do you use haynets? how safe do you think they are??

I use nets,always have due to greedy ponios that scoff it all in a matter of minutes otherwise!!

I do tie them in such a way that is no danger of the net hanging too low to the ground,and use small holed nets so would be very difficult to get a foot through,also most of mine past and present have been barefoot so less of a risk anyway.

Have to say have only had a problem once,when my fell pony I had got the front clips of his rug caught in the net.Luckily he was a very sensible type and just stood calmly and waited to be rescued,could have been awful though with a more spooky type like I have now.I now cover the clips of rugs in heavy duty sticky tape when using haynets.
 
Tickles - what size and type bucket/tyre do you use with yours?

I currently have my water buckets in tyres without the handles as my horse has a habit of picking buckets up and standing on them.

I was considering a Haybar but was concerned about removing all the dusty bits out of the bottom. I'm using large holed haynets at the minute because my boy is too messy in the stable and I want to monitor how much he eats. Most people on the yard use haybars or haylege nets.
 
I don't use haynets. Mainly because if you tie them high enough to be safe it then becomes a completely unnatural way to eat. No good for their teeth or neck muscles. The only time I use them is when travelling or occasionally on the yard if I'm giving them a good groom/clipping/having feet done etc.
 
We use haybars (although new horse is having hers off the floor atm). One of ours is a messy creature and will have pulled all her haylage onto the floor within 1/2 an hour of coming in. She then spreads it all over, she seems to prefer haylage to shavings as her bedding. The others all use theirs properly. As others have said, it's a much more natural way of feeding, allows sinus drainage and encourages correct muscle development.
Our first RI, over 40 yrs ago, told us that she would never use haynets having seen a pony strangle itself with one and being unable to help it. IME horses can find enough ways to damage themselves without our help.
 
lily1 said:
I use nets my lot drag hay all over the stable if not. does anyone use the haybars?
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More or less my whole yard does. Sure they still drag the hay out a bit but I've found its not dragged across the bed, more just out of the haybar itself onto the immediate floor by it. I have my bed so that theres about 2/3ft of matting by the door first so that should any fall onto it my horse still eats it off :)

If that makes sense?! :confused:
 
TelH said:
Never use haynets in a stable, unsafe and unnatural. I use them to soak the hay in then empty them on to the floor in the stable.
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I do this.
When we are competing, I use small holed nets so it'd be impossible for her hoof to get caught up in it and make sure its quite high and secure.
Don't really like them, as its not a natural feeding position.
 
has anyone got a solution for a horse that trashes her bed with it wen fed hayledge from the floor, but chews holes in haynets, apart from a haybar?
 
rossiroo said:
has anyone got a solution for a horse that trashes her bed with it wen fed hayledge from the floor, but chews holes in haynets, apart from a haybar?
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We put a board to cut off one corner in the horses stall. Keeps the hay somewhat in place, but not as well as a net.
 
I use haynets as my mare always has a very wet bed and my gelding always has a very dirty bed, meaning hay would be wasted and also my gelding eats far too quickly unless it's in a net. Overall I find that as long as the haynets are hung at the correct height with a well tied net, they are perfectly safe :)
 
I'm actually doing my BSc dissertation on whether horses show a preference to eating hay from the floor rather than from a haynet.
Iv heard all these arguments for how haynets are better for the horse's back and neck muscles and for airway drainage but its actually proving impossible to find any research into these things!
It all seems to be individual equine professionals discussing it theoretically but as far as i can see, there is no published research... very frustrating when trying to find references!!
 
I would have thought that the evidence would be there in evolutionary biology papers. Grazers eating with their heads down, near the ground, browsers eating with their heads up. Would it be worth looking into the physiology of giraffes, goats etc versus horses, cows and sheep?
 
My 3 are good doers and one is lamanitic so feeding from the floor really isn't an option.
I use small holed haynets hung in such a way, I dont think they would be a danger and my lot dont paw at them either.
I think how you hang then can have a lot to do with problems, and where from and of course how your horse treats the haynet.
I've never had a problem, but have seen others have them pulled down frequently. But then they dont tie them up well enough in my opinion or use shoddy crap that should have been binned milleniums ago!! :D
 
Can you put a hay rack up? Then you don't need a bag or hay net! If I had to choose between bags and nets, I like bags better. I am a super klutz at filling nets, plus I think a horse is more liable to somehow get caught up in a net than a bag.
 
I throw their hay over the wall, if they want to stomp on it then that's their choice. Simply can't be bothered with filling nets, giant PITA, anyway, it is generally too damn cold to tie knots, let alone faff about filling nets.

I have used them for years in the past when I have been on yards or it has been convenient for me, never had a problem with them.

Nowadays I possess just one net. It is tied in the walkway it is used by one of my Boarders who has a blind daughter and it keeps her horse occupied and still whilst the child is around. On the odd occasion (pictured) when I have a horse tied up (run out of stall space) waiting for the farrier etc, then I'll use it.

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rossiroo said:
has anyone got a solution for a horse that trashes her bed with it wen fed hayledge from the floor, but chews holes in haynets, apart from a haybar?
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What about a munch station? A version of the old fashioned hay racks that used to be filled from hay lofts above. They can have feeders in the top.
The base is set at an angle so that hay falls to the front. I think if I had to use anything then I would opt for these, placed so that they could be filled from outside the stall.

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http://www.morganhorse.co.uk/munch-station-horse-s200-p-5146.html

I visited a barn once (in Wales) where the horses put their heads outside the stalls to eat. As I remember, there was a gap the height of the door about 12" - 18" wide, which the horses could reach through and hay was just piled outside.
 
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I dont use haynets as I think its unatural for a horse to be eating with his head raised, my boy has his hay fed from the floor to help him develop the correct muscles in his neck.

At my old yard a freak accident happened with a haynet & one of the horses hung itself overnight after getting tangled up in one - would never use one again after seeing that :(
 
Mine live out and have a wooden box made from pallets for their haylage. I also hang a couple of small-holed nets in the apple tree for them because I figure that they will be slower to eat. The weird thing is that my Clydie X will always favour the nets before the box... yet he can cram more into his mouth in one go from the box. Most odd....
 
I use haynets for my minging mae but my gelding gets hay on the floor as he doesnt drag it through his bed and wee on it :rolleyes:

I think they are like all things, safe if you know what your doing with them.

I believe if they are used properly then there is no danger :)
 
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