Best hay feeder

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Cosmogirl

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I'm looking at investing in a hay feeder. Must be floor/natural grazing level and preferably not need securing to stable walls etc as yard owner is not keen on such fittings. Can anyone offer any recommendations, being able to soak the hay isn't a must.

TIA
 
I have several home made ones. A base triangle of plywood fastened to a heavy scaffold plank, cut to size for the edges. They sometimes need shoving back into place but mostly stay put.

The advantage of making your own is that if the corner of the stable is not a true right angle you can cut the base to fit the stable.
 
I buy the heavy duty black storage boxes with the yellow handle lids, either the 175litre or the bigger one I think the biggest one is £40, I just don't use the lids Arabi doesn't ever move his Louis destroys his so he doesn't get one now, you could just put a concrete slab or a few bricks in the bottom.
 
I use the same as @Pinkvboots .

For the one where I want to limit intake I use the largest really useful box (important because you need straight sides) cut a hole in the lid a bit smaller then the box, cover edges in a split hose if you're worried. Make a frame that fits inside from pvc pipe and stretch an old small holed hay net over it. The frame falls down the box as the hay is eaten. Works surprisingly well.
 
I didn't trust Rigs with a grid at the top, so BF has designed him one. He is busy testing it. It will be on the market soon, but I won't be able to say when as that would be advertising LOL.

Anyway, this is him, testing away.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7429066047799545120

BH has a corner one coming for his stable at the end of the week too.
 
Well it seems to have passed the Rigsby test!

As an aside - how do you find those mats work outside - are they slippery?
I need something to go in front of a shelter and am jibbing at the thought of collecting mudmats
 
cauda equina said:
Well it seems to have passed the Rigsby test!

As an aside - how do you find those mats work outside - are they slippery?
I need something to go in front of a shelter and am jibbing at the thought of collecting mudmats
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I use them on the patios as they don't pick up speed there. It is just a 16ft channel round the back of the stables. I think I would hesitate if they could do a gallop entry!

In the field I laid hard core then hard core to dust on top. It was rolled and baked over the summer and is holding up well.
 
Red-1 said:
I didn't trust Rigs with a grid at the top, so BF has designed him one. He is busy testing it. It will be on the market soon, but I won't be able to say when as that would be advertising LOL.

Anyway, this is him, testing away.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7429066047799545120

BH has a corner one coming for his stable at the end of the week too.
Click to expand...
Ooooh, I like this a LOT! Will there be different sizes? My little ponies only get 3kg of haylage, it'd get lost in that! 😂
 
I used the big outdoor Slow Grazer until they went into production, then it was spirited away as they were selling too well as well as being tested by various horses in different situations, but we have now got a smaller one that is attached to the field fence. We still have little grass and I want to preserve hay as much as I can as there is simply not much for sale this year.

547376362_1127376286196334_24361134678682726_n.jpg

He also only gets 3kg at a time as he is EMS and fed many times a day. I can load this one up from outside the field. I can load the morning haylage up the night before as it is protected from the weather. It really slows him down and wastage is minimal (not that Rigs is in the habit of wasting food LOL, but the only haylage to come out is in his chops already so the wind doesn't have opportunity to carry any away.

The small box is also a stack cheaper than the big ones. The big freestanding ones are a stack more expensive as they have a water tank inside for stability, and are built to be stable by size. The small one is a much more lightweight design as it is attached to a fence.
 
Red-1 said:
I used the big outdoor Slow Grazer until they went into production, then it was spirited away as they were selling too well as well as being tested by various horses in different situations, but we have now got a smaller one that is attached to the field fence. We still have little grass and I want to preserve hay as much as I can as there is simply not much for sale this year.

View attachment 167013

He also only gets 3kg at a time as he is EMS and fed many times a day. I can load this one up from outside the field. I can load the morning haylage up the night before as it is protected from the weather. It really slows him down and wastage is minimal (not that Rigs is in the habit of wasting food LOL, but the only haylage to come out is in his chops already so the wind doesn't have opportunity to carry any away.

The small box is also a stack cheaper than the big ones. The big freestanding ones are a stack more expensive as they have a water tank inside for stability, and are built to be stable by size. The small one is a much more lightweight design as it is attached to a fence.
Click to expand...
Red-1 How do they reach the hay that falls to the back of the feeder?
It looks amazing, but I know if there was any hay mine couldn't reach, he would be doing everything in his power to reach that hay, including trying to destroy the hay feeder. He has already destroyed two Hay Hutches!
 
Mudfukkle said:
Red-1 How do they reach the hay that falls to the back of the feeder?
It looks amazing, but I know if there was any hay mine couldn't reach, he would be doing everything in his power to reach that hay, including trying to destroy the hay feeder. He has already destroyed two Hay Hutches!
Click to expand...
It has a hopper shape inside. That means it doesn't hold as much as it looks like, as the inside is triangular as a section.

When he first got it, Rigs tried kicking, kneeing, knocking with his big head - but now he knows he can eat steadily and the haylage keeps on dispensing.
 
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