How long does it take 4 horses to eat a round bale?

It takes mine just under 2 weeks.

Around the two weeks would be my guess, of course so many factors, the last big bale we put into my 3, they inhaled and it was gone...it is also possible that I was so busy with harvest that the passing of time, well passed me by.

Some bales get eaten quicker than others, some horses have a greater capacity just to put their face in a bale and eat, so you real answer is, "it all depends"

Depends on the horses,my two went through a 5 X 6 round in 9 days. First round to go out in the fall gets eaten the fastest,well at least with my crew.

Also depends on how cold it gets if temps go below zero,they eat more. Last winter my two horses were going through a round bale every 8 days,temps were 25 to 30 below zero at night,10 to 15 below during the day.

They were eating machines last winter:lol: I always figure on the high side for how much hay i'll need for winter. Doing square bales this year, 150 bales a horse per winter 3 horses 500 bales,put up an extra 300 to be safe.

Do you have a hay feeder? Are you using to stop them from using it as bedding? To stop them from peeing/pooping in it?

It takes two of mine anywhere from a week to two weeks to go through one round bale depending on how cold it is, how tightly packed the bale is, how much of it they manage to turn into bedding etc... so it really depends.

I have 30 round bales and 280 square bales for this winter. I have 3 horses here and i'm worried it wont be enough.

Depends a little bit on the actual weight of the bale and the temperature outside (they eat more when it's colder), but my 2 quarter horses will eat 1 round bale in about 2 weeks.

Don't know about extremely cold winters, how much more they may eat, but netted, with a 'slow feed' net, a round bale can last my 3 nearly a month if it's good. Unnetted, maybe only a week. & mostly because they make a mess, get picky, lie on it, wee on it...

In our area the coldest month is January, average high 48F, average low 27F. Our horses are out 24x7 with free choice round bales, and assuming there is no pasture grass to eat, they (5 horses) will go through a 5x6 round bale in 5 days (so that would be around 12 days for 2 horses).

My hay consumption can double in the winter when it's really cold.

Most of the time a bale that size goes about 10 days. I've got 3 feeding on it but if you were to lump them together I guess you have about 2 average horses in weight. One is a small pony, another a large pony and a tall lanky TWH.

I keep forgetting to count each winter and so does my hay guy but I'm thinking I use about 14 - 16 bales before the grass comes back in. My hay guy marked out 20 for me just in case the weather goes nuts but he can easily sell them come spring to all the folks who didn't plan well.

It really depends a lot on the bale and the weather and even the kind of grass. All balers are not equal. Older ones often loosen as they work and have to be readjusted. I've had some bales that are so heavy that I can't roll them off the truck. I have to tie a rope around the bale and to a tree and pull it off and hope it falls in a decent position. Without a tractor it gets rough sometimes. When the snow gets too deep I have to drop it in the front yard and move the hay to the horses by sled.

It depends on the weight. I've fed 800# and 1200#. I remember that when I was feeding 800# that way, it was 1 horse, 1 bale, 1 month. The horses were in their own pens though, with their own bales... minimizing the competitive eating factor.

Also, if you aren't using a slow feed net or round bale feeder of some sort, expect to lose a lot to waste. Mine enjoyed using it as bedding and peeing in the parts the sloughed off to the ground around it... not cool.