How Much Hay Does a Horse Need? Winter Hay Calculator
How much hay does a horse need? Plan on about 2% of body weight a day, plus about 10% for storage and feeder waste. A 1,000 lb horse eats about 20 lb of hay a day, which is about 15 HayNow bales a month. A 150-day winter takes about 77 of our 43 lb compressed bales (a little over 4 pallets); a 180-day winter takes about 92 bales (just over 5 pallets). One 18-bale HayNow pallet (about 774 lb) feeds one 1,000 lb horse for about 5 weeks. Because we deliver next week from Virginia to New Hampshire, including DC, you can order 1 or 2 pallets at a time instead of storing a whole winter of hay.
Winter hay per horse: bales and pallets
HayNow bales are about 43 lb and come 18 to a shrink-wrapped pallet. Numbers below use 2% of body weight per day and about 10% waste (5% storage plus 5% feeder waste, the same assumptions the University of Maryland Extension uses), rounded to whole bales.
| Horse | Hay per day | 121 days (Dec–Mar) | 150 days (5 months) | 180 days (6 months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 lb pony | 10 lb | 31 bales ≈1.7 pallets |
38 bales ≈2.1 pallets |
46 bales ≈2.6 pallets |
| 800 lb horse | 16 lb | 50 bales ≈2.8 pallets |
62 bales ≈3.4 pallets |
74 bales ≈4.1 pallets |
| 1,000 lb horse | 20 lb | 62 bales ≈3.4 pallets |
77 bales ≈4.3 pallets |
92 bales ≈5.1 pallets |
| 1,200 lb horse | 24 lb | 74 bales ≈4.1 pallets |
92 bales ≈5.1 pallets |
111 bales ≈6.2 pallets |
Easy keepers, hard keepers, senior horses, broodmares and horses in heavy work can need less or more. Watch body condition all winter and ask your vet or equine nutritionist for your horse.
Quick calculator
1 horse × 1,000 lb × 150 days ≈ 3,308 lb ≈ 77 HayNow bales ≈ 5 pallets.
How long is hay season where you are?
The number that matters most is how many days your horses live on hay with little or no grazing. Rough planning ranges for the states we deliver to:
- New Jersey — about 120 to 150 days: 62 to 77 bales, 4 to 5 pallets per 1,000 lb horse.
- Connecticut and Massachusetts — about 150 to 180 days: 77 to 92 bales, 5 to 6 pallets.
- New Hampshire and Vermont — about 180 to 210 days: 92 to 108 bales, about 6 pallets.
- New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island — about 150 to 180 days in most areas.
- Virginia, Maryland and Delaware — often 90 to 150 days, depending on pasture.
Dry lots, small paddocks and horses that can't graze (laminitic, IR or EMS horses on a low sugar hay diet) can need hay all year: about 15 bales a month per 1,000 lb horse.
Buy by weight, not by bale count
Bale weights vary a lot. Our compressed small squares are about 43 lb. Local farm bales usually run 35 to 55 lb. 100 HayNow bales is about 4,300 lb of hay, the same as 86 bales of 50 lb or 108 bales of 40 lb. Compare price per pound when you shop: at $16.50 a bale, HayNow 1st cut is about 38¢ a pound, with delivery free everywhere we deliver except Virginia's flat $39 stop charge. See all hay prices per bale and per pallet and how our compressed hay bales are made.
Store a winter, or order as you go
The old way is buying hundreds of bales in the fall and stacking them by hand in the loft. That ties up cash and barn space, and big stacks bring mold, moisture and fire risk. With HayNow you pick how many 18-bale pallets you need, check out, and we tell you your delivery week. Our tractor-trailer's on-board forklift sets each shrink-wrapped pallet on solid ground in your barn aisle, shed or run-in. No hand stacking. Every pallet is pressed, stacked and wrapped at our facility in Earlville, New York, and all of our hay is tested.
Winter deliveries from real customers
How much hay does a horse need? FAQ
How many bales of hay does a horse need for winter?
Plan on about 2% of body weight in hay per day plus roughly 10% for storage and feeder waste. A 1,000 lb horse eats about 20 lb a day, so a 150-day winter takes about 3,300 lb, which is about 77 HayNow 43 lb compressed bales (a little over 4 pallets). A 180-day winter takes about 92 bales (just over 5 pallets).
How much hay does a horse eat per day?
Most mature horses eat about 1.5% to 2.5% of body weight in forage a day; 2% is the usual planning number. That is about 20 lb a day for a 1,000 lb horse, or a little under half of one 43 lb HayNow bale.
How long does one pallet of hay last one horse?
One HayNow pallet is 18 bales of about 43 lb, roughly 774 lb of hay. At 20 lb a day plus about 10% waste, one pallet feeds a 1,000 lb horse for about 5 weeks (35 days).
How many hay bales per horse per month?
About 15 HayNow 43 lb bales per month for a 1,000 lb horse (20 lb a day plus about 10% waste). If you buy local 50 lb bales, it is about 13; always compare by weight, not bale count.
How much hay should I buy for winter in Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts or New Hampshire?
Budget by how many days you feed hay with little or no pasture. As a rough guide: New Jersey about 120 to 150 days (62 to 77 bales, 4 to 5 pallets per 1,000 lb horse); Connecticut and Massachusetts about 150 to 180 days (77 to 92 bales, 5 to 6 pallets); New Hampshire about 180 to 210 days (92 to 108 bales, about 6 pallets). Your own pasture and horse decide the real number.
Do I have to buy and store all my winter hay in the fall?
No. HayNow delivers next week from Virginia to New Hampshire, so you can order 1 or 2 pallets at a time and keep only a few weeks of hay in the barn. Each pallet arrives shrink-wrapped and is set on the ground with the forklift on our truck.
How much does a winter of hay cost for one horse?
At HayNow's lowest price of $16.50 a bale ($297 per 18-bale pallet of 1st cut Timothy-Orchard), a 150-day winter for a 1,000 lb horse (about 77 bales) means buying 5 pallets for $1,485, and a 180-day winter (about 92 bales) means 6 pallets for $1,782, with delivery free everywhere we deliver except Virginia's flat $39 stop charge.
Why do HayNow bales count differently than farm bales?
HayNow bales are compressed small squares of about 43 lb. Local farm bales run anywhere from 35 to 55 lb. Feed and buy by weight: 100 bales of 43 lb is 4,300 lb of hay, the same as 86 bales of 50 lb.
Sources
Daily intake and waste assumptions follow University of Maryland Extension, Calculating Your Horse's Winter Hay Needs (2% of body weight a day; 5% storage plus 5% feeder waste with indoor storage and a hayrack), and University of Kentucky, ASC-277: Determining How Much Hay You Need. Hay season lengths are HayNow planning estimates, not a forecast.
Order winter hay
Shop all hay · Hay for sale by state · Hay delivery map · Buy horse hay online · Hay prices. Outside Virginia to New Hampshire? Full trailer loads (1,104 bales) anywhere in the continental US at buyhay.ai. Questions? Call 315-599-2909 or email orders@haynow.com.
HayNow delivers here: Virginia to New Hampshire, including Washington, D.C.