Feeding hay from the floor vs from a net

[moana]

These days I will never use a haynet except in the horsebox whilst traveling. Floor outweighs pro's to con's for me.

 

[NeedNewHorse]

Yep, agree with poster above... Always floor for the following reasons;
1) uneven teeth wear when not eating from floor
2) dust particles etc are not as easily pushed back down nasal passage when head up
3) the effort & muscle development of snatching food from haynet plus it's often very 'one' sided...plus pressure on backs.
4) whilst not massively dangerous to be fair I have seen quite a few horses with legs / feet caught in haynets!

Floor, yes it's not exactly perfect for example the hay is eaten by the mouthful which for a good doer is not the most ideal but the pros out weigh the cons..

Oh I also saw in one of the free mags a trickle net type thing but it goes on the floor. It's made by a equine massage therapist. It looked brilliant actually, but I remember the posts on the trickle net pricing being opposed at £30 - this retails at £57.99 so I'm not sure it would be possible for everyone at that price but I think in theory it's brilliant - I suppose a haybar is not different just looks more substantial - ill try and find the site in case anyone is interested

 

[JenJ]

Yep, agree with poster above... Always floor for the following reasons;
1) uneven teeth wear when not eating from floor
2) dust particles etc are not as easily pushed back down nasal passage when head up
3) the effort & muscle development of snatching food from haynet plus it's often very 'one' sided...plus pressure on backs.
4) whilst not massively dangerous to be fair I have seen quite a few horses with legs / feet caught in haynets!

Floor, yes it's not exactly perfect for example the hay is eaten by the mouthful which for a good doer is not the most ideal but the pros out weigh the cons..

Oh I also saw in one of the free mags a trickle net type thing but it goes on the floor. It's made by a equine massage therapist. It looked brilliant actually, but I remember the posts on the trickle net pricing being opposed at £30 - this retails at £57.99 so I'm not sure it would be possible for everyone at that price but I think in theory it's brilliant - I suppose a haybar is not different just looks more substantial - ill try and find the site in case anyone is interested

Yes please. Maybe not to buy at that price (!), but curious about how they designed it to be safe.

 

[Cortez]

Nets or racks or floor; all have pros and cons. Speaking with my EDT, he rubbishes the uneven teeth thing, and i have fed many a magnificently muscled, crested necked horse from a haynet so I don't think that is a valid quibble either. Dangerous? Just tie them up properly. I'm sure they prefer the hay on the floor, but I can't afford to waste hay so they can just get on with the racks or nets.

 

[horseandshoes77]

Ours eat from haybar/floor and the fatties have added oat straw chaff, so that they are not standing in for hours with nothing to eat.

My first RI would never have haynets on her yard as she had seen apony hang itself in haynet, when she was a child and couldn't do anything about it. She instilled that unsafety into all her pupils

iv also seen a pony kicked so hard in the head it was pts...there is always one exeption to the rule but this will frighten some people from using nets when its just a one in a million scenario....

I have one fatty who has a net... one not so good doer who has hay on floor and a net

 

[dalidaydream]

also read a study about the actual act of grazing with head down is a stress buster for horses. not sure how true but makes sense to me .

This makes perfect sense to me - just watching my pony he is really chilled out eating from the ground and he was really stressed eating from a net.

 

[ozpoz]

I feed on the floor and only use nets when travelling. I think accidents with nets are much more frequent than most people imagine, and I find my horses are more content and relaxed eating in their natural position.
They are on clean straw, and there isn't any wastage.

 

[MrsNorris]

Used to feed my fatty triple-netted in an effort to slow him down, but after another thread about haynets on here, started to feed from the floor.
Wasn't really expecting it to work, but horse became less frantic and actually slowed down his eating a lot within a few days!

He is much happier, haylage lasts longer and he hovers up every strand, so it works very well for us.

 

[NeedNewHorse]

Yes, I agree with that too.. Ie the stres and amount eaten! I've got a fairly good doer, but use adlib hay and find she doesn't scoff actually at all. The link is: www.equineiridology.uk.com

Think it's a good idea. I don't have the messy problem as have a fairly large stable so straw and (mats too) are on top of each other, so no real wastage, but it would be worth getting say to compliment hay on the floor if horse scoffed that quick do they had something to pick at throughout the night.

 

[Casey76]

Thanks everyone, it's interesting to hear yours experiences.

My youngster is fed from the floor, but is a bit of a gannet and can hoover up a substantial pile in short order.

I have found thought that he does self-regulate if given enough hay, and will stand or snooze without finishing the hay then go back later.

 

[PolarSkye]

I actually do both. A haybar is pointless b/c he just turfs all the forage out of it and then eats it from the floor. What I do is give him a huge tubtrug with hay that's been sprayed (as opposed to soaked - I'm not watching his weight) to dampen the dust and he empties that first and then eats it from the straw. He also gets a huge net (with small holes b/c he's greedy) and I've noticed that once he's spread the hay from the trug around his stable, he alternates between the net and the hay on the floor . . . this way he spends some time with his head on the floor, foraging through his straw bed to winkle out the hay he has dropped/buried - and some time just scoffing from his net.

I don't want to leave his entire ration on the floor b/c he will either scoff it all early or end up pooing on some of it leading to wastage . . . and I don't want him to have all of his ration in a net b/c it is better for his health to eat off the floor, so this seems like a decent compromise.

Willing to stand corrected though .

P

 

[Bex_X]

Have been feeding both my boys from large tub trucks for the past 8months after i got fed up of them chewing through there haynets ( the welsh chewed a hole so big i came down the next morning to find him wearing it like a hat plus the oldie seemed to be having a bit of a issue with it.the oldie was fine with it seemed happy and started moving the bucket on to his bed haha the welshie on the other hand drove me mad used to empty all his hay out of the bucket and then put both his front feet in it and just stand there ... (he has some issues) i was also worrried as he can eat a large haynet in seconds but its after a few months i wouldnt swap back to haynet both seem happier eating that way im using less hay as the welshie doesnt bolt his haydown hes just happy to graze on it he no longer empties it on the floor His muscles on his neck have also changed and he looks so much better (however this is mostly down to his schooling ect but still it must have helped)

 

[Mithras]

Always from the floor, except in the horsebox (obviously!). I hate filling haynets, but more importantly, 3 times one of my horses has got a leg trapped in one. Fortunately they didn't panic, but it can't be good for them standing with one leg stuck in a haynet waiting for me to turn up to free them. They just seem like an unnecessary danger. If they spread it in their bedding, then its their own fault, and they have to learn how to maximise their food resource (although none of mine do, they seem to segregate their stables into feed zones, poo zones and sleeping zones. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Also, some recent batches of hay have been very "seedy" and all that has been left on the floor when they hay is eaten, whereas if eating from a haynet, it would have fallen in their eyes, nostrils, etc..

 

[PolarSkye]

If they spread it in their bedding, then its their own fault, and they have to learn how to maximise their food resource (although none of mine do, they seem to segregate their stables into feed zones, poo zones and sleeping zones. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Lucky? I should say so. Please may I borrow one of yours to teach these essential life skills to my very messy boy? .

P

 

[dalidaydream]

Used to feed my fatty triple-netted in an effort to slow him down, but after another thread about haynets on here, started to feed from the floor.
Wasn't really expecting it to work, but horse became less frantic and actually slowed down his eating a lot within a few days!

He is much happier, haylage lasts longer and he hovers up every strand, so it works very well for us.

I'm so glad my pony's not a freak . I have so much trouble convincing people - they just can't believe that he would eat slower off the floor than quadruple netted.