As a horse breeder we know that hay is the most important part of your horses diet. As a farm we are very picky as to the quality provided to our horses. If our hay is not baled by us, we only work through trusted farmers to get the best quality possible. Below are some helpful tips and numbers to help in your hay buying for your horses.
Most equine experts today hold to the idea that your horses diet should center and be based on hay/grass/pasture and concentrate additives should be added sparingly. The thinking is that this best mimics a horses natural “grazing” style of life.
At Royal Horse Farms, horses are offered free choice 24/7, although we may limit those that are easy keepers with slow feed hay nets, and supplement those that require more calories with alfalfa and/or concentrate feeds.
Nutritional Values
Below are some common types for horses across the US, and the nutritional numbers for each type
| TYPE | DE Mcal/lb | % Prot |
| Alfalfa | .94-1.5 | 17-26 |
| Bermuda Grass / costal | .7-.95 | 10-13 |
| Bluegrass | .7-.8 | 15-18 |
| Clover | .9-1.1 | 17-26 |
| Orchard Grass | .9-1 | 11-13 |
| Rye | .85-1 | 10-13 |
| Brome | .7-.95 | 8-15 |
| Timothy | .8-.9 | 8-15 |
How much do your bales weigh?
| size | type | lbs avg. |
| small square | Grass | 35-45 |
| small square | alfalfa | 45-60 |
| 3 string | alfalfa | 95-120 |
| 4×4 round | Grass | 563 |
| 4×5 round | Grass | 890 |
| 4×6 round | Grass | 1267 |
| 5×5 round | Grass | 1100 |
| 5×6 round | Grass | 1584 |
| 3x3x8 large square | Alfalfa | 807 |
| 3x4x8 large square | Alfalfa | 1076 |
| 4x4x8 large square | Alfalfa | 1435 |
Amount a horse can eat.
Depending on the age of the horse, and the availability of other forage or concentrate, i.e. pasture, grass, or feed, horses on average can eat anywhere from 15-22 lbs per day, or 15-20% of your horses body weight.
There are a multitude of ways to feed your horses bales, from hand flaking, to ha bags, to large bale feeders. Some horses may require steamed hay to reduce sugar content, or slow feed nets to restrict the amount of hay. Horses fed out of round bales of hay must consider hay waste when feeding their horses. An excellent article about feeding and waste for large rounds and horses was done by the university of Minnasotta and can be seen below.
U of M Forage waste study with multiple types of large bale feeders for horses
We are not sponsored by any company, we have found that the haychicks nets work well for our horses as to the tombstone round bale feeders, or our custom made alfalfa large square feeders.