Ok. So I'm planning on getting a Miniature Horse. I already found one, and he is just the cutest thing. hahaha. (I do have horse experiance, so I know how to care for horses and such)
I'm just curious on how much hay he will need daily?
At this time, I don't know EXACTLY how much pasture he will have. If I had to guess... I'll say half an acre, and will be hand-grazed on the other half. This grass.. I swear is on drugs. (not literally! haha) but my dad once cut it.. and the next day it was sooo tall. It's scary. hahaha. But the mini will be out on that 24/7. (there MAY be two minis. but let's just go with one. ahha)

I will/can get a grazing muzzle. But how much hay will he need in addition to this grass?
Thanks bunches! :D

Wow, you really, so far, have had a difficult time getting an answer the the "question you actually asked". Anyway, after the first freeze on the pasture, we feed free choice hay 24/7. With your mini, you will have to begin in some general way (feed according to the weight of the horse and the weight of the hay - it would be a minimum of 20% all things being normal) and make changes as needed according to the weight of the mini, how well he gains and loses and maintains, how healthy he is, the amount of exercise he gets, etc. As you said, you have some basic knowledge, so you understand there is no magic "cookbook" recipe that is correct for all horses at all ages in all situations. Just find a beginning level and make adjustments as needed for this horse. And you know you can't have just one. This little guy has to have a buddy of some sort, so just go ahead and get one now and get it over with. Don't understand the muzzle comment. If he has too much grass to graze on, you probably will not need hay. Many of the comments given didn't make sense to me as you didn't ask about those things. Oh well. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

I have had my pasture and soil tested so I know the content and nutritional values on my land. If you know your grass is good quality, hay needs will vary. Depending on your growing season, hay needs will vary. Again, there is no specific answer for the question, so just some ideas to provoke thought. Congrats on the new mini (or should I say minis). Getting a new horse is always exciting.

I would slowly put him on the grass... you would hate him to founder!

Anyway, it really depends on the horse. Pistachio eats four flakes a day and is good, and Tango eats three flakes a day along with three pounds on LMF Senior and one pound of Rice Bran.

Edit: I forgot to add, they are on 24/7 pasture. You already knew that though. ;]

Minis just basically need hay during the winter season. Feeding them grain is not really good because it has a tendency to make them overweight. A lot of grain is not healthy for them anyways.
Minis can Founder a lot easier than a normal size horse or pony.
To much grain can make them colic.

Mini's get overweight on just grass in their field, so you'll only need to feed it hay in the winter when there's not any grass.

I think Mini's only need about 4 pounds of hay/grass a day.

I just asked practically the same question.

I think that they will need only a few flakes of hay a day if the grass is realy nice in the spring/summer...but if it is as nice as you say they might not even need grain. (horses do not need to eat grain)

Hi
You will probably want to buy a grazing muzzle to wear for a couple hours a day, as minis have a tendency to eat too much, especially if the grass is tall and lush, which will result in founder, a painful crippling condition (as you probably know). You will probably not need to give it hay in the spring and summer (unless you see that the grass isn't very high), but in the fall and winter when the grass doesn't grow as much you will need to give it probably around 2 to 3 flakes of hay a day, at 2 times in the day if possible. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
I hope this helps, and have fun with your new mini! And good luck!
P.S. Just making sure, but you will also have to give it grain and such, as you already know, I'm sure.

WE got a free mini horse from a client of my dads, and she ate wayyy to much (already she was extremely fat). She coliced from eating too much grass and hay.Great thing my dad's a large animal vet. Anyway so now she gets a handful of alfalfa and about 1 1/2 lbs. of alfalfa pellets twice a day. She's turned out almost everyday in a little paddock with short, growing grass to nibble on. hope this helps! usually for a typical mini, half an acre is fine. About 1/8-1/4 of a flake of alfalfa/grass hay should suffice.