How much hay does a horse eat a day, a month and a year?
A 1,000 pound horse eats about 20 pounds of hay a day, 600 pounds in 30 days and 7,300 pounds a year. The arithmetic for five weights, bale counts, waste and winter.
Trotley is made by Lucernel.
On this page
Short answer
Most horses eat about 2% of their body weight in hay a day, which is 20 pounds for a 1,000 pound horse, about 600 pounds in 30 days and about 7,300 pounds, or 3.65 tons, in a year. Waste, cold weather and hay quality move the number, so buy more than the arithmetic says and weigh your own bales.
Choose this if
Use the table below to turn your horse’s weight into pounds and bales, then add a margin for waste.
Choose the other option if
A horse that is losing weight, very thin or eating much more than the range should be seen by your vet before you change the ration.
At a glance
| Feature | Per day and per month at 2% | Per year at 2% |
|---|---|---|
| 500 lb pony | 10 lb a day, 300 lb in 30 days | 3,650 lb, about 1.8 tons |
| 800 lb horse | 16 lb a day, 480 lb in 30 days | 5,840 lb, about 2.9 tons |
| 1,000 lb horse | 20 lb a day, 600 lb in 30 days | 7,300 lb, about 3.65 tons |
| 1,200 lb horse | 24 lb a day, 720 lb in 30 days | 8,760 lb, about 4.4 tons |
| 1,400 lb horse | 28 lb a day, 840 lb in 30 days | 10,220 lb, about 5.1 tons |
The daily number
The Merck Veterinary Manual says current recommendations are that horses get at least 1.5 to 2% of their body weight in forage per day on a dry-matter basis, and that the usual maximum intake is 2 to 2.5%. University of Minnesota Extension gives a similar picture for hay: horses need at least 1% of their weight in roughage, most should eat 2% in hay each day, and with free access they will willingly eat 2 to 2.5%.
So 2% is the working number. Merck states its figures on a dry-matter basis, and hay as fed holds a little water, so the pounds on the scale run slightly above them. Treat the result as a starting point and adjust it with your vet, because age, work, pregnancy and metabolism all change what a horse needs.
Per day, per month and per year
The table above is our own arithmetic at 2% of body weight, with a month counted as 30 days and a year as 365. For a 1,000 pound horse, 1,000 times 0.02 is 20 pounds a day, 20 times 30 is 600 pounds a month and 20 times 365 is 7,300 pounds, which is 3.65 tons at 2,000 pounds a ton.
Use your own horse’s weight, not the breed average. If you do not have a scale, a weight tape gives a working figure. At 1.5% instead of 2% the 1,000 pound horse needs 15 pounds a day, and at 2.5% it needs 25, so the yearly total swings between about 5,500 and 9,100 pounds.
Turn pounds into bales
Bales vary a lot, so weigh a few before you do the math. As an example, with a bale that weighs 50 pounds, a 1,000 pound horse at 20 pounds a day uses 0.4 bale a day, so one bale lasts 2.5 days. That is 12 bales in 30 days and about 146 bales in a year.
The formula is the daily pounds divided by the bale weight. Do it again for each hay you buy, since a 40 pound bale and a 60 pound bale of the same cutting give very different counts. Count every horse and add them up before you order for the winter.
Add a margin for waste
Horses trample, soil and drop hay. A University of Minnesota study of round bales found 57% of the hay wasted when horses ate without a feeder, and 5 to 33% with one. Feeders that limited access wasted 5 to 11%, and feeders with more open access wasted 13 to 33%.
Those are round-bale results, so measure your own loss with small squares. Either way the margin is real. If waste is the share of hay offered, a horse that must eat 20 pounds needs about 22.5 pounds offered at 11% waste, about 30 pounds at 33% and about 46.5 pounds at 57%. Storage matters as much: the same page says outdoor round-bale storage loses 5 to 35%, and a plastic cover or indoor storage cuts that sharply.
Winter changes the amount
Merck says cold weather increases the energy requirement, especially for horses with thin or clipped coats and those without shelter. Below a horse’s lower critical temperature it needs extra energy to stay warm, and Merck puts that at about 41°F for horses in temperate climates and about 5°F for cold-adapted horses. Wind, rain and body condition move it.
The same chapter calls forage the best way to add energy in the cold, because fermentation in the gut makes heat. In practice that means more hay before more grain. The manual does not give a percentage for winter, so ask your vet how much to add, and watch the horse’s weight and condition rather than the calendar.
Quality changes what the pounds do
University of Minnesota Extension says good hay meets the needs of most horses, and that the best way to judge it is a laboratory test. Plant species and maturity matter: alfalfa is higher than grass in digestible energy and calcium, and less mature forage is more nutrient dense than mature forage. Its example for an idle 1,000 pound horse is 20 pounds of grass hay and no concentrate.
Working horses may need less hay and some concentrate. The same page shows a moderately exercised 1,000 pound horse on 15 pounds of hay and 5 pounds of concentrate, with forage never below half of the ration. If a horse drops weight on the full amount, test the hay and ask your vet before you add feed.
Frequently asked questions
How much hay does a horse eat per day?
About 2% of its body weight, which is 20 pounds for a 1,000 pound horse. Merck gives a range of 1.5 to 2% as the minimum forage and 2 to 2.5% as the usual maximum.
How much hay does a horse eat in a month?
About 600 pounds for a 1,000 pound horse eating 20 pounds a day for 30 days. With 50 pound bales, that is 12 bales.
How much hay does a horse eat in a year?
About 7,300 pounds, or 3.65 tons, for a 1,000 pound horse at 2% of body weight. Add a margin for waste and storage loss.
How many bales does a horse eat a day?
Divide the daily pounds by the weight of your bale. A 1,000 pound horse eating 20 pounds from a 50 pound bale uses 0.4 bale a day.
Is Trotley available?
See the official app page for current availability and pricing.
Our pick
Trotley, the hay record that goes with the horse
The arithmetic gives a plan, and the horse shows whether it works. Trotley keeps a weight history for each horse, logs feed and care events, and exports a PDF or CSV report for the vet. A steady weight on the amount you buy is the best proof you ordered enough. Trotley does not calculate a ration or tell you how much hay to feed; that stays with your vet.
- Weight history charts for each horse
- Feed and care events logged per horse
- PDF report for the vet
