Does anyone feed soaked hay in a haybar?

[Velcrobum]

As per title has anyone any experience of this? I have a hay bar but am concerned about the effect of dampness from the hay on the wooden walls of my stables. I have tried feeding hay on the floor of the stable but horse then treats it like bedding. Have found a haybar to be a good solution to feeding with head down close to the floor.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I did yes. It didn’t work for me. I had a horse size one and a 16hh TB so figured correct.
Also had it on wooden walls, so a very similar situ.
The horse never ate to the bottom and I couldn’t clean the bottom. Wet hay doesn’t fall through. I couldn’t put it any higher as it was already too high for us both to reach the bottom.
I did chuck it out daily with a fork but it didn’t really work. When I removed it the lower walls were black behind it.

 

[rextherobber]

Can you line the wall with stable matting, or paint with a sealant?

 

[poiuytrewq]

Mattings a good idea!

 

[Sprogladite01]

My mare has a DIY hay bar which I can remove/slide the front panel out, so I can clean out any wet remnants of soaked hay without too much difficulty. Works quite well but she occasionally breaks the panel and we have to make a new one, although the last one lasted around 4 years or so.

Edit to add - she also has rubber matting down on the floor and walls too which is definitely easier! She does however make an unholy mess without the hay bar, hence why we made it

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

As per title has anyone any experience of this? I have a hay bar but am concerned about the effect of dampness from the hay on the wooden walls of my stables. I have tried feeding hay on the floor of the stable but horse then treats it like bedding. Have found a haybar to be a good solution to feeding with head down close to the floor.

I gave up soaked hay years ago.

1. time consuming
2. horrid doing it when minus degrees and frozen taps
3. waste of water when on a meter.
4. lots wasted hay, if they don't eat it
5. makes muck hill unmanageable when hay is in it
6. makes muck removal more often.
7. heavy nets

Haylage all the way here

 

[HappyHollyDays]

The large blue or green cattle lick holders are the perfect size for placing in a hay bar. You can either drill drainage holes in the bottom or just allow the residual water to collect, either way they work well and don’t move once placed in the hay bar.

 

[spoo]

I feed soaked hay in a hay bar in a stable with wooden walls. I soak the hay in a net and empty the net into the haybar. Ive recently had to remove the haybar because it was cracked after it being up for 13years. There is no damage to the walls at all from the wet hay, but the hay is left to drain for a while before being emptied in.

 

[Esmae]

Line the back walls with stokboard. Excellent for that kind of thing and scrubbable.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Line the back walls with stokboard. Excellent for that kind of thing and scrubbable.

Problem being, well it was for me that you can’t get to the bottom to clean it once it’s screwed into place.
I used to be kind of hanging over head first trying to get it clean

 

[Esmae]

Problem being, well it was for me that you can’t get to the bottom to clean it once it’s screwed into place.
I used to be kind of hanging over head first trying to get it clean

When I had haybars I fixed them just over the height of the head of a broom so that I could use the handle to shove any left over hay onto the floor and then sweep out from underneath. If that is still too high then shove with handle and use a hand brush to sweep out from underneath. So that you can scrub out if needed. Cut down a broom handle, drill 2 holes in one end and bolt 2 cheap scrubbing brushes back to back on the broom handle, then scrub away. We made the brush not for this purpose but for a fertiliser spinner to clean it after use. About the same dimensions as a haybar so would work.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

I feed from a home made Stubbs munch station type and it works well. I can clean out between the bars with a hand brush.

The wood is sealed so the water isn’t an issue.

 

[poiuytrewq]

When I had haybars I fixed them just over the height of the head of a broom so that I could use the handle to shove any left over hay onto the floor and then sweep out from underneath. If that is still too high then shove with handle and use a hand brush to sweep out from underneath. So that you can scrub out if needed. Cut down a broom handle, drill 2 holes in one end and bolt 2 cheap scrubbing brushes back to back on the broom handle, then scrub away. We made the brush not for this purpose but for a fertiliser spinner to clean it after use. About the same dimensions as a haybar so would work.

Mine was in the back corner as the door is one front and the other didn’t have uprights behind the kick board so it was in bedding but yes that may have worked better.