Dry: Declining Pasture, and How to Stay Ahead of Forage Shortfall
As the weather dries out, many owners notice their horses grazing for longer periods and assume they’re still getting plenty from the paddock. In reality, dry conditions change pasture quality long before the grass looks sparse. Moisture loss reduces digestible energy, increases fibre lignification, and shifts the carbohydrate profile of common pasture species. Horses can spend hours with their heads down and still come away with less nutrition than they did a month ago. This is why some horses begin to look a little hollow, a little sharper over the ribs, or a little more irritable even though they appear to be “eating all day.”
Dry spells create an invisible drought: a period where pasture looks adequate to the human eye but has already declined in nutritional value. Owners often don’t realise this until weight loss becomes visible, but horses show behavioural signs much earlier. Increased wood‑chewing, fence‑walking, heightened interest in feed bins, pawing at feed time, eating every scrap of hay that they would have left a month ago, and greater tension within the herd around feed time are all subtle indicators that forage intake has dropped. They’re the horse’s way of saying the paddock is no longer meeting their needs.
This is the time to adjust forage strategy before condition loss sets in. Supplementary hay feeding during dry weather isn’t an emergency measure, it’s a proactive one. Even a small daily allocation can stabilise gut fill, maintain energy intake, and prevent the behavioural fallout that comes with forage insufficiency. Owners often underestimate how much hay is required when pasture moisture declines, especially when there is still “green” visible. The horse’s digestive system doesn’t measure colour; it measures fibre quality, water content, and digestible energy. Dry grass simply doesn’t deliver what it does in a spring with adequate rainfall.
In Dry conditions: How Much Hay
The question most owners ask is how much hay to feed and when to start. A good rule of thumb is to introduce hay as soon as manure becomes drier, grazing sessions become longer, or horses begin showing subtle behavioural signs of forage insufficiency.
In dry conditions, most horses need between 1.5–2% of their bodyweight in total forage per day, with hay making up the difference between what the paddock can provide and what the horse actually needs. This often means feeding more hay than feels intuitive, especially when there is still green visible. The biggest mistake owners make is waiting until weight loss is obvious before increasing hay. By feeding hay proactively, before the pasture truly fails, you protect metabolic stability, prevent behavioural fallout, and avoid the expensive scramble that happens when everyone is suddenly buying hay at once.
When is the best time to buy hay? When you don't need it.
Hay around here currently can be up around $38/bale, if you can find it, but a warm start to the season means that hay farmers will be cutting soon and there will be a period of abundance where prices will drop.
One of the most protective habits you can adopt is maintaining a three‑week hay buffer. This buffer prevents panic buying when drought intensifies, protects horses from abrupt dietary changes, and gives you the freedom to increase forage gradually rather than reactively.
Building this buffer doesn’t require a large outlay all at once. Adding a few extra bales each time you buy, and buying hay well before you have run out, is enough to create a safety net that carries you through the unpredictable parts of the season.
Which Hay?
This article explains more about different cuts of hay and information about storage.
This article explains more about the different types of hay with links to detail about their nutritional value.
What do we do here at Sound Advice? We have our metabolically challenged horses on a free-choice roundbale of teff. They receive the majority of their calories in hay and have a small mash as a carrier for supplements.
Our geriatric horses receive the softest, leafiest, greenest straight lucerne we can find. They receive generous biscuits twice a day which they pick through between meals. Due to compromised teeth, we supply most of their calories from a huge mash that they receive twice a day.
Our young horses with good condition get a small biscuit of grassy lucerne once a day.
Salt, Water, Shade
Salt, water, and shade are the crucial trio in dry weather. They’re the foundation of how well a horse copes when pasture quality drops. Horses can only digest fibre efficiently when they’re properly hydrated, and hydration isn’t just about troughs, it starts with salt. Without enough sodium, the thirst mechanism doesn’t switch on, the horse drinks less than he needs, and the gut becomes drier and slower. Even a small daily shortfall in salt can reduce water intake enough to affect manure consistency, forage digestion, overall metabolic stability, and increase the risk of colic. In dry spells, when pasture moisture is low and hay intake rises, salt becomes even more important because the digestive system is handling a higher fibre load with less natural water content.
Trough placement and shade access also matter more than owners realise. Horses drink more when water is easy to reach, visible, and located where they naturally spend time. A trough tucked in a hot corner of the paddock can reduce intake simply because horses avoid standing in the heat. Shade works the same way: horses that can regulate their body temperature comfortably will graze more steadily, drink more consistently, and maintain better gut motility.
Dry weather isn’t just about forage, it’s about supporting the physiology. When salt intake is correct, water is accessible, and shade is available, horses cope with dry conditions far more comfortably and with fewer behavioural or metabolic bumps along the way.
Dry weather doesn’t have to mean declining condition or escalating feed costs. It simply requires early recognition of pasture changes and a willingness to adjust forage before horses begin to struggle. When owners understand how quickly pasture quality shifts in dry conditions, they can stay ahead of the curve, protect metabolic health, and maintain steady condition through the driest months of the year.
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