How Much Does a Horse Eat Per Day?

Like goats and sheep, how much a horse eats scales with its own bodyweight rather than one flat figure — a genuinely useful distinction, since backyard-kept horses range from small ponies to large draft breeds several times heavier.

About 2% of bodyweight per day

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension guidance gives a published range of 2.25–2.5% as-fed, with ad-lib hay or pasture intake at 2–2.5% dry matter; we use 2% as a conservative single figure. That's what our feed cost calculator uses, scaling with the weight you enter.

These are illustrative weights to show how the ratio scales, not breed-specific figures — enter your own horse's actual weight in the calculator rather than reading a weight band off this table.

Forage and concentrate combined, not split out

This figure covers forage (hay, pasture) and any concentrate feed together, as a single daily total. We haven't found a sourced split between the two for backyard-kept horses specifically, so the calculator uses one combined figure rather than breaking out how much should be hay versus hard feed.

A baseline, not an exercise-adjusted figure

This is a resting-to-light-work baseline. Horses in harder work — regular riding, competition — very likely need more, but we haven't found a sourced multiplier for exercise level to apply here. Rather than guess at an adjustment, this figure is presented as a starting point, with actual needs for a harder-worked horse best discussed with a vet or equine nutritionist.

Working out your own cost

Enter your horse's weight into the feed cost calculator along with your local feed price for a daily, weekly and monthly estimate, or use cost of keeping to combine it with a vet allowance and other costs. Water is a separate daily input worth planning for too — see our water guide.

Turning this into a winter hay order? The how much hay does a horse need guide works it out step by step, including waste and a winter total.

Source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, “Basics of Feeding Horses” (published range 2.25–2.5% as-fed, ad-lib hay/pasture intake 2–2.5% dry matter; 2% used as a conservative single figure), the same source already cited for this site's horse feed calculator. Sources checked: September 2026.

Common questions

How much does a horse eat per day?

Roughly 2% of a horse's bodyweight per day, combining forage and any concentrate feed — a weight-based figure rather than a flat number, since horses range from small ponies to large draft breeds several times heavier.

Why does horse feed scale with weight instead of one flat number?

Because horses themselves vary hugely by type — a flat daily figure would badly overfeed a pony or underfeed a large draft horse. A bodyweight ratio scales correctly for whatever size horse you actually have.

Is this figure forage, concentrate, or both?

Both, combined. The source gives a published range of 2.25–2.5% as-fed, with ad-lib hay/pasture intake at 2–2.5% dry matter; we use 2% as a conservative single figure covering forage and any concentrate together, not a split between the two.

Does a working or competition horse need more?

Very likely, but we haven't found a sourced multiplier for exercise level specifically. This figure is a resting-to-light-work baseline; a harder-worked horse's actual needs should be discussed with a vet or equine nutritionist rather than scaled up from this figure alone.