Hay - how to stop wastage?

[only_me]

My horse lives in a yard and gets his hay hung up in a giant Haynes on the outside wall of his stable. This is fine but the ring is high as the net is huge so he is eating at a higher height than normal.

He used to get the hay just on the floor, but he just spread it all over yard and trampled in it so had to have it back in the net.

Obviously I would rather he ate it off the floor but can't afford for him to waste any. He eats around a bale a day (and still isn't fat!) so would prefer it from the ground.

What I really want is something like this
http://thenaturalfeeder.com/Home_Page.php but in the uk - do you think this would be an easy enough design to make from wood?
A Hay bar won't work as the wall is straight where the hay goes

Ay other ideas?

 

[Beausmate]

Wood, or a heavy-duty plastic chest?

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Why not knock to gether a hay box that can be bolted to the wall. I made one for my field and I can fit a full square bale or 3 large wheel barrows of loose hay in it

I got three pallets, one for the base and cut the other two in half and nailed them with upright wooden struts to the base pallet and voila hay box

 

[coffeeandabagel]

A friend at my yard has built her own wooden box with a heavy metal grid on top that sits on the hay and sinks as the hay get eaten. There are pictures and instructions on the web of how to make them if you google slow feeder.

They work fine for her horse but dont know if it would hold enough for my piggy - depends on how much room you have in your stable for it and how big it could be. She is currently working on a corner one.

Also look at Paddock Paradise style sites

 

[coffeeandabagel]

Think I have also seen wheelie bins used in fields - with a hole at the bottom for the horse to eat from. Not pretty though and needs securing to the wall

 

[Flicker51]

as long as you are not restricting it - ie ad lib - why not put it in a large plastic trug in the stable. All ours have this and i find they dont pig out as they know there is always plenty

 

[coffeeandabagel]

Mine still throws it all around if its in a trug, or similar - very wasteful

 

[RutlandH2O]

Go to YouTube and search for steksinoly. He has 2 short videos that you might find helpful. One is called Slow Grazer Loading.mpg. After you've watched that, go to steksinoly Slow Grazer cam. We've just made 2 slow feeders. One is 5 feet long, and the other is 4 feet long. The grid that is placed over the hay to slow down the horses' rate of feeding, is called gridwall. I bought mine on eBay. They come 4',5',6',7' and 8'. They are all 2' wide. The one in the video is black, mine are chrome-colour. The holes are all 3". They are, by far, the best hay feeders I've ever used! There is no waste, it is easy to fill, my horses and donkeys took to it immediately. The gridwall just lies on the hay and, as the animals eat, it goes down with the hay. The horses cannot remove the gridwall because the top frame holds it in place. You'll understand what I'm describing once you see the videos. The horses' heads are down which is the best position for them when they are eating. I'll happily take some photos of mine and post them on here, if that would help.

 

[only_me]

I don't mind how much he eats, the more the better (he always looks empty at this time of year even with ad lib and condition feeds) its just the wastage that can't happen!
Might try a haynet tied inside a half barrel for now

 

[Funkyfilly024]

They were advertising something similar to this on Horse & Hound Facebook a while ago, called a Hay Hutch, also a giant pink box one called a Haycube I think

 

[YorksG]

I do like the look of the natural feeder, I would be wary of a wooden one, as I think that it would be too easy for there to be sharp edges and corners, where as the moulded plastic is safer. I am trying to work out how to continue to not use nets (hate the things except for travelling) while regulating the girls intake to ensure we keep the weight going down

 

[RutlandH2O]

I do like the look of the natural feeder, I would be wary of a wooden one, as I think that it would be too easy for there to be sharp edges and corners, where as the moulded plastic is safer. I am trying to work out how to continue to not use nets (hate the things except for travelling) while regulating the girls intake to ensure we keep the weight going down

The wood feeders that we made have rounded corners and edges. We added flat and angle irons to all the corners and top frame because my donkeys are actually termites on steroids!

One of the commercial moulded plastic feeders was hugely expensive but only held about a third of a small bale, if that. My fear with that one was the very real possibility of the horses cracking the plastic.

 

[3Beasties]

Mine have got haynets tied inside there haybars, it's doing a fab job of stopping any wastage (TB was emptying a haybar completely and trampling it all round his stable).

Can get piccys tomorrow if they'd be any use?

 

[Adopter]

I have put up metal hay racks in each stable and they have worked well this winter and saved wasting hay. We did not put them up too high I did not want ponies stretching to them, they seem to prefer their hay in the rack to nets. The racks cost a lot less than hay bars.

I also put hay straight on the ground in the paddock and they do not waste any, but I have been trying to give the right amount for their size so as not to overfeed.

 

[only_me]

Can't use a hay bar as the wall is Straight where hay goes

Hay hutch won't stop wastage as much I don't think, looked at them but they are also pretty expensive!

 

[Funkyfilly024]

I thought the cubes didn't look bad for £90, look great for if your needing to soak hay

 

[only_me]

Oh the hay cubes look pretty good, thanks

 

[Puppy]

Why not knock to gether a hay box that can be bolted to the wall. I made one for my field and I can fit a full square bale or 3 large wheel barrows of loose hay in it

I got three pallets, one for the base and cut the other two in half and nailed them with upright wooden struts to the base pallet and voila hay box

I don't think I'd like to be putting pallets and nails in with my horses!

O_M, I use hayhutches. I know that they are pricey, but they don't wear at all, so are a good investment. Mine have a medium sized one each, which will take an entire small bale of hay. I do find it reduces how much they waste.

 

[Polos Mum]

OP how big is your stable? If it's a fair size you could consider one of those large plastic veg packing boxes that you often see people using to feed hay in the field. They comfortably take a bale.

I built my own 'hay bar' as mine has 3/4 of a bale at night and the bought ones didn't fit that much in without it being too easy to pull out over the floor. We used spare replacement plastic planks from Monarch internal stables they are super strong and designed for the 'wear and tear' our lovelies can throw at them!!

 

[Suffolkangel]

I used a large metal water trough for mine... (the trough leaks so needed a new job... lol) It worked a treat.

 

[Noodlebug]

I have a plasters bath as a water trough I am going to see if that works as a hay feeder!! My mare throws it everywhere in the field.

 

[only_me]

Well it wouldn't be in a stable would be in a yard, which is about 20x30ft

Problem with wood is that he might play with it, and pull it apart!

 

[Polos Mum]

In a yard definitely look at the large plastic veg packing crates the bale sits at the bottom so he won't pull it out over the top, I also really like the leaking water tough idea - perfectly horse safe and just the right size for a bale on it's side.

 

[heebiejeebies]

Mine have got haynets tied inside there haybars, it's doing a fab job of stopping any wastage (TB was emptying a haybar completely and trampling it all round his stable).

Can get piccys tomorrow if they'd be any use?

This may well be the most amazing thing I've ever heard!!

Unfortunately my stable walls are concrete and I wouldn't be allowed to bolt anything to them, so I think I'm going to save up for a hay cube as I'm desperate to stop using nets as well, and if he gets hay on the floor he drags it through his bed, pees on it then won't eat it

 

[Alexart]

Mine are the same and drag all the hay/haylage out of the wall mounted hay racks I used to use, and then poop on it! Forget haynets as mine would need about 5 each animal a night to keep them happy so I would be forever filling them! I now use the big round bale feeders on the floor and just have half in each stable bolted to the wall, although if you can't bolt anything to the wall 1/2 a big galvanised one is heavy enough to stay put on its own, it just helps keep all the food in one spot, you can fit a good 3 or more of those little bales in one and they can't chew them!