How Much Is Horse Food?

Horses are large animals, and it takes a large quantity of food to help them maintain a healthy weight. If you own a horse, you will have to provides it with food such as hay and grain. You need to know how much horse food costs so you can budget enough money to keep your horse well fed and in good condition.

Mustangs living in the wild stick together in herds, grazing all day long. They cover a lot of ground, eating all the grass in one area and then moving on to another lush area. In captivity, most horses are fed only at specific times of day. Most horse owners don't have access to big fields of grass, so they feed grain or pellets and hay, which is a dried form of grass. They must purchase the grain at a feed store, and if they don't own hay fields, they'll have to purchase bales or cubes too.

Horse food plays a major role in the animal's overall well-being. Grain provides the horse with energy and helps it to maintain proper weight. The amount needed can vary, with some horses able to do well only a half a pound to 1 1/2 lbs. per day and others needing 5 lbs. or even more. Certain horses may have special needs that require a specialized diet. For example, old horses may need a food formulated specially for senior equines. Pregnant mares or those nursing foals might need a horse food with extra nutrition.

The two main types of horse food are grain and hay, but each of those has its own sub-style. Hay comes in many varieties, such as peanut hay, timothy, alfalfa, or a blend. It is sold in large, round bales, more compact square bales, or highly compact cubes. Grain is usually blended with other ingredients, such as vitamin pellets, flax seed, or beet pulp, to make it more nutritionally complete. Molasses may also be blended in wet or dry form to make it taste better to the horse. Sometimes it is compressed into pellet form to make it more digestible.

Because hay must be grown and baled every year, its cost varies based on seasonal factors. During a good growing year, it's much cheaper than years in which there are droughts. Its price also goes up in the winter, when it's often in short supply. It is cheapest in its bulk forms, which are round or square bales. Retailers charge a premium for bagged cubes. As a general guideline, bales can cost anywhere from a low of $2 all the way up to $15 or more, depending on the weather and season. Grain costs are more stable, although they can vary considerably between bulk types and brand names. The specific blend also affects the price. Bulk grain may be as cheap as $10 for 50 lbs., while well-known brands can cost $20 to $30 or more for the same amount. Because some name brands contain highly concentrated nutrients, you may be able to feed less than you would with a plain bulk feed.

If you can buy horse food in bulk, you can lower your costs. If you have limited space and are unable to purchase large hay bales, you'll end up paying more because of the premium price for cubes. The same is true for grain, as some sellers will give you a discount if you are able to buy large amounts all at once. If you have an older horse or an equine with other special needs, your horse food costs will be higher since you'll have to purchase a special blend.