Horse Hay Calculator
Enter horse weight, herd size, pasture offset, bale weight, and season length to estimate how much hay to feed and buy.
For one 1,000 lb horse at 2% of body weight, plan roughly 20 lb of hay per day. Over a 120-day winter, that is about 2,400 lb before waste. With 50 lb bales and 10% waste, the calculator rounds up to the bales you may need to buy.
Daily hay starts from a percentage of body weight, a common first pass for horse forage planning.
Reduce hay when pasture or other forage provides part of the daily intake.
Increase purchased hay for dropped, weathered, refused, or trampled hay.
Convert pounds into rounded bale counts and an estimated hay budget for the season.
No. It is a useful planning baseline, not a universal feeding rule. Some horses need less or more depending on age, workload, metabolism, body condition, pasture quality, hay analysis, and weather.
No. A hay analysis can show calories, protein, sugar, minerals, and dry matter. This calculator helps estimate quantity and budget, while feed quality decisions should use the actual hay and horse needs.
Use the season total and rounded bale count as a starting point, then add a safety buffer if hay deliveries are uncertain, storage is dry, or cold snaps often increase feeding needs.
Real-world hay rarely goes perfectly from bale to belly. Feeders, mud, weather, herd behavior, and picky eating can all increase the amount you need to purchase.