Wife has got herself a horse again now after a few years but it’s all a bit new to me we only have a few bales of silage and we don’t feed anything else on bales till the clamps are empty so I’ve got to buy a few bales of hay off a neighbor I want enough to last 180 days would 15kg/day be enough so a 450kg bale last a month so I only need 6 but that doesn’t sound enough
How many kg of hay will a 16 hand horse eat a day if fed ad lib
- Thread starter tr250
- Start date
- Location
- N.Lincs
Sounds about right to me but it depends whether it's going to eat it or paddle threequarters of it into the ground like most round here appear to do.
Enry
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
Got curious and googled…2-3% of bodyweight depending on activity etc. 16h horse probably av 600kg so 12-18kg dry matter. Your 15kg hay is not far off assuming minimal waste
Yes well I’m not sure on that one I’ve made an old hay rack fit on top of the gate (the gate is rather big as it’s actually a bull pen) but I hope it’s not going to pull it all through and trample it into the ground
- Location
- North Somerset.
Does this one not eat £10 notes and sh#t weeds same as the rest?
Why didn’t I think if google
. Glad you agree. Think it would be 600kg ish although don’t think she would be very impressed if I tried to get it into the crush to weigh it 
. I based it on what I thought a suckler cow would eat she only gets 3 hours 3 mornings a week child free at the moment and maybe Sunday afternoons if I’m not working so it won’t be riden a lot or particularly fitNot if I have my way it doesn’t. Wife probably had other ideas though. I have to admit I don’t generally like horses in fact I’m a bit scared of them because they are so fast and can kick but this one is as gentle as a lamb and currently running with 30 cows and calves happily so I’m warming to it rather and if it makes my wife happy then it makes my life easier
had e nuff
Member
- Location
- Durham
Get some proper hay nets. No waste at all then.
Wifes 2 horses eat a 4ft round bale every 3 weeks in winter but not on add lib.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
To pinch a quote, I'd rather be looking at hay in the New Year than looking for it. Is hay so expensive right now that you couldn't afford to have a couple of extra bales "just in case"? Just make sure you store it in the dry meantime.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
Put a round bale in a ring and see how long it lasts
Cant be arsed with hay nets
Cant be arsed with hay nets
It will, and injure itself on the hay rack as well probably…. Ours eat about a third of a small bale / day. Don’t feed ad lib - will either waste it or get too fat.
- Location
- Lorette Manitoba
My wife had a horse then got given one. Then one fir the kids to rid which turned into two. After I found out the cost of livery on then We had a little heated discussion that ended in three find new homes. Long story short she has one arse and only needs one horse. Kids no longer interested. I build an indoor arena fir her to ride in,with a door big enough to get the combine in. Strange how that happened lol. Just waiting for the dust to settle before I fill it with equipment for the winter. Biggest money pit on the farm but she likes it and believes its good fir her to relax on. Glad kids are passed the horse stage. Nothing any good ever comes from the horse horse horse mentality. as for feeding it they are fussy eaters given the choice. every Horse woman has their own ideas on feeding which usually included expensive bags of coarse calf mix by another name. When did oats become bad for horses.
primmiemoo
Member
- Location
- Devon
Oats are too heating unless the horse is in full work. They're actually a thrifty species.
Buy a weigh-tape to establish weight, have some silage analysed for horse nutritional requirements. If good, clean, on the dry side, silage is made, horses can eat it. It has to be clean, though ~ some contaminants are fatal to horses more rapidly than to cattle.
Buy a weigh-tape to establish weight, have some silage analysed for horse nutritional requirements. If good, clean, on the dry side, silage is made, horses can eat it. It has to be clean, though ~ some contaminants are fatal to horses more rapidly than to cattle.
sticky
Member
- Location
- Near Stratford upon Avon
We have a field ornament here, both my wife and daughter have packed up riding. The horse has an eaycare ewe as a mate, a 30ft x 30ft space with a bale cradle feeder and a round bale of hay in it ad-lib. The bale lasts about 3 weeks.
When there was more than one horse and they were in the stables my girls just went to the cattle barriers and filled up the nets from the bales of hayledge the cows were eating.
When there was more than one horse and they were in the stables my girls just went to the cattle barriers and filled up the nets from the bales of hayledge the cows were eating.
- Location
- Scottish Borders
As @Cowgirl says, don’t use a rack, buy small holed hay nets, and oversized at that.
If it’s getting minimal exercise, it will need zero hard feed, regardless of the snake oil horse sales rep.
I hope she enjoys it, and if it can live with the cows, all the better. Just watch for calves chewing the tail off it !
If it’s getting minimal exercise, it will need zero hard feed, regardless of the snake oil horse sales rep.
I hope she enjoys it, and if it can live with the cows, all the better. Just watch for calves chewing the tail off it !
Rod Dumbreck
Member
Our horses have gone, replaced a livery. Probably the most profitable enterprise on the place. And she buys our hay.
Nearly
Member
- Location
- North of York
2 horses here, 3rd one coming. They are about as sensible as can be really.
I'm very wary of the 'only ride one at once' argument as I have 5 tractors.
Haynets more efficient but take more filling. Mature horse on ad lib will get too fat and then need 'special' feeding. Small mesh haynet will sort the problem before it starts.
I'm very wary of the 'only ride one at once' argument as I have 5 tractors.
Haynets more efficient but take more filling. Mature horse on ad lib will get too fat and then need 'special' feeding. Small mesh haynet will sort the problem before it starts.
Courier
Member
- Location
- M62 - M1 - M18 triangle
Our 2 girls thought they were horse mad in their early days (1990’s) so took them for Saturday morning riding lessons and bought them a rabbit each to look after exclusively with the understanding that provided I / we did not have to intervene in the rabbits welfare for 12 months then getting a pony would be re-considered.
Never did need to get anything equine on the farm !