We use both, and bale both on our own land (in KS). Vastly prefer rounds or mid-squares, even when we only had 2 horses at home. Bigger bales are consistently a better deal when you consider price per ton.
It is a common misconception that rounds/large squares (>600lb) are "bad" hay. In fact, they can often contain better hay than small squares. It is all dependent on who puts them up.
You don't need special equipment to handle a few round bales. They can be pushed off a truck or trailer and rolled by hand into a barn or sheltered area. When you are ready to feed them, flip them over so they are sitting like a cinnamon roll, and "peel" them. You can then feed them just like the flakes of a small square. Mid squares... well, those you kinda do need equipment to move them. They don't roll. You can shove them a few inches, and you can unload them by tying them off and pulling the truck or trailer forward until they slide off, but they are going to sit where they land!
Did you know that the small compressed Standlee bales of hay and straw at TSC came off the field as mid squares (or large squares)? They are stored as big bales, and then they are fed thru a "rebaler" that literally cuts the big bale down into tiny bales, compresses them, and zip ties them/shrink wraps them. It's actually a pretty amazing process. We purchase our mid squares and small squares from a local producer that uses a rebaler.
