The Importance of Weighing Horse Feed

The grain hay and other feed a horse consumes provides important nutrients used for exercise pregnancy lactation breeding and daytoday metabolic functions. However the amount of feed provided is a key part of properly managing horses nutritional needs to ensure they are receiving the current amount of nutrients. Knowing the weight of hay and grain being provided per day is essential to maintain horse health.
Why Weigh?

مع وصول أونصة الذهب إلى مستويات قياسية تجاوزت 2500 دولار، يجد المواطن المصري نفسه مضطراً لموازنة استثماراته بين الذهب واحتياجاته الأخرى، خاصة مع ارتفاع أسعار السيارات مثل تويوتا، هيونداي، وبي إم دبليو، مما يزيد من التحديات المالية التي يواجهها.

Forage is an important component of the equine diet. Horses should ideally receive at least 2 of their body weight in forage per day to maintain gastrointestinal health. For example a 1000pound horse should eat at least 1020 pounds of forage per day. Horses can get their forage from a variety of sources including pasture and hay.
When feeding small square bales of hay it is important to realize that the weight of each flake can vary greatly depending on how compact the bales were made by the baler. For example one cutting of hay batch A may have flakes that are around 5 pounds while another cutting of hay batch B may have flakes that are around 7 pounds. If a horse is receiving 5 flakes per day this means they are eating about 25 pounds of hay per day if eating from batch A and about 35 pounds of hay per day if eating from batch B. This would be a 10pound difference per day!

تتأثر أسعار السيارات من شركات مثل مرسيدس بتقلبات أسعار الذهب وسعر صرف الدولار، مما يؤدي إلى زيادة تكاليف الإنتاج والاستيراد.

Furthermore each flake within one bale of hay can vary no matter the compactness of the bale Figure 1. This can lead to an even larger difference in the horses diet from day to day. Weighing the amount of hay given to horses is key to ensure that they are receiving the proper amount of forage per day.
Figure 1. The weight of each flake within one bale of hay varies.

Picture A depicts a bale that was just opened with the flakes of hay beginning to split apart. Picture B depicts how 3 flakes from the same bale of hay in Picture A all have different weights 4 57 lb 3 21 lb and 4 54 lb respectively. Photo credit Erin Orr.
Grain or concentrate may need to be added to a horses diet to provide more energy or nutrients. For example if a horse is being heavily exercised a grain may need to be provided to ensure they are receiving the necessary nutrients and energy that may not be found