Hay Bars over haynets

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Stenners

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Does anyone use a haybar instead of a haynet? I know there is always so much discussion in feeding horses from the floor and not in haynet but my horse never ever seems to finish a haynet - some morning 3/4's of his net is still left but he's eaten his hay ball and anything that was left on the floor. He can be lazy with a haynet and find its hard to get the hay out so doesn't bother (he hasn't got the massive holes in his net - I guess they are fairly small. Just wondering if I should try a hay bar - if I just put it on the floor he makes a right mess and walks it all round his bed!
 
I don’t ever use a hay net except when travelling, I believe they should eat from the floor and also the repetitive action of pulling hay out is probably not one that does them good. I have big hay boxes in the stables although mostly they eat in the field, also from boxes to minimise waste. Hay bars look good but I went for a cheaper option.
 
Yes, we have a hay bar. It was an essential when my granddaughter’s new 14.2 kept managing to get the front of his rug caught in the haynet. First of all we bought him a new rug with a special fastening at the front supposedly just for this problem. Nope! Still got hung up, so a hay bar it was and it’s a terrific success. The only problem with it at all is the odd hen that will pop in to lay an egg! 😁🐴🐓
 
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Yes, love our haybar as you can really fill it up and it means your horse is never without! We get some mess but rather that than not eating enough. My other horse is a bit more greedy so I put a haynet in his bay bar, that stops the mess and keeps him happy. Whatever he doesn't finish gets emptied into the haybar, so he always has 'spare' hay to eat while I take the haynet away to re-fill
 
Amber has one, first thing she does it pull all the hay out onto the floor, thankfully she then eats it all by morning; rather than just walking it around her box and wasting it.
 
I agree that I don't like horses eating out of nets all the time and I find that they tend to make too much of a mess with it just on the floor and I find a haybar a good solution. I make my own out of corners of a builders bag and find they work just as well.

Eta haybars are also much much quicker to fill than a haynet too.
 
I only use nets in the lorry or if bathing and they'll be tied for a while.

My friend uses small hole nets in hay bars to save waste. it also means she is able to 'hang' the nets lower. It works for her.
 
I have a home made one - as I found the bought ones too small and with the shape too tempting to pull all the hay out and then poo / trample all over it.
I used some spare horse safe plastic planks from Monarch internal stables that slide in and out to allow easy cleaning. there is just a small wooden bar screwed to the wall.
 
much more expensive option but an eazigrazer or haycube may work too, they come with grids that drop down as they eat so it slows them down.

i often feed lily on the floor, but she’s such a menace she paws it all across the stable and into her bed, and then obviously can’t eat it🙄
 
Haybars are good, and you can pick them up on Facebook Marketplace for a fraction of their new price. The hirse sized one holds enough so that my greedy ID still has some left in the morning.
 
You could try a haynet with the largest holes you can get. Perhaps he finds it it too difficult with the tiny holes and if hes not a greedy type may just give up x
 
In my experience it very much depends on the horse. Some are quite happy to eat from it and it really reduces the mess while others still pull the hay out and drop it through their bed. One horse we had would systematically take all his hay out and place in round his stable before he would start to eat any of it. Quite a few on my yard now have a tie up ring on the wall inside the haybar and a haynet gets tied low down so they are still stretching down to it but can't waste so much, it also works well for the greedy ones if a small holed net is used.
 
Other side, I really dislike them.
I muck out for someone who uses them. All the horses drag the hay out and trample into their beds. You spend ages filtering it out, and I swear their muck heap is 90% hay. I'm not sure how much they actually get to eat.

Also, owner is not good about emptying the bottom, so it fills with the seeds that then go solid and stink. I clean them out as often as I can.
 
Polos Mum said:
I have a home made one - as I found the bought ones too small and with the shape too tempting to pull all the hay out and then poo / trample all over it.
I used some spare horse safe plastic planks from Monarch internal stables that slide in and out to allow easy cleaning. there is just a small wooden bar screwed to the wall.
Click to expand...
I'd love to see a photo of this. Was debating to buy a hay bar or do a diy project.
 
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Rigs has these. the feed from down low but the hay is dispensed as a slow feeder. They have a hopper inside to any hay left falls to the bottom and new hay put on top, but they eat from the bottom so there is no stale hay trap. Seeds fall straight out due to the hopper shape. I like that I can sweep underneath it.

We use it outside too as it has a waterproof lid. I can put hay out in the morning and it stays dry past when they come in. The morning field hay I out out the night before and it too stays dry until they come and pull it through to eat.

547376362_1127376286196334_24361134678682726_n.jpg
 
I recently bought one of the nosebagz feeders. They’re like a Haybar, but fabric and Velcro to tie rings on the walls. Makes it super easy to clean out the bottom so nothing gets stuck.

Haven’t had any issues with him pulling it into the bed particularly, not much more wastage than with a net (as he won’t usually eat it off the floor if it drops out of the net)

So far it’s holding up well, but only been up for about 2weeks. At least 3 other horses on the yard have them and they’ve been up for much longer and still look great!

Not the best photos but you get the idea!

IMG_3222.jpegIMG_3223.jpeg
 
I’m looking for something to stop the (rather huge) sheep and little but mobile goats from eating all of our hay. This looks like it might do the trick (although can’t be that high up as I don’t have huge horses and two are foals). What Are they called?
 
Kirstineridesagain said:
I’m looking for something to stop the (rather huge) sheep and little but mobile goats from eating all of our hay. This looks like it might do the trick (although can’t be that high up as I don’t have huge horses and two are foals). What Are they called?
Click to expand...

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www.nosebagz.co.uk

The ones that go onto tie rings I think goats and sheep might be able to eat some round the sides. They do various styles, some which are more enclosed on the sides, and sizes (mine is the large one I think)

I like them because if I move yards it’s easier to move than a haybar, easier to clean. Plus harder to break because not plastic!
 
Haybar or I also use a travel cot for hay, works well and collapsable if you want to take it anywhere/storage (t was free off facebook markeptplace)
 
iknowmyvalue said:

Loading…

www.nosebagz.co.uk

The ones that go onto tie rings I think goats and sheep might be able to eat some round the sides. They do various styles, some which are more enclosed on the sides, and sizes (mine is the large one I think)

I like them because if I move yards it’s easier to move than a haybar, easier to clean. Plus harder to break because not plastic!
Click to expand...
I have this as well. Really good, have had it for years and it is still intact. Takes up much less space than a hay bar, easy to install and move, safe because of the velcro and you an fit a lot of hay in there. It is open at the bottom so you can just sweep away the seeds that fall.
 
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