Horse Hay Cost Calculator
Work out how much hay your horses need and what it costs per day, week, month and year, based on horse weight, feeding rate and bale price.
Calculate Your Hay Costs
Enter your horses’ details, feeding rate and hay prices below to see how many bales you need and the total feed cost over different time periods.
Hay Cost Calculator
Enter the horse and hay details to see the feed cost
Most horses need 1.5–2.5% of body weight in forage per day
Used to give relevant feeding notes below
Hay Cost Breakdown
Based on standard equine forage feeding guidance
Daily Hay Needs by Horse Weight
Approximate daily hay requirements at a 2% of body weight feeding rate, for quick reference when budgeting.
| Horse Weight | Daily Hay (2%) | Weekly Hay | Typical Horse Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 kg | 6 kg | 42 kg | Small pony |
| 400 kg | 8 kg | 56 kg | Large pony / cob |
| 500 kg | 10 kg | 70 kg | Average riding horse |
| 600 kg | 12 kg | 84 kg | Large horse / warmblood |
| 700 kg | 14 kg | 98 kg | Draught-type horse |
Horse Hay Cost FAQ
Everything you need to know about calculating hay needs and feed costs for your horses.
Most horses need roughly 1.5 to 2.5 percent of their body weight in hay each day. For a typical 500kg horse, that works out to around 10 to 12.5kg of hay per day, depending on workload, condition and how much grazing is also available.
Divide the total daily hay requirement in kilograms by the weight of one bale to find bales needed per day, then multiply by the number of days you are planning for. For example, 12kg of hay per day divided by a 20kg bale means you need 0.6 bales per horse per day.
Annual hay costs vary widely with horse size, hay type and local prices, but many owners budget several hundred pounds per horse per year for hay alone. Costs rise significantly if grazing is limited and horses rely on hay for most of the year.
Yes. Horses with good access to pasture typically need less supplementary hay, especially during the growing season. Hay needs usually increase in winter or on poor grazing, when pasture provides less of the horse’s daily forage requirement.