How Much Should A Horse Eat? Daily Guide

The simple answer to how much a horse should eat daily is generally between 1.5% and 3% of its body weight in dry matter, with forage (like hay or grass) making up the bulk of this intake. Getting the daily horse feed amount right is key to keeping your horse healthy and happy. Feeding too much or too little can lead to serious health issues. This guide will walk you through the steps to figure out the perfect meal plan for your horse.

The Basics of Equine Dietary Needs

Every horse is different. Their needs change based on their size, age, workload, and health. Providing the right nutrition follows a few core rules. We must always focus on roughage first.

Determining Your Horse’s Body Weight

You cannot accurately calculate feed amounts without knowing your horse’s weight. Guessing leads to problems.

Ways to Weigh Your Horse

Use a Weight Tape: This is a quick, low-cost method. Wrap the tape around the horse’s girth (behind the elbows). These tapes estimate weight based on breed averages. They are usually close but not perfect.
Use a Livestock Scale: This is the most accurate method. If you board your horse or live near an equine facility, ask if you can use their scale.
Use Formulas (Estimation): If you have no other option, you can use body measurements to calculate weight. This involves measuring heart girth and body length.

Body Weight Estimation Formula (Pounds):
$((Heart\ Girth\ (inches))^2 \times Body\ Length\ (inches)) / 330$

Make sure you measure the heart girth right behind the front legs. Measure body length from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock (the back hip bone).

The Importance of Forage in Horse Feeding Guidelines

Forage is the cornerstone of good equine nutrition. Horses evolved to graze almost constantly. Their digestive systems need the long fibers found in grass or hay to work right.

Horse Roughage Requirements

Most experts agree that a horse must eat at least 1.5% of its body weight in forage daily. This minimum prevents digestive upset, like colic. For many horses, this amount is the foundation of their whole diet.

For example, a 1,000-pound horse needs a minimum of 15 pounds of hay or grass per day (1,000 lbs $\times$ 0.015 = 15 lbs).

Forage intake can go up to 3% of body weight for horses that are not working hard or those prone to weight gain.

Calculating the Daily Horse Feed Amount

The total amount a horse eats daily depends on its condition and activity level. This is where horse feeding guidelines become very specific. We look at total diet as a percentage of body weight.

Total Diet Calculation

The total amount of dry matter (everything except water) a horse eats should fall between 1.5% and 3.0% of its body weight.

Horse Type/Workload	Daily Dry Matter Intake (% of Body Weight)	Goal
Maintenance (Light Use)	1.5% to 2.0%	Maintaining current weight.
Light Work	2.0% to 2.25%	Casual trail riding or light showing.
Moderate Work	2.25% to 2.5%	Regular training or competitive events.
Heavy Work/Lactation	2.5% to 3.0%	Hard training, breeding mares, or growing youngsters.

Let’s use a 1,100-pound horse doing light work as an example.

1,100 lbs $\times$ 2.0% (minimum for light work) = 22 pounds of total dry feed per day.

Breaking Down the Total Feed

Once you know the total dry matter needed, you decide how much is hay and how much is grain or commercial feed. For almost all horses, hay/pasture should make up 80% to 100% of the total intake.

If the 1,100 lb horse needs 22 lbs total:

If feeding 100% hay: 22 lbs of hay.
If feeding 80% hay (17.6 lbs) and 20% concentrate (4.4 lbs): The 4.4 lbs must be weighed carefully.

Calculating Horse Hay Intake: Always start by meeting the horse roughage requirements first. If the horse is overweight or a “easy keeper,” you might need to restrict hay intake slightly below the 1.5% minimum only if a veterinarian or nutritionist approves it, and only while providing high-quality, high-fiber feed alternatives.

What to Feed a Horse: Component Breakdown

Deciding what to feed a horse involves balancing energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals. The choice of feed depends on how much energy the horse needs.

Forage: The Staple Diet

Forage analysis is crucial. Not all hay is equal. Alfalfa has more protein and calories than grass hay like Timothy or Orchard grass.

Analyzing Forage Quality

If you are feeding more than just maintenance horses, you need to know what is in your hay. Send a sample to a testing lab. This test tells you:

Digestible Energy (DE): How much energy the horse gets.
Crude Protein (CP): Essential for muscle and body maintenance.
Relative Feed Value (RFV) or Net Energy for Gain (NEG): Measures the overall quality.

If your hay is high in calories, you will need less concentrate feed. If it is low quality, you will need to supplement more heavily.

Concentrates: Supplements for Energy

Concentrates are grains (oats, corn) or commercial bagged feeds. These are used to boost calories, protein, or specific nutrients when forage alone isn’t enough.

Best Horse Feed Type for Different Needs

The best horse feed type varies widely:

Plain Oats/Grains: Offer quick energy. Use sparingly, as they can cause blood sugar spikes. Good for fit horses needing a fast calorie boost.
Complete Feeds (Pellets): Contain balanced forage, vitamins, and minerals in one bag. These are excellent for horses that don’t eat much hay or for older horses with poor teeth. They ensure a balanced diet easily.
Textured/Sweet Feeds: Contain grains mixed with molasses and sometimes supplements. Palatable but easy to overfeed sugar.
High-Fiber/Low-Starch Feeds: Often beet pulp or soy hulls based. Excellent for horses prone to metabolic issues (like founder) or those needing calories without too much sugar or starch.

Fats and Oils: Concentrated Energy

For horses needing extra calories without a lot of volume, adding fat is beneficial. Fat provides more than twice the energy of grains.

Add rice bran or plain vegetable oils (like soybean or flaxseed oil) to the ration. This is great for packing on weight safely for hard-working horses.

Measuring Horse Rations Accurately

Measuring horse rations must be precise. A scoop is not a reliable measure. Scoops vary widely based on how dense the feed is.

Why Precision Matters

If a bag of feed says to feed 1 pound per 100 pounds of body weight, and you use a scoop meant for 1 pound, but the feed is light, you might only be feeding 0.8 pounds. Over time, this small difference leads to nutrient deficiencies or weight loss.

Tools for Accurate Measurement

Feed Scale (Kitchen or Postal Scale): The best method. Weigh the intended amount of feed in the scoop or bucket before feeding.
Measuring Cups/Buckets: If you must use a volume measure, use a dedicated plastic cup or bucket that you mark clearly after weighing the correct amount of feed once.

Tip: Weigh your hay too! If you are feeding 15 lbs of hay, try to weigh out one small flake and see how much it weighs consistently.

Feeding Maintenance Horses

Feeding maintenance horses is the easiest place to start. These horses are not pregnant, growing, or in heavy work. Their goal is to stay at a healthy weight (Body Condition Score 5/9).

Maintenance Feeding Strategy

Set the Base: Determine the minimum forage intake. For a 1,200 lb horse, that’s 18 lbs of dry matter minimum (1,200 $\times$ 0.015).
Assess Forage Quality: If your hay is good quality (e.g., Timothy), the 18 lbs of hay might cover all needs. Test your hay!
Add Supplements (If Needed): If the hay test shows a vitamin or mineral gap, add a balancer pellet or ration balancer. This provides the necessary micronutrients without adding excess calories.
Monitor: Check Body Condition Score (BCS) monthly. Adjust hay up or down by 1–2 pounds based on weight changes.

If a maintenance horse starts gaining weight easily on 1.5% of body weight in good hay, reduce intake slightly and focus on exercise.

Special Considerations for Different Life Stages

Equine dietary needs shift dramatically as a horse ages or enters a new life phase.

Growing Horses (Foals and Yearlings)

Young horses need high protein and minerals, especially calcium and phosphorus, for bone development. They need more than 1.5% of their body weight in total feed, sometimes up to 3%.

Focus: High-quality protein and controlled calorie intake. Too much energy can cause orthopedic issues like OCD.
Feed: Often require specialized commercial feeds formulated for growth. Avoid feeding large amounts of straight grain.

Senior Horses (Over 20 Years Old)

Older horses often lose teeth or have less efficient digestion.

Focus: Digestibility and easy intake.
Feed: Switch to soaked hay pellets, complete senior feeds, or high-quality, short-stem alfalfa hay that is easy to chew. They often need more calories than they appear to need because they absorb less nutrition from their feed.

Working and Performance Horses

These horses burn massive amounts of calories. Their diet must support high energy output and rapid muscle repair.

Focus: High energy density, adequate protein, and electrolytes for sweat loss.
Feed: Higher amounts of quality concentrate feed, often increased fat intake, and consistent access to salt and fresh water.

When to Adjust the Feeding Plan

A static diet rarely works for a dynamic animal like a horse. You must adjust the plan frequently.

Adjusting for Changes in Workload

If your horse goes from light trail rides to intensive dressage training, its energy demands soar.

Increase Energy: Gradually increase the concentrate portion of the diet first. Never change more than 10% of the total ration at one time to avoid digestive upset.
Monitor Gut Health: Watch for loose manure or signs of discomfort when increasing grain.

Weight Management and Body Condition Scoring (BCS)

The BCS (using the Hene-Henneke scale of 1 to 9) is your primary visual tool.

BCS 4 (Thin): Needs more calories. Increase total feed by 5% to 10% (usually by adding hay or concentrate).
BCS 6 (Fat): Needs fewer calories. Reduce total feed by 5% to 10%. If the horse is already on the 1.5% minimum hay ration, switch to lower-calorie forage or increase exercise before cutting hay further.

Signs of Improper Horse Feeding

Knowing what to look for can prevent major health crises. Watch for these signs of improper horse feeding.

Digestive Issues

Colic: This is the most common sign of digestive upset, often caused by sudden feed changes, insufficient water, or lack of forage.
Diarrhea or Loose Manure: Usually signals too much concentrate, too little fiber, or a sudden change in feed type.
Ulcers: Can be caused by high-starch diets or long periods without forage. Symptoms include reluctance to eat, weight loss, or flank biting.

Coat and Body Condition Issues

Dull, Dry Coat: Often suggests a lack of essential fatty acids (Omega-3s) or insufficient vitamins/minerals, even if the horse seems to be maintaining weight.
Sudden Weight Loss Despite Eating: Indicates poor nutrient absorption, possibly due to internal parasites or dental problems preventing proper chewing.
Obesity (BCS 7+): The horse is getting too many calories, often from too much grain or rich pasture. This significantly increases the risk of laminitis and metabolic disease.

Behavioral Changes

Lethargy or Laziness: Can signal an inadequate calorie intake for the work being asked, or chronic underlying illness exacerbated by poor nutrition.
Pacing or Excessive Eating Behavior: Horses kept in stalls without constant access to forage may develop vices like cribbing, searching for food, or pawing. This points to insufficient horse roughage requirements being met.

Best Practices for Structuring the Feeding Schedule

The timing and frequency of feeding are almost as important as the total amount. Horses thrive on consistency.

Frequency of Feeding

Horses should eat small amounts frequently. Their stomach is small and designed for continuous grazing.

Forage: Should be available almost 24/7. Use slow-feed hay nets to stretch out meal times if needed.
Concentrates: Divide the daily horse feed amount of grain or pellets into at least two, preferably three, small meals spread throughout the day. Never feed more than 5 pounds of grain in one sitting, as the hindgut cannot process that much starch at once.

Water Access

Water is a nutrient! A horse needs 5 to 10 gallons of clean, fresh water daily, more when working or in hot weather. Dehydration impacts every metabolic function and can lead to impaction colic.

Routine and Consistency

Feed at the same times every day. Changes in schedule cause stress, which can disrupt digestion. If you must change the schedule, do it gradually over several days.

Advanced Topics in Equine Nutrition

For serious athletes or horses with specific health issues, deeper dives into nutrition are necessary.

Reading Feed Labels: Interpreting Feed Ratios

When evaluating a commercial feed, look at the guaranteed analysis. Pay close attention to:

Starch and Sugar (Non-Structural Carbohydrates – NSCs): For most horses, keep total NSCs from concentrates under 15%. For sensitive horses (laminitic risk), aim for under 10%.
Fiber Content: High fiber (18% or more) is usually better for gut health.
Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio (Ca:P): This ratio must be close to 1.5:1 or 2:1. Imbalances interfere with bone health.

Using Body Condition Score for Adjustments

The BCS is essential for tailoring the diet. If your horse is a perfect BCS 5, follow the 2% body weight rule of thumb, but use hay testing to ensure all macro and micronutrients are covered.

If you are working to adjust BCS, aim for slow changes. Gaining or losing half a BCS point per month is a healthy, sustainable rate.

Conclusion

Determining how much should a horse eat requires a commitment to observation and measurement. Start with the basic horse feeding guidelines: aim for 1.5% to 3% of body weight in total dry matter, prioritizing high-quality forage. Accurately measure your feed, monitor your horse’s condition constantly, and consult a veterinarian or equine nutritionist if you have any doubts about equine dietary needs. Consistent, balanced nutrition is the key to a long, healthy life for your horse.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Horse Feeding

How much hay should a 1,200 lb horse eat daily?

A 1,200 lb horse needs a minimum of 18 pounds of forage daily (1.5% of body weight). Depending on the work level and hay quality, this could be its entire diet, or it could be supplemented with concentrates.

Can I feed my horse grass clippings?

No, you should never feed your horse fresh grass clippings. Clippings tend to compact in the stomach, ferment rapidly, and cause severe colic or laminitis.

What is the safest concentrate to feed a horse?

The safest concentrate is often a ration balancer or a complete feed specifically formulated for your horse’s life stage (e.g., senior feed or growth feed). These are engineered to provide vitamins and minerals in small, balanced amounts without overloading on starch or sugar.

How do I know if I am overfeeding my horse?

Signs of improper horse feeding leading to overfeeding include rapid weight gain, a Body Condition Score (BCS) of 7 or higher, fat deposits along the crest of the neck or over the ribs, and lethargy (which can signal metabolic issues linked to obesity).

Should I feed my horse free-choice hay?

For most healthy horses, free-choice hay is beneficial as it supports natural grazing behavior and gut motility. Use slow-feed nets to prevent them from eating too quickly and wasting hay. Horses prone to obesity or laminitis may need restricted hay intake managed by a professional.