Ask five yards how much hay a horse needs and you will hear five answers in flakes, nets and armfuls, none of which travel between barns. The measure that does travel is bodyweight: forage needs are set as a share of the horse himself, which is why the same horse needs the same hay wherever he is kept.
The general rule owners plan by
In general terms, a horse's total forage, hay plus any grazing and haylage, should come to roughly one and a half to two and a half percent of his bodyweight across the day, measured as dry feed. Most horses at rest or in light work sit comfortably around two percent. For a five-hundred-kilo horse that means about ten kilos of forage a day; a three-hundred-kilo pony needs around six. Good doers being managed for weight are often fed toward the lower end under guidance, while hard keepers, horses in hard work and mares feeding foals may need the top of the range or above.
Why the range is honestly wide
These figures are a planning frame, not a prescription, because horses differ. A native pony extracts more from every mouthful than a thoroughbred type standing beside him, old horses with worn teeth may eat the amount and still not use it fully, and hay quality changes what a kilo delivers: leafy, early-cut hay feeds far better than late, stemmy stuff of the same weight. Grazing counts toward the total too, though grass is mostly water, so an hour of good grazing replaces less hay than owners often assume when they cut the night net.
Spread it like a horse is built to eat
However the total works out, divide it across the day rather than serving it in two large meals. Horses are trickle feeders whose stomachs and hindguts expect small amounts often, so three or four nets, small-hole nets that slow a fast eater, and a final net given late in the evening all shorten the empty hours, particularly the long overnight stretch. A horse who finishes by midnight and stands empty until morning is being fed the right amount in the wrong shape.
Adjust by the horse, in small steps
Set the starting amount by the percentage, then judge by condition score over the following weeks and move in small steps, a little more or a little less forage, rather than swinging the ration. Weigh the hay while you settle the amount so the adjustment you intend is the one the horse receives. If condition moves the wrong way despite accurate feeding, treat it as a question for your vet rather than a reason to push the percentage further. Setting each horse's daily forage amount in your KinsLe Care Teams duties keeps the percentage you worked out as the amount every helper actually feeds.