How it works
A horse should eat about 2% of its body weight in feed a day, and most of that should be hay or pasture. An idle 1,000 lb horse does well on about 20 lb of hay a day and no grain at all. Grain (a commercial horse feed or other concentrate) is added only when a horse needs more energy than forage can give: for work, for a mare in late pregnancy and, most of all, for a nursing mare. Even then, forage stays the base of the diet, and grain is split into small meals.
How to use it
Pick the workload that matches a normal week, not your busiest day. Use a real weight if you can (a weight tape works well). Treat the grain figure as a ceiling to work toward slowly: many easy keepers hold condition on less, and hard keepers may need more. Change feed gradually over 7–10 days.
Reference chart
| Workload or stage | Hay per day | Grain per day | 1,000 lb horse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idle / maintenance | about 2% of body weight | none on good hay | about 20 lb hay |
| Light work | about 1.75% | about 0.25% | about 17.5 lb hay + 2.5 lb grain |
| Moderate work | about 1.6% | about 0.65% | about 16 lb hay + 6.5 lb grain |
| Heavy work | about 1.5% | about 1% | about 15 lb hay + 10 lb grain |
| Pregnant mare, last 3 months | about 1.75% | about 0.25% | about 17.5 lb hay + 2.5 lb grain |
| Nursing mare, first 3 months | about 1.75% | about 1% | about 17.5 lb hay + 10 lb grain |
Frequently asked questions
How much hay does a horse eat a day?
About 2% of its body weight when hay is all it gets, so about 20 lb for a 1,000 lb horse. Working horses that also get grain eat a little less hay, but forage should never drop much below about 1.5% of body weight.
How much grain should I feed my horse?
Many idle and lightly ridden horses need none. Typical starting points are about 0.25% of body weight for light work, about 0.65% for moderate work and about 1% for heavy work or a nursing mare. Adjust to body condition.
How much grain can a horse have in one meal?
A common rule is no more than about 0.5% of body weight per meal, about 5 lb for a 1,000 lb horse. Large grain meals raise the risk of colic and laminitis, so the calculator tells you how many meals to split the grain into.
How many bales of hay does a horse need a month?
A 1,000 lb idle horse eats about 20 lb a day. Over 30 days with 15% waste that is about 706 lb, roughly 15 small square bales of 50 lb.
Figures are typical values from university extension guidance (sources and method). Estimates only. Individual animals vary — confirm pregnancy and health questions with your veterinarian.