Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
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Here you will find more than 6 years of questions and my answers. It is searchable and offers a great deal of information.
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All the best,
Dr. Getty
Hello Laurie and Patty,
2.5 % of body weight is about right, however, 75% of that should come from forage. And, keep in mind that the meal size from concentrates should not be more than 4 lbs. So, with three meals per day, you really cannot exceed 12 lbs of concentrate.
When it comes to forage, however, you can allow free consumption. Horses are able to self-regulate their forage consumption, whether it be from hay or pasture or both, if given the chance. So, my approach would be to provide hay and/or pasture 24/7 and then provide two meals per day, instead of three, of no more than 4 lbs each. That would leave about 26 lbs of forage. But, if you let your horse eat what he wants, you'd find that he will consume approximately that amount.
When consuming pasture, most of the consumption weight is from water, since pasture can be as much as 90% moisture. So, you really can't go by weight when figuring pasture intake. Most horses on pasture will consume approximately 20 lbs per day of dry matter. Extrapolate that to pounds of live grass, and it comes to as much as 200 lbs of pasture! But, that would be 90% water.
So, Laurie, watch your horse's weight. Give him hay and/or pasture 24/7 and add the appropriate amount of concentrate to meet his exercise needs. If you find that he's losing weight on 2 meals per day, you can always add a third meal.
All the best,
Dr. Getty 
Where are you from? Bayfield, CO