Hay Hutch: Are they worth it? Is there a cheaper alternative?

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Puppy

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My horses are out 24/7, and in winter the bulk of their diet is ab lib good quality haylage. For the sake of saving wastage and preserving my paddocks, I was thinking about investing in a hay hutch.

Does anyone have one, and think they are worth the cost?

Can the horses actually eat all that's in there - I'm concerned my piggy pony would get her head stuck trying to eat what's in the very bottom of it
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Anyone know of an amazingly cheaper alternative?
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Thanks in advance.
 
I am planning on using a large tractor tyre this year. Laid on the ground, hopefully keeps the hay inside, not spread around the paddock and is movable for when the area gets too muddy. Won't keep it dry etc but that's er... tough!
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I would like to know the answer to this as well as i am considering getting one!

I used to use a large plastic tub which was corkscrewed to the ground, and then i tied haynets onto the ends of the corkscrews so my horses couldn't pull them out. It worked brilliantly.....until, for reasons unknown to me, my YO decided to pull them out!!!!
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= V cross dottie!!!
 
I made my own a while ago. I used an old palet and nailed (very carfully) 3 sides to it and placed that out worked wonders as my horse had the shelter from the sides and used them to brake the hay on when he got his mouth too full.
 
I am thinking of trying a tractor tyre this year as a simple way to feed hay. They're movable (ish) and horses should be able to feed from either side, meaning they can shift their bums to wherever the wind is.

Don't like the look of those pillows, they just look like hoof jewelry to me, my horse would certainly be wearing one within a day
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Yes, I don't think that I like the look of the pillows, I can guarantee Be would trash them and maybe get them caught round her legs which I don't fancy risking.

The wooden hay feeders look much better. Although I don't really fancy my DIY skills
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I use a round sheep feeder for mine - the bars are too close together for most horses to get their heads through, four of them fit around it with no problems. It comes apart so it's fairly light to move although usually just put it on it's side and roll it to a non-muddy bit. It wouldn't be good for smaller ponies, but anything over about 14hh it's great.
 
I got my local friendly farmer to bring me 3 huge tractor tyres last year. Although the winter was quite dry,compared with normal, they did help alot. The hay stayed mainly in them,and although the ground got poached around them, it wasn't as bad as normal, and it kept the poaching more confined than when I fed hay off the ground.
I don;t think the getting wet was an issue, as we steam our hay anyway!!
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This is my problem too Puppy...I have a crib biter and a sweet itch sufferer...anything will just become a scratching post and a chew stick
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I used round bales a little last year but mine just trod all over it and pooed on it...probably wasted a third of it. The only way it worked was with some electric rope (not on..lol) in front so it was outside the field and they just reached across and couldn't trash it...
Tia, I think it was, made some corner ones...just a few of planks across a corner..big enough to fit a bale into .
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The only problem with feeding in one place is that unless it is on hardstanding the ground around gets horribly boggy
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unless it's frozen solid like mine of course
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I just whacked four posts into the ground (could use more) nailed planks around it to a height of about 18" and put the hay in there. They still pull some out but there is nothing like the wastage you get from loose hay or round bales. My foals actually use the feeder as a nest, I have often found a baby playing king of the castle IN the feeder too. It does no harm and there are no bars to worry about. I suspect a canny shetland would get in something like this too.
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I am seriously anti the metal hay feeders with bars although many people use them with no incidences at all. The hay hutchs (like a corner feeder?) have angled bases so that the hay does fall to the front so that the horse can get it.

I also use wooden crates that are about 3'x 3' x3' for feeders, easy to get hold of here as the squash farmers have hundreds of them and I can pick them up for $5 a time, although I am sure that they could be built easily enough. If you mount them on skids they are easy enough to move around with a quad etc.
 
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