How much does a section of hay weigh?

The Pavo GroomingTeam receives a lot of questions about the correct feed composition. Many horse owners don’t know exactly how much energy and protein their roughage contains and how much they give to their horse.

It is very important to know the weight and moisture content of your roughage. Advice is always based on the dry matter content of the roughage.
Haylage contains more water, so you have to feed more of that than hay.

If you want to find out how much you feed your horse, stand on the scales with a bale of hay. An average bale of hay weighs 15 to 18 kg.

When you have completed the FeedingGuide and the resulting advice is 6 kg of hay, then you know that you have to feed 1/3 of a bale. Be aware that the FeedingGuide calculates an advice based on your input. If your horse goes in the field during the day and also has a straw bed, then the calculation takes that into account. An advice of 6 kg roughage each day means that you have to feed that amount on top of the grass and straw your horse eats.

The nutritional value of roughage is determined by the level of fertiliser used on the field, the type of grass seed used and the time of cutting the grass. It is also useful to know that, over the last few years, roughage contains less and less energy and protein, because less fertiliser is being used and different grass seed mixes, better suitable for horses, are used for the seeding of paddocks.