Best slow feeding options not hsynets and cheap

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UKa

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Looking for ideas to slow my good doer Connie in the stable for when winter comes. Rips haynets if too small holes … Has ripped hay pillow in the past - gets fed soaked hay…. Any ideas that don’t break the bank?
 
Buy a heavy duty haynet, any horse would have a job to rip those. Or put a hay feeder in, one of the metal ones and then put a hay net in that, then even if ripped you have the bars in place, you can get them cheap off FB marketplace
 
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AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Buy a heavy duty haynet, any horse would have a job to rip those. Or put a hay feeder in, one of the metal ones and then put a hay net in that, then even if ripped you have the bars in place, you can get them cheap off FB marketplace
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If she is ripping up haynets through frustration, watch she doesn’t get injured in biting them - horses can get the nylon snagged between teeth, even dislodging them altogether. A super strong mesh would be contraindicated.
If ridden every day and / or turned out, might be a lot better to stop any hard feed and give ad lib hay whenever in the stable - prevents the ‘desperation’ aspect of eating the ration very quickly, then spending hours without. If some’s always there, horse is much calmer! They are designed to keep browsing, not like carnivores.
Alternatively, keep popping in with very small amounts until late at night, but expect impatience and cortisol up each time you appear with the next meal.
 
Exasperated said:
If she is ripping up haynets through frustration, watch she doesn’t get injured in biting them - horses can get the nylon snagged between teeth, even dislodging them altogether. A super strong mesh would be contraindicated.
If ridden every day and / or turned out, might be a lot better to stop any hard feed and give ad lib hay whenever in the stable - prevents the ‘desperation’ aspect of eating the ration very quickly, then spending hours without. If some’s always there, horse is much calmer! They are designed to keep browsing, not like carnivores.
Alternatively, keep popping in with very small amounts until late at night, but expect impatience and cortisol up each time you appear with the next meal.
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That's all well and good if you a) don't work so can pop up every 2 hours, or b) don't have a good doer that won't continually eat until it's all gone if you try ad-lib.
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
That's all well and good if you a) don't work so can pop up every 2 hours, or b) don't have a good doer that won't continually eat until it's all gone if you try ad-lib.
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Yes, I understand that, but if getting plenty of exercise and activity, the ad lib while stabled is not such an issue for easy-keepers. They might gobble the first couple of nights, but eat normally when there’s always forage there.
A bigger problem is box rest, when the bored, frustrated, often miserable horse can’t burn calories off.
If the horse (easy-keeper or otherwise) is mostly stabled and rarely worked, and kept continually frustrated by lack of food, there will be other issues coming over the hill, anyway.
 
Exasperated said:
Yes, I understand that, but if getting plenty of exercise and activity, the ad lib while stabled is not such an issue for easy-keepers. They might gobble the first couple of nights, but eat normally when there’s always forage there
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They won’t if they are insulin resistant, mine has been hunting fit and would eat everything in sight.
 
Pony ballooned when I fed ad lib hay. But rationing is not suiting her busy mind and mouth. Unfortunately popping up with more food late at night is not an option. She only gets small feeds with a balancer for the vits and mins really. She gets exercised most days and as she is a bit older by now (7)it’s slightly more intense work but not enough to keep the pounds off completely if I don’t watch her forage.
 
You can weigh down the easy grazer to stop it being tipped but I have seen many horses put their legs in them and I would be a bit wary of using them in a stable if you have a horse that gets frustrated and might start pawing etc.

Have you tried knot-less haynets? My Shires softmesh ones are still going after 4 years use and my pony is no stranger to restricted rations 😬 I'm also using a hayball atm, it doesn't slow her down as much as small holed net but it does keep her occupied. I have seen people put a net inside the hayball too but that felt too mean to me!
 
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Have you tried filling her up on plain oat straw chaff? Not Top Chop Zero, that's too tasty. You might use a lot the first few nights but they do slow down and it's far fewer calories than even soaked hay
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Have you tried filling her up on plain oat straw chaff? Not Top Chop Zero, that's too tasty. You might use a lot the first few nights but they do slow down and it's far fewer calories than even soaked hay
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This is well worth trying, altho you might still see her belly rounding up because there’s the bulk in there.
You’ll have to balance pros and cons - if she’s stabled but frustrated through lack of forage, could lead to stress/vices, bad temper, even digestive upsets. If she’s stabled with plenty to occupy her, could get fat.
More exercise, more turnout? The obvious solution is just never easy to achieve! Good luck.
 
My friend had good results mixing oat straw with hay and feeding in larger holed nets with her fatties. She gave a trickle feeder of just hay and then large holed net of mostly oat straw.
 
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Exasperated said:
This is well worth trying, altho you might still see her belly rounding up because there’s the bulk in there.
You’ll have to balance pros and cons - if she’s stabled but frustrated through lack of forage, could lead to stress/vices, bad temper, even digestive upsets. If she’s stabled with plenty to occupy her, could get fat.
More exercise, more turnout? The obvious solution is just never easy to achieve! Good luck.
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Thanks. I think I need to find a good middle way. Perhaps up the exercise intensity this winter as she’s getting stronger. Also been thinking about changing my daily routine to allow for slightly longer turnout… the straw addition can be an Avenue to explore..
 
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