How much hay for 2 horses all winter?

Question

Ok so i have 2 horses one yearling and one thats 10. But thats besides the point. This is my first winter with a horse, and i want to go ahead and start buying hay. How many square bales would it take to do them all winter, or how many round 1000lb (13 bales) ?

Answer 1

I've wintered 2 horses in Ohio for about 7 years now. Typically I go through about 1-2 regular square bales a week from October to April plus feed 3 coffee cans of 12 % pelleted per horse, if I can get the easier to handle square bales. That's about 35-60 bales. Round bales last about 2 weeks if they're free-ranging (meaning, if they can eat anytime-and they WILL-plus lay in it if you don't have a metal hay holder). I go through 2 big round bales a month. Mine are currently ages 10yrs and 7 1/2yrs.

Answer 2

Buy as much as you can afford and keep it in a clean dry place.  the amount you feed will depend on what kind of hay it is and how big the bales are.

Sometimes I feed mine Bermuda Coastal ($5/bale) adn they eat more of that when I give them Timothy ($8/bale).  The Timothy is a higher quality hay and they don't need as much of it.  The timothy is more expensive even though the bales are smaller.  The Timothy is a courser hay...more like straw.

Remember, don't feed your horse one type and then switch midstream.  Just a s you do when switching grain, you have to "wean" them by mixing it.

By the way...I hate round bales.  They make a mess.  My horses stand next to the bale to eat like a chinese buffet and then p**p and pee right beside it.....lots of waste.  Also, if it gets wet it could mold...lethal for horses.  Lots of round bales have sticks and weeds in them, especially the first cutting.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

How much do they eat everyday?  Then multiply that by as many days as you feel winter will last & you have your answer!

Answer 4

An old horseman's rule of thumb is that one ton of hay will feed one horse for 3 mos. OR 3 horses for one month.  Keep that in mind and remember your yearling is GROWING and I'm not sure what sort of keeper your ten year old is.  Is he an easy keeper or a hard keep?

Best of luck.

Answer 5

Lot of variables in your question...

1) how long are your winters?

2) quality of the hay?

3) size of bales?

4) grain ration?

13 1000# bales is 6 1/2 tons--- you don't need that much LMAO

Answer 6

i would make a budget and buy all the hay you can afford then if you notice you are getting short just feed smaller quantities. And there's also a plus side if you have extra you wont have to go out and buy more for a higher price if they have changed it.    o' yea and don't forget to keep it in a nice dry area that will stay dry all winter long there's nothing worse than the smell of rotting hay!  LOL

Answer 7

Good rule of thumb: 100 small 50 lb square bales per horse or 5 large 800-1000 lb bales per horse.

Our winters here are also from Oct-March or April. If you plan on feeding free-choice round bales, I would suggest purchasing a bale ring. They really cut down on waste!!

Answer 8

Much of this depends on the size of your horses. You increase the amount of hay in the winter time because its added heat something that grain supplies for a short amount of time only. Also you need to consider "am I going to work my horse this winter?" Adult horses require about half a bale a day during the winter time. Your yearling would be nearing two years old I expect so he/she would get the same. So roughly your looking a a bale a day. So your looking at maybe a 225 day winter if you go from Oct. to March.  So at one bale a day you should probably buy 250-300 bales.

Answer 9

just get as much high quality you can get your hands on and store it in a dry, high, clean, dust-free places thats not in direct sunlight, like a hayloft or cilo.  then just use it as you go, it  doesnt matter if you get too much better too much than too little it doesnt go bad if you store it right so youll use it up at some point

Answer 10

Im not sure. What we do is buy a bunch of small hay bails. then the giant rolls. We bought about 250 small ones. and three giant ones. it feed them all pretty well.

But i live in minnesota so its colder here and only a few months of good weather and nice grass. but we still had a lot left over last winter.

ha ha Rosi is right. during the summer when the grass was way to short and we couldnt move my horse to another paddick we put a huge hay bail in and it lasted her three months, we ended up moving her before she even finished! but now we help feed two others that eat even if there full.

Answer 11

A horses minimum requirement is 2% of their body weight in hay; or 20lbs for a 1000lb horse. That is just the least they can get by on to keep their hindgut functioning. Not enough fiber going through and it starts shutting down.

Generally I figure 1 square bale per day minimun for each 2 horses. Figure that amount and throw in at least a bale or 2 per week extra. No idea what area your in or how long your cold season is but you'll need to start feeding hay when the grass starts dieing down in the fall until early spring when it gets growing well again.

During really cold weather they'll require extra as digesting the hay produces heat and they use it to keep warm, if they don't get enough to keep warm they have to start burning calories for warmth which can cause weight loss.

With the 1000lb round bales I sometimes put them out in the coldest winter months and 2 horses generally consume one in around 7-10 days, warmer weather they'd not eat it nearly as fast, maybe last 2 weeks then.

It's generally better to over buy hay than to risk not buying enough and running out in the winter. It gets much harder to find then, the better quality is bought up already and the price is higher.

EDITED TO ADD...make sure it is good horse quality hay free of dust and stems weeds ect. and has absolutely no mold. Cheaper hay is not always better.

Timothy and Orchard Grass are both very good hay for horses. Be very careful of feeding fine stemmed hay like Coastal particularly in cold winter months when they may not be drinking as much water. Hay that is too fine can lead impaction colic especially if they aren't drinking as much water.