07/09/2025
Did you know most horses need to consume about 2% of their body weight in forage and feed (dry matter) each day to maintain weight and gut health?
For a 500 kg horse, that works out around 10 kg of dry matter daily and the majority should come from forage (hay or pasture).
Note: Some easy keepers do well with ~1.5% bodyweight, while others – like hard keepers, performance horses, lactating mares, or growing youngsters – may need to 2.5-3%.
🌱 On good pasture, a 500 kg horse can consume 50 - 60 kg of grass in 24 hours, which equals 10 - 12 kg of dry matter.
But once the grass is shorter than 2 inches, even if it looks green, your horse simply can’t consume enough to meet their needs.
When that happens, problems start:
❌ The stomach is emptier → higher ulcer risk
❌ The hindgut runs out of fibre to ferment → triggering microbial imbalance
❌ Gut motility slows → increased risk of impaction colic
❌ Reduced gut fill → increased chance of displacement or torsion colic
This is where supplementing with hay becomes essential. And not just a couple of biscuits. It pays to get specific:
For example: 1.5-2% of supplemental hay for a 500 kg horse equals 7.5-10 kg hay per day.
⚖ To measure accurately, use a luggage scale to weigh your hay net/bag.
FYI: one biscuit/flake of hay can weigh anywhere from 1-3 kg depending on type and density.
Feeding round bales? As a guide, the average 4’ x 5’ round bale weighs ~400 kg. At 2% bodyweight per day, one bale lasts approx. 40 days for one 500kg horse, or 20 days for two horses sharing.
If you’d like more practical tips on feeding, forage and colic prevention, you can watch the Colic + Nutrition Masterclass that Sam Potter (FeedXL) and I hosted.
In it, we break down safe feeding strategies, common nutrition mistakes that increase colic risk and how to help your horse during a colic episode 👉 https://www.empoweringequineeducation.com/replay-colic-feedxl
