Do you weigh your haynets or just judge by eye?

Used to weigh, but now know approximate weights according to the haynet being used. I weigh again if using a new net. If I am not sure then I weigh - like if I have a particularly dense, heavy bale that when fluffed really doesn't look right. I have also found that stuffing leaves of hay in seems to get more in, than if fluffed out (particularly the shires huge nets) so will weigh then.
 
I never used to weigh but two of mine are on drastic diets because both were off work for a couple of months and became obese. I then started weighing and it was surprising how much variance there is between "eye" and the actual weight. My horses get 1.5% of their ideal body weight per day - I have to vary how much feed/hay they get depending on how much grazing/quality of grazing they are on. Both of the fatties have soaked hay and there is usually enough for them to have a tiny bit left over every morning.

My ex-racer is on ad lib but he also gets a large trug of hi-fi lite every nght as he doesnt really eat loads of hay but will eat anything in a bucket.
 
Occaissionally I weigh nets if I'm upping or downing the quantity just to get the feel of them but usually then I'm pretty accurate as to what a net weighs by eye.
 
I just stuff 'em full until they're nearly too heavy to carry . . . but Kal isn't a particularly good do-er, nor is he greedy, so he either eats it all or he doesn't.

If I had to monitor his weight, I'd be weighing it.

P
 
I've never weighed my hay although I would if it was necessary to watch their weight. I used to weigh my haylage but even that is just fed adlib now for my oldie - need to keep as much weight on her as possible.
 
Did weight them last winter, but it was too much of a faff, so if I lift the net up and it feels heavy enough, that'll do :)
 
We have 40+ horses here and all their nets are weighed. We have a chart in the hay barn and it gets updated every week. It means that whoever fills the nets (which are have name tags) they get the right amount.

Most of them have ad lib hay but even then it's still weighed because we've worked out an amount where there's a small bit left over in the morning. If we didn't insist on the staff weighing them we'd have some horses wasting hay and others running out and waking me up in the night banging the door.

My 14.3hh Connie currently has 6lbs before he goes out in the morning and then 18lbs overnight.
 
I fill a barrow with hay and chuck it on the stable floor 2 or 3 times a day. Filling insubordinate haynets is far too time consuming.
 
Foxy O said:
How much do you feed your horses then. Mine are currently in 24/7 and I get through 6/7 bales of hay/haylage a week for a 17.2hh and an 11.2hh. Is that normal? My OH thinks I feed them to much
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I get through nearly a full bale of hay a day just for my 16.1hh.. Not fair :(
 
Billy gets as much as he will eat! At present he is out in day and in his yard at night and eats roughly 4 slices of hay from his feeder. Any more and it gets trampled :rolleyes3:

But if he was in 24/7 he could easily eat a bale a day and he is 17h. He isn't a fat horse though, usually he drops weight now but have to say on his new diet (low starch mix half scoop morninh and night, carron oil in night feed and selenium) he looks fantastic! Even YO commenting on how good he looks.
 
I've not read the whole of this thread so someone may already have mentioned that restricting forage is the quickest way to cause ulcers. Ad lib is a must for all horses to stay healthy.
 
By eye, I'm not sure how I'd measure haynets anyway, bathroom scales? I just put slices in and if they're thicker or thinner or whatever I tend to just err on the side of more for the one that can have it and less for the one who can't, they're both out 24/7 anyway.

Obviously I don't really need to use haynets anyway but I like to make it last and avoid the mud a bit :-)
 
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When you have to feed 40 horses who are stabled, 3 times a day by your self.. You learn pretty quickly how much each horse should get.. If there two fat you give less if there to skinny give them more no logic.. :-) Worked in a yard before where they insisted on haynets being weighed with a scaled there was about 30 horses in this yard. After we filled the haynet and weighed them the manager used to come and weigh them to make sure we were doing it right.. We spent hours every day in the hay barn messying around with nets.. the only time I use haynets at home is for travelling and its packed.
 
No Boyo gets 2 nets a night, tipped onto floor after using nets to 'measure' and carry. He is on haylage though so would have thought it a bit pointless weighing, as the moisture content varies even within the same big bale. If he was on hay I would probably weigh.
 
Judge by the feel of the weight of it. Mine are all on ad-lib hay/haylage anyway so correct weight isn't important - I just aim to give them enough so that they don't run out!
 
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