Measure the bale, squeeze it, and get its weight — by the density method Penn State Extension publishes, with every tightness shown, because nobody’s thumb is a scale. Then how many bales his winter takes, and what you are really paying a ton.
This bale weighs
About 58–62 lb
Every tightness, for this size
Sources checked 2026-09-26. An estimate from a tape and a thumb: a scale is the only exact answer, and a truck stop will weigh a big bale for a fee.
Quick answer: the University of Minnesota’s extension puts small square bales at 40 to 80 lb, and round bales and large squares at 800 to 1,200 lb. To narrow it down for your bale, measure it and press on it. Penn State Extension’s method multiplies the bale’s volume by 9 to 12 lb of dry matter per cubic foot, depending on how tight it feels. A 4 × 5 round bale (4 feet wide, 5 across) holds about 78.5 cubic feet. That comes to about 785 lb of dry matter if it gives a little when you press it, and roughly 870 to 925 lb as fed, at the moisture horse hay is baled at.
How to use it
Pick the kind of bale, then type its size. A small square gets its length, width and height in inches. A large square gets them in feet, and a round bale gets its width and its diameter in feet. Centimetres work too. Then press on the bale and pick the description that matches. The answer is the weight at that tightness, with the other three beside it so you can see how much the feel matters. If you have weighed one, type that in: a scale beats every estimate, and the bale count uses it. Open the optional section to set your horse’s weight and the days you are feeding hay. Add the price of a bale to see what you are paying a ton.
Why the feel of the bale matters so much
Two bales the same size can differ by a third in weight. That is the whole of Penn State’s point: bale density runs from about 9 lb of dry matter per cubic foot in a loose bale to 12 in a really tight one. That same 4 × 5 round bale is about 707 lb loose and 942 lb very tight. Penn State notes that many producers grossly overestimate what their bales weigh, and then run short of hay in late winter. The method comes from Dennis Hancock, of the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center. Penn State says it works for small squares, large squares and round bales alike.
Dry matter, and what you actually lift
Hancock’s densities are pounds of dry matter, the hay without its water. Minnesota’s extension says horse-quality hay should be baled at 10 to 15 percent moisture. It adds that hay baled at over 17 percent risks mold, and at over 25 percent it risks heat damage and fire. So a bale as fed weighs a little more than its dry matter: the dry weight divided by 0.90 at 10 percent moisture, or by 0.85 at 15. The calculator shows both. It uses the as-fed weight to count bales, because the 2% of body weight horse owners feed is hay as fed.
How many bales, and the price a ton
Penn State’s example feeds hay at 2% of the horse’s weight a day, from November to March. A 1,000 lb horse eats about 20 lb a day, so 150 days comes to 3,000 lb before any waste. That is about four 4 × 5 round bales, or around 50 small squares like the example on this page. Waste comes on top, and it depends on how you feed. The feed and hay calculator works it out by feeder. Minnesota’s extension also says to buy hay by the ton or by the average bale weight. A 35 lb bale at $5 costs $286 a ton, more than a 50 lb bale at $6, which costs $240. Type the price of a bale, and the calculator does that sum for yours.