Horse Feed Ration Calculator

About this calculator

A horse's daily feed ration splits into forage (hay or pasture) and concentrate (grain or pelleted feed), sized as a percentage of the horse's bodyweight — the standard guideline is roughly 1.5% to 2% of bodyweight in total feed per day, with the majority coming from forage, since horses are hindgut fermenters built to graze continuously. That baseline is then adjusted upward for workload, because a horse in moderate to heavy work needs additional calories from concentrate to meet energy demands that forage alone can't supply without an impractically large volume.

Horse owners and barn managers calculate this ration because both underfeeding and overfeeding carry real health risks — insufficient forage raises the risk of ulcers and colic in a digestive system designed for constant small intake, while excess concentrate, especially relative to forage, raises the risk of laminitis and metabolic problems — so getting the forage-to-concentrate split right for a specific horse's weight and workload is a routine part of responsible horse care.

This calculator takes your horse's bodyweight, feed intake rate and workload level and returns the daily forage and concentrate amounts in kilograms or pounds.