality of orchardgrass hay depends on multiple factors, primary of which are cultivation and harvesting techniques. Destroy or suppress old pasture by plowing or using herbicides. Remember, digestion is what helps produce body heat to stay cozy and healthy! A good rule of thumb is to feed your horse the amount of hay she can clean up in about 1½ - 2 hours. So be sure your horse is getting lots of roughage in the form of hay or grass. When acreage is very limited (less than an acre per horse), exercise may … the things I needed to do before the temperatures dropped. Just like us, bodyweight doesn’t always give a clear picture of the overall condition we are in. If this hay was used to feed a horse in light work, 22 pounds of hay each day would be needed to meet the horse’s energy requirement (20 Mcal/0.92 Mcal per lb/= 22 pounds). If you do not have a good stand of desirable species, you may want to renovate the pasture by destroying the existing plants and introducing productive mixtures. Calculate the horse's maximum feed intake (Step 5). Think of this as the amount of energy (via hay), needed to stay at “maintenance level,”. Good pasture alone is sufficient to meet all of the nutritional requirements for many classes of horses. Horse Hay FAQs: List of Types of Hay, What Hay is Best, etc. If you are anything like me, few things cause me as much stress and uncertainty as trying to keep my horse happy and healthy year-round. Make sure you request an equine DE when having horse hay analyzed as sometimes the default DE calculation is for cattle. The average thousand-pound horse who relies on hay for all their forage typically eats fifteen to twenty pounds of hay per day. Hammer also explains, “A 10- to 15-mph wind will require horses to consume an additional 4 to 8 pounds of hay to meet their increased energy requirements.”. Well-managed legume-grass hays generally are higher in protein and minerals than are straight grasses under similar management. more than what you give in “mild” weather to maintain health) is outside temperature. Older stands of fescue often are infested with an endophyte, a fungus within the plant. But feeding high concentrate to fodder ratios can cause boredom (wood chewing, weaving, cribbing), colic, or other problems. The best way to know the exact nutritional makeup of your hay, however, is to, Cost of Owning a Horse: August 2019 Expense Report, 3 Fear-Free Secrets to Gain Your Horse’s Trust & Respect. If there’s ONE thing I wish I would have realized made the greatest impact…it’d be hay! Limed and fertilized Kentucky bluegrass should be the main grass in this system, because it withstands close and continuous grazing better than most other grasses. which offers comprehensive charts on exactly what your horse needs. A horse can eat anywhere from 15-25 pounds of hay a day, which generally equates to a half of a 45/50-pound square bale of hay per day (~15-30 bales per month). 7 Creative Ways to Lower Your Horse Expenses: The owner of this website, HorseRookie.com, is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking HorseRookie.com Review to Amazon properties including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. High-quality, properly fenced pastures are one of the best and least expensive sources of summer feed for a horse. Table 1 shows estimated daily feed consumption rates recommended for various classes of horses. Your primary goal should be to provide the “correct” amount of energy/calories your specific horse requires via hay. Using these chart, you’ll see how horse-specific factors like age, breed, workload, and weight are used to determine energy needs. Most permanent bluegrass pastures produce less than 2,000 pounds of dry matter per acre per year, which is far below their potential. Horses readily consume good hay, which is rich in energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins. • Horses are very selective in their grazing habits. If there’s ONE thing I wish I would have realized made the greatest impact…it’d be hay! By entering your email, you consent to receive communications from Penn State Extension. Just like us, bodyweight doesn’t always give a clear picture of the overall condition we are in. 2019. The management practices, outlined in this fact sheet, can be adopted to help maintain healthy, productive pastures that benefit the horses, the farm, and the environment. https://www.nap.edu/read/11653/chapter/1. (Soil testing kits and information on how to take samples are available through your county extension office.) Answers: 1. Horses can over-eat on grass, especially if the pasture is lush, but it is also easy to let a horse get too fat eating hay. Answer: 2 x 2 = 4. Continue the 15 minutes of grazing for several days and then increase turnout time in 10 minute increments each day until the horse is grazing for 3 to 4 hours each day. But time of cutting and other hay-making practices affect protein and mineral levels. Through in-person workshops and online resources like a blog, ebook, and courses, her focus is on building a trust-based bond and lasting connection with our horses so every moment is nothing short of amazing! I feed 1% of their body weight in grass hay, offered daily with pasture as well and they always eat the hay. Small amounts of ertilizer can be applied through the seeder at planting. Both are overweight (with a body condition score of about an eight). The following steps are recommended for pasture renovation. And, sometimes too little hay can mean a horse will lose weight. If using good quality alfalfa hay, reduce the amount of Purina feed recommended by 1/2 to 1 lb/day. When you’re mapping out your horse’s winter diet, hay must always come first. The best way to know the exact nutritional makeup of your hay, however, is to have it tested. Yes, take into consideration availability and budget, but better quality hay will serve you and your horse far better. A horse can eat anywhere from 15-25 pounds of hay a day, which generally equates to a half of a 45/50-pound square bale of hay per day (~15-30 bales per month). I cannot recommend enough how valuable this information is, and making it a routine habit can be key to keeping any horse at optimal health! Copyright © 2020 Horse Rookie // Privacy Policy // Terms of Service. The largest of the meals being evening so that it lasts throughout the night. If you have an area where you can turn your horse out then as long as it’s not sandy you could scatter it around the ground for him, this will be far more natural for him too. Hay may not seem like a big deal, but it’s one of the biggest ways you can contribute to the health of your horse year-round, support overall wellness, and keep them at an optimal weight. Whether you improve your pastures by using lime and fertilizer or renovate by reseeding, sound management is essential to keep the desired species persistent and productive. Check out our blog about Horse Hay FAQs: List of Types of Hay, What Hay is Best, etc. Yes! People used to think that horses should not be fed legume hay because it would cause digestive disorders. That simply means that if a horse is eating and digesting hay, he is producing heat to warm his body from the inside out. If you don’t know how much the bales of hay you are feeding weigh, you can use a bathroom scale to check, then feed that portion of a bale … (#betterlatethannever). He's about 1,250 pounds and turned out 12 hours a day with another horse on three acres. It may be used in heavy traffic areas, along fences, and around gates and water troughs. Well, horses (especially ponies) can grow an amazing fluffy winter coat. According to Carrie Hammer from North Dakota State University, “For each 10-degree change below 32 degrees F, horses require additional intake of approximately 2 pounds of feed per day.”. So for example, that means a 1,000-pound horse who eats 18 pounds of hay for a maintenance level, would need 20 pounds if the temperature is 30 degrees. In my early years of horse ownership, I did a LOT of research on allllll the things I needed to do before the temperatures dropped. (Using example calculations at end of this page). Always remember to take into consideration the quality of your hay. SOURCE: National Research Council, Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 1989. For gastrointestinal health, horses need to eat about 1% of their body weight in hay or pasture grasses and legumes daily (10 pounds, or 4.5 kg, of DM intake for a 1,000-pound, or 454-kg, horse). So, doing some quick math, that means that the average horse would eat 75 bales of hay a year. Establishing a rotational grazing system is the best way to maximize forage production and consumption on limited pasture acreage. Hammer, Carrie. You must know the horse's ideal weight and and weigh the hay and know how many pounds you are feeding. Entering your postal code will help us provide news or event updates for your area. A group of compatible horses can graze a paddock (area of divided pasture) for approximately 3 to 6 days, then be moved (rotated) to a fresh paddock. ), “I’m not fat…I’m fluffy!” Have you ever heard this saying? Most of these horses are owned and managed for recreation or sport rather than for profit. A 500 kg horse eats about 5 kg (12 lbs) of hay each day. more than what you give in “mild” weather to maintain health) is. Feed Horses Properly in Winter” North Dakota State University. Pro Tip: Quality is everything, so I always hunt for the best quality hay. If pasture is a feed source, horses with a mature weight of 1,000 to 1,200 pounds generally need the following amount of pasture: mare and foal, 1.75 to 2 acres; year- lings, 1.5 to 2 acres; and weanlings, 0.5 to 1 acre. Q: Do horses need more hay when it’s cold? Digesting hay has the greatest WARMING EFFECT for your horse. Once the nutrient content of the feeds is known, the proper amounts of each can be calculated to meet the horse's nutrient requirements. Disk or plow to mix lime evenly with the soil. Why do we need this? You can also look up the nutritional content of all horse feeds (forage and grains). Get notified when we have news, courses, or events of interest to you. Is it “healthy” fat and muscle, or is it all “fluff?”. So the pellet minimum is about 5 pounds per day per 1000 lb horse plus forage. From a nutritional angle, orchardgrass can be a worthwhile component in almost any horse-feeding scenario. If you want to treat your horse, provide it with fresh apples or carrots as a reward, but do so in moderation. Feed hay according to weight. With good management, most hay species or mixtures can be satisfactory for horses. The first thing you need to do is find out how much your horse weighs using either a weigh tape or weigh bridge. Changes in season can impact how you feed hay, how much you feed, and what else you might need to add to your horse’s diet. To feed your horse, make sure it constantly has plenty of hay or grass to chew on. To minimize feed costs, it is important to keep horses healthy and feed them a balanced ration that meets their nutritional needs. According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, a full-grown horse should eat about 12 to 15 pounds ( 5.4 to 6.8 kg) of hay a day. While generally considered less palatable than bluegrass, tall fescue produces one of the toughest sods of any adapted grass. The amount of water required is closely related to the amount of feed eaten. Long-time horse lover, first-time horse owner. 2% of their body weight in hay/day on a hay only diet and in a slow feeder to make it last much longer. At the same time, poorly managed pastures supply little or no feed and frequently are the source of internal parasites. Trot on over to: Erica is an Oregon native, adventure seeker with big ol’ dreams, coffee craving gal who loves a good story. If the nutrient quality is poor, then the horse will require more hay (by weight). Select a seed mixture that complements the pasture drainage characteristics (Table 3). It’s a frustrating fact, but they all do it. Horses browsed for their meals, and the nutritional content of the diet changed with the season, environmental conditions, and the … Q: How many bales of hay does a horse eat per month? Enjoy this article? Wondering how to feed your horse in the winter? But depending on the horse and the hay, the amount may vary. Two acres, if managed properly, should provide adequate forage in the form of pasture and/or hay ground. Begin by turning the horse out to pasture for only 15 minutes a day, preferably after he has eaten his hay. Generally, for optimal horse growth and development, forages should supply one-half or more of the total weight of feed consumed daily. How often should I offer hay to my horse? After 25+ years in the saddle, I bought my first horse at 33. Ensure that at least 70% of the feed is roughage (hay, pasture or chaff). Especially in winter, I recommend using a hay bag or slow-feeder grazing type system. During the winter, if pasture grass is limited, you need to supplement a whole lot more calories in the form of hay. One of the main expenses in owning a horse is feed. In many instances, a well maintained pasture is the perfect way to feed an adult horse. The grass is chewed pretty short, especially with the hot, dry weather we've had. It’s done by feeling 6 key areas along the body. forage and fiber sources). Alfalfa hay, while normally high in protein, may contain an excessive amount of calcium in relationship to phosphorus (wide Ca: P ratio) when fed as the sole source of forage to young, growing horses. Well, horses (especially ponies) can grow an amazing fluffy winter coat. The second benefit is slowing down the horse’s eating rate, which extends the time the horse is digesting. Growing, breeding, or working horses require supplemental grain or concentrate to meet their additional nutrient requirements. Clean, fresh water and salt should be available at all times. Productive, well-managed pastures can provide most of the feed requirements of horses for the least cost. In this article, I’ll break down the steps you need to take to insure your horse’s winter hay diet is fed correctly. Your horse may need more or less feed depending on whether he's an 'easy keeper' or a ' hard keeper'. I love practicing dressage, eventing, stadium jumping, reining, trail riding, and cow work with my AQHA gelding in beautiful Montana, USA. Apply required lime several months before seeding. They prefer certain pastures and crops and leave species that are unpalatable. As winter approaches, we shift gears a little in our daily routines to make the cooler days a bit more tolerable. High-quality, properly fenced pastures are one of the best and least expensive sources of summer feed for a horse. Table 2 lists the major nutrient requirements for different types of horses. Get 7 Creative Ways to Lower Your Horse Expenses: You have successfully joined The Horse Rookie Herd! This is only a rough guide. You’re welcome to use this infographic on your own website *as long as you link back to horserookie.com. We’ve calculated costs based on an average of 20 pounds of forage daily. See All Pest, Disease and Weed Identification, See All Beer, Hard Cider, and Distilled Spirits, See All Community Planning and Engagement. Academies Press, 2007. https://www.nap.edu/read/11653/chapter/1. If large amounts of fertilizer are to be applied, it should be disked into the soil prior to planting. Most horses will drink 1.5 quarts of water per pound of dry feed intake. Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 6th ed. But research has dispelled this notion. For instance, daily feed for a horse in the Northern California area, for both hay and grain, will cost around $4 to $8 per day. Many horse owners feed two types of forage, typically one type in the AM and the other in the PM. She, like many of us, caught the “horse-crazy” bug early in life and never looked back. Productive, well-managed pastures can provide most of the feed requirements of horses for the least cost. “Body Condition Scoring in Horses” Michigan State University Extention. My horses are now out on pasture all day and come in at night—I turn them out around 7 … According to Carrie Hammer from North Dakota State University, Horses waste hay. Similarly, depending on your horse’s nutritional needs, they may or may not require a … ONLY a Body Condition Score, which requires you to touch the horse, can give you this insight. Mature horses performing minimal or no work can be maintained on high-quality forages without supplementing their diet with grain. Make feed changes gradually over 7-10 days. Fabus, Taylor. How Much Hay? This is especially true when it comes to decoding nutritional needs for, In my early years of horse ownership, I did a LOT of research on. Just how much your horse will need will depend on its weight. This reduces waste because the horse has to pull bites out of the small holes, which keeps more hay in the bag and leaves less waste on the ground. National Research Council – Nutrient Requirements of Horses, 10 Exercises to Easily Strengthen the Bond With Your Horse. Cost of Owning a Horse: November 2020 Expense Report, Letter to My Rookie Self: Abriana Johnson, Horse care 101: Turnout blankets vs. stable blankets. P.S. In mares, toxins associated with this fungus can lower reproductive rates and cause abortion, agalactia (lack of milk), and prolonged gestation. Always remember to take into consideration the quality of your hay. Please read our disclosure for more info. “Feed Horses Properly in Winter” North Dakota State University NDSU Agriculture Communication 2013. At the same time, p… Use the appropriate method of seeding, based on extent of tillage. How do I make changes to the amount of hay for winter months? Additional rough winter conditions, such as wind, rain, snow, or ice needs to be factored *in addition to* the increase due to outside temperatures. Example: If your horse is 1,000 pounds, start by feeding 15-25 pounds of hay each day. This post may contain affiliate links. Select the primary forage that you have available and that you routinely feed to your horse. $525 / year N/A N/A _____/month x 12= _____/year Feed Your hay analysis should show the DM content of your forage. National Research Council. You should also give it 1/2 a pound of barley or oats daily for every 100 pounds of body weight. A well-kept pasture also is the most natural and healthy environment for exercise and rest. In the cold winter months, I ALWAYS feed hay at least 3 times a day. It may even be possible to have lime and fertilizer custom-applied for a relatively low cost. The response often is slow when lime and fertilizer are applied on the surface of established pastures. also known as your horse’s baseline of optimal weight and Body Condition Score (Don Henneke Ph.D., 1979, Texas A&M, “A measure of body fat and condition”). How do I know how much hay to feed during the 12 hours the two horses are in the dry lot? These harsh winter conditions put a strain on any horse to maintain internal temperatures and overall health. But what’s actually underneath? Consult the Penn State Agronomy Guide  (available through your county extension office) for more information on pasture systems. Clearly, weighing hay … More myths are associated with feeding horses than with feeding most other animals, in part because an increasing number of horse owners are unfamiliar with the basics of horse nutrition. It’s a frustrating fact, but they, It’s done by feeling 6 key areas along the body. When well established and properly fertilized, it produces a reasonably dense and attractive sod. When acreage is very limited (less than an acre per horse), exercise may be the main pasture use. To be sure of the nutritive quality of the hay being fed, you must have it analyzed. It also forces you to take any blankets off, which can hide a skinny horse! of grass per hour, but, since grass is roughly 75% water, it is not a lot of fiber. That’s 30 lbs of hay per day for a 1000 lb horse. If a horse were consuming 20 lbs. For more information on feeding horses and balancing their rations, contact the Penn State Extension office in your county. Can I get a “yay” for headbands, fuzzy socks, and pumpkin spice lattes? Without adequate pasture acreage, horse owners will need to limit turnout time to prevent overgrazing and supplement with hay to help meet equine nutritional requirements. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. Soil test to determine exactly how much lime and fertilizer are needed. Horses should consume at least 1 percent of their body weight in hay or pasture grasses and legumes each day. This is a good practice, as horses often prefer a varied diet, and it reduces the chances of nutrient deficiency. Nutritional needs vary considerably among horses, depending on age, weight, and level of activity. Respiratory or digestive disturbances associated with feeding hay are more likely caused by dust and mold than by mixtures. With that in mind, start by feeding 1.5-2.5% of the horse’s total body weight per day in hay alone.

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