Equine Nutrition Calculator

Calculate daily digestible energy (DE) requirements and feed amounts for horses based on weight, activity level, and hay type.

Inputs

Body weight (kg)

Activity level

Hay type

Concentrate % of diet

Tab to move between fields

Results

DE required (Mcal/day)

16.65

DE provided (Mcal/day)

DE balance (Mcal/day)-1.65

Hay (kg/day)7.5

Hay (lbs/day)16.5

Concentrate (kg/day)0

Concentrate (lbs/day)0

Crude protein needed (g/day)630

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Body weight (kg), Activity level, and Hay type.
Set Concentrate % of diet.
Review DE required (Mcal/day) and DE provided (Mcal/day).
Use DE balance (Mcal/day) and Hay (kg/day) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Body weight (kg)

Body weight (kg)	DE required (Mcal/day)	DE provided (Mcal/day)
210	6.99	6.3
485	16.15	14.55
815	27.14	24.45
1,090	36.3	32.7

What each input means

Body weight (kg): Horse body weight in kilograms. Average riding horse ~500 kg, draft horse ~800-900 kg.
Activity level: 0 = Maintenance (idle), 1 = Light (trail riding), 2 = Moderate (schooling), 3 = Heavy (racing/eventing), 4 = Very heavy (endurance).
Hay type: 0 = Grass hay (~2.0 Mcal/kg), 1 = Alfalfa (~2.4 Mcal/kg), 2 = Mixed (~2.2 Mcal/kg).
Concentrate % of diet: Percentage of total dry matter intake from grain/concentrate. Keep below 50% to prevent digestive issues.

What each result means

DE required (Mcal/day): Total digestible energy requirement based on weight and activity.
DE provided (Mcal/day): Digestible energy provided by the current ration.
DE balance (Mcal/day): Positive = surplus energy, negative = deficit. Adjust feed amounts accordingly.
Hay (kg/day): Daily hay amount in kilograms.
Hay (lbs/day): Daily hay amount in pounds.
Concentrate (kg/day): Daily grain/concentrate amount in kilograms.
Concentrate (lbs/day): Daily grain/concentrate amount in pounds.
Crude protein needed (g/day): Daily crude protein requirement in grams.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Body weight (kg) = 500, Activity level = 0, Hay type = 0, Concentrate % of diet = 0 = 4 input(s) provided
Calculate DE required
DE required = maintenanceDE * multiplier
16.65 = 16.65
Calculate DE provided
DE provided = deFromHay + deFromConcentrate
15 = 15
Calculate DE balance
DE balance = deProvided - totalDERequired
-1.65 = -1.65
Calculate Hay
Hay = totalDMIntakeKg * hayFraction
7.5 = 7.5

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