Horse Feed Calculator

Calculate daily feed rations for your horse based on weight, activity level, and body condition score. Determine hay, grain, calorie, and water needs.

Inputs

Horse Weight

lbs

Activity Level

Body Condition Score

Tab to move between fields

Results

Hay per Day

19.3 lbs

≈ 4 bags of sugar

Grain per Day

2.8 lbs

≈ 11 sticks of butter

Total Feed22.1 lbs

Digestible Energy21.6 Mcal

Water Needed7.2 gal/day

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Horse Weight (lbs) — weigh with a scale or use a Henneke body condition estimate.
Select Activity Level (Light, Moderate, Heavy, or Very Heavy) to set energy requirements.
Set Body Condition Score (1-9) — a score below 4 increases caloric needs.
Review Hay per Day (lbs) and Grain per Day (lbs) to build the daily feeding plan.
Adjust quantities based on weight gain or loss over a 2-4 week monitoring period.

How the result changes with Horse Weight

Horse Weight	Hay per Day	Grain per Day
610	10.7 lbs	1.5 lbs
1,135	19.9 lbs	2.8 lbs
1,765	30.9 lbs	4.4 lbs
2,290	40.1 lbs	5.7 lbs

What each input means

Horse Weight: Total body weight of the horse in pounds.
Activity Level: Workload intensity affects calorie and grain requirements.
Body Condition Score: BCS on the Henneke 1-9 scale. 5 is ideal; below 4 is underweight.

What each result means

Hay per Day: Recommended daily hay intake.
Grain per Day: Recommended daily grain/concentrate intake.
Total Feed: Combined hay and grain daily requirement.
Digestible Energy: Total daily digestible energy from feed.
Water Needed: Estimated daily water consumption.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
Horse Weight = 1100, Activity Level = 2, Body Condition Score = 5 = 3 input(s) provided
Calculate Hay per Day
Hay per Day
19.3 = 19.3
Calculate Grain per Day
Grain per Day
2.8 = 2.8
Calculate Total Feed
Total Feed
22.1 = 22.1
Calculate Digestible Energy
Digestible Energy
21.6 = 21.6

Engine last updated July 26, 2026. Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.

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