How Much Does It Cost To Feed A Horse Per Day

How Much Does It Cost To Feed A Horse Per Day

Introduction

Many horse owners are surprised to learn the true cost of owning and maintaining a horse. Not only does it cost a lot to buy the horse, you have to pay a good amount in professional services, from veterinarians and farriers to riding instructors. Although there’s definitely some sticker shock here, nothing is quite as surprising as the costs associated with feeding your horse. The answer depends on a number of factors, but we can reassure you that it won’t break the bank—unless you’re buying a lot of horses!

How Much Should A Horse Eat Per Day

The amount of food a horse should eat per day depends on a few factors, including the size of your horse. Generally speaking, it is recommended that you feed your horse 1.5% of their body weight per day. However, if your horse is more active or very active (i.e., running around in the pasture all day), then you’ll want to increase this amount by an additional 0.5%. In other words:

• An average-sized adult horse should eat 2% of their body weight per day
• A larger adult female should eat 2% plus an additional 0.5%
• An older adult male who has become overweight or obese and is not very active will require less than 2%

The Cost of Feeding a Horse and Pony

The cost of feeding a horse or pony can vary widely, depending on the size and age of your animal, where you live and how much care you give it. On average, however, horse owners spend between $10 and $30 per day to feed their animals. The actual cost will depend heavily on what type of hay or grain you buy for your horse. If you buy expensive alfalfa hay instead of cheaper grass hays, for example, then your monthly bill will go up substantially. Likewise if you feed grain rather than just grasses and legumes (hay).

If you have several horses to feed at once—or if they’re very young foals—then this adds up quickly: multiply the price per head by however many horses there are in order to get an accurate figure for total monthly costs

What Do Horses Eat?

Horses are herbivores and need a balanced diet composed of grass, hay and grains. Horses are also very active animals, so they need to eat a lot of energy-rich foods like hay and grain. If you want your horse to live a long life and be healthy, it’s very important that you feed them the proper amount of food each day.

In addition to eating plenty of water and food, horses also have specific nutritional needs that must be met in order for them to thrive. For example, it’s crucial for horses to consume ample amounts of fiber in their diets because this helps keep their digestive tracts functioning properly (and prevents colic). Many experts recommend giving your horse roughly two pounds per day of high-fiber hay such as timothy or Bermuda grass hays; these types contain around 30% more fiber than alfalfa hays do!

The Dietary Needs of Horses

Horses are herbivores, which means that they eat grass and hay. They need a lot of fiber and nutrients from their food in order to be healthy. The average horse eats between 3 and 4 pounds (1.4 to 1.8 kg) of dry food per day, but this amount varies according to the horse’s size, age, breed and level of exercise.

The horse will also need plenty of water, salt licks and access to fresh pasture or hay fields as part of his daily diet. As long as your horse has access to these things regularly throughout each day, you should be able to determine how much he needs in terms of food rations for each mealtime (breakfast/lunch/dinner).

How Much to Feed a Horse Per Day

• The horse’s weight, age and activity level are the biggest factors that determine how much to feed a horse per day.
• Diet is also important to consider when calculating how much to feed a horse per day. Some diets are better than others, but there are always multiple factors involved with diet and nutrition. For example, if you want your horse to lose weight, you need more calories than it is burning off each day. If this happens over long periods of time then you may experience some health problems due to malnutrition or anorexia nervosa (a syndrome characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior).
• As you can see from this short list there are many things that could affect how much food your horse needs in its daily diet plan – from breed type (standard vs draft) differences in gender between genders as well as differences between ages within specific breeds which all play into their overall state of health (healthy vs sick).

You will find that feeding your horse can be an expensive hobby.

You will find that feeding your horse can be an expensive hobby. Feed is a major expense, and it will be more expensive than hay. Horses are big animals, so you need to feed them a lot.

You will also need to buy some supplements in addition to the regular feed you give your horse. You need to buy good quality feed and enough of it so that your horse is not hungry all the time or going without meals because there isn’t enough food in the house!

Conclusion

It is advisable to ask your vet to conduct a thorough health check on your horse once in every six months (preferably once a year) to ensure that it’s in good health and also to help you keep an eye on the weight fluctuation of your horse. The cost of feed for horses should be added to their total cost of ownership as discussed under the section “What is My Horse Going To Cost Me Per Month?”