Calculate daily hay needs, bales per month, and annual hay budget for each horse in your herd.
The type and quality of hay you feed matters as much as the quantity. Hay is graded by its nutrient content — primarily crude protein (CP), digestible energy (DE), and acid detergent fiber (ADF). Grass hays like timothy, orchard grass, and brome are lower in protein and energy but higher in fiber, making them ideal for easy keepers, adult horses in light work, and horses prone to weight gain. Legume hays like alfalfa are significantly denser in calories and protein — typically 18–22% CP compared to 8–12% CP in grass hay — which makes them well suited for growing foals, hard-working performance horses, lactating mares, and thin horses that need to gain weight.
Hay quality is also determined by when it was cut. First-cutting hay tends to be stemmy with more weeds, second-cutting is generally finer and leafier, and third-cutting is the richest and most nutrient-dense. Always request a hay analysis from your supplier or have bales tested if you are buying a large quantity. A $20 forage test from a feed lab tells you exactly what you are feeding and whether you need to supplement. Store all hay off the ground on pallets, with good airflow, under a roof or tarp to prevent mold — hay that smells musty or dusty should not be fed.
A horse should consume roughly 1.5% to 2% of its body weight in total forage per day, which includes hay plus any pasture grass. For a 1,000-pound horse with no pasture access, that works out to 15 to 20 pounds of hay daily. Horses in hard work, growing youngsters, pregnant mares in late gestation, or lactating mares may need up to 2.5% of body weight. Easy keepers — particularly ponies, Morgans, and draft breeds — may do well on just 1.5% or even slightly less if they tend toward obesity. The most accurate way to manage this is to weigh hay rather than counting flakes, since flake weight varies enormously depending on how tightly a bale was packed and how leafy the hay is.
For most adult pleasure horses in light to moderate work, a quality grass hay — timothy, orchard grass, or brome — is the ideal foundation. These hays provide adequate nutrition, keep the gut moving with plenty of fiber, and are less likely to cause digestive upset or contribute to excess weight. Orchard grass is particularly palatable and horses tend to eat it readily with less waste. Alfalfa is excellent for horses with elevated protein and energy needs but can be too rich as a sole forage for sedentary horses. A 50/50 grass-alfalfa mix is a practical middle ground that many owners use to boost caloric density without going full legume. Avoid feeding hay with visible mold, excessive dust, weeds, or foxtail, which can damage the mouth and digestive tract.
For a 1,000-pound horse with no pasture access during winter, plan on roughly 18 to 20 pounds of hay per day. Over a 5-month winter (150 days), that is approximately 2,700 to 3,000 pounds of hay — around 1.5 tons per horse. Always add a 15–20% buffer for waste, weather-related delays in getting deliveries, and the reality that some horses eat more in very cold weather because they need more calories to maintain body temperature. If you have multiple horses, buying hay in bulk from a single supplier before winter typically saves 10–20% compared to buying bales throughout the season. Use the calculator above to get precise estimates based on your specific horses' weights and work levels.
Yes, horses can eat alfalfa hay and many thrive on it — but it is not appropriate for every horse in every situation. Alfalfa is high in calcium, protein, and digestible energy, making it an excellent choice for performance horses, young growing horses, and lactating mares that need extra nutrition. However, for easy keepers and horses prone to laminitis, obesity, or metabolic issues, the extra calories and sugar in alfalfa can cause problems. Horses unaccustomed to alfalfa should be introduced to it gradually over 7 to 10 days to reduce the risk of digestive upset or colic. When using alfalfa, feed it by weight and reduce the total daily hay intake by about 15% compared to grass hay, since it is more nutrient-dense per pound.
Hay molds when moisture levels exceed about 20% at baling, or when stored bales are exposed to ground moisture or rain. The first rule is to keep hay off bare ground — store it on pallets, concrete, or a gravel base that allows air circulation underneath. Stack bales loosely enough to allow airflow between rows, and orient them so the cut ends face outward. If storing outside, cover the stack with a breathable tarp that is weighted or tied down, and leave the sides open at the bottom for ventilation rather than wrapping tightly. Inside a barn or shed is always preferable. Never store hay directly next to the building walls where condensation can collect. Moldy hay can cause respiratory problems, colic, and in severe cases mycotoxin poisoning — when in doubt, throw it out.
Most horses in light to moderate work can meet their nutritional needs entirely from quality hay and a vitamin-mineral supplement. Grain becomes necessary when a horse cannot consume enough hay volume to meet its caloric needs — typically performance horses in heavy training, underweight horses needing to gain condition quickly, senior horses with dental problems that limit hay intake, and late-gestation or early-lactation mares. The easiest indicator that a horse needs more calories is body condition score — a score below 4 on the Henneke 1–9 scale suggests the forage alone is insufficient. When adding grain, introduce it gradually (no more than half a pound per day increase) and never feed large grain meals on an empty stomach, as this dramatically increases colic risk.