Hay nets and hooves !

[Llwyncwn]

Just spent 10 full minutes detaching a horses upper leg from his empty haynet. Fortunately he didnt struggle, but the owner had tied it with the knot at the end of the string and had put the end loop back through the knot, which is why it was such a struggle.
Would be interested to know how everyone ties their nets, if you use them.

 

[miamibear]

I admit i tie mine like this, because i have known horses pull the loose end and get the hay net down and stand on it.

I intended buying some clips to attatch, easier and probably a lot safer, in fact i may pop round to the hardware store today!

xx

 

[piaffe]

I dont use haynets. Well, thats a lie, I do when we are travelling, but otherwise I don't.

We have a hay rack but i don't use that either. I prefer to put it on the floor as I feel it is a much more natural way of feeding.

Have also seen some nasty accidents involving nets, another reason i don't use them

 

[threeponies]

I always have the knot at the top of the haynet, never on the loose string for tying up just in case it got caught in an emergency. I will admit to being paranoid about this, although none of my ponies have ever been caught up, my friend's welshie was and had laminitis as a result. I do re-tie other people's nets if the knot is in the 'wrong' place.

 

[wizzi901]

use haynets for 2 of the 3! - take them up tight and pull rope through bottom of net and back up very tight, then turn it over so knot is at back of haynet, never had any probs...

 

[Sparklet]

I hate the knot at the end of the string, my helpful hubby does them that way sometimes and you can never get them down. I like the knot against one side of the net with a clean loop for tying.

 

[Patricksmum]

Always feed on the floor - also helps their breathing as mucus drains down (uueeugh!!)
Helps keep back muscles nice & relaxed & is normal grazing position!

 

[piaffe]

[ QUOTE ]
Always feed on the floor - also helps their breathing as mucus drains down (uueeugh!!)
Helps keep back muscles nice & relaxed & is normal grazing position!

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, exacltly thee reason why I feed from the floor.

 

[BenjaminBunny]

I do the same as Marsden

Having done my BHS stage 1 - you get taught the correct and safe way to tie haynets (don't laugh) i've never had a problem - the idea is if the horse gets stuck the net will release quickly and there won't be any incidents where horse is attached to haynet that wont come off the wall

 

[miller]

Always have knot at haynet end rather than loop so easier to get undone and always tie to some standard string (like you tie round a roast) as baler twine need a fair bit of force to break it and it frays

 

[nomini]

I am guilty of tying mine with a quick release knot and then tucking end back in. Alisha has her hay on the floor, but Jiggy has his in a net or he just spreads it round the stable!

 

[hollyzippo]

I use old lead rein clips, I clip the string onto the ring at the bottom- never had a problem and saves lots of time! Also means I can trust BF to put hay net up without having a full blown tangle to untie in the morning!!

 

[CBFan]

I Feed off the floor for health as well as safety reasons but if I ever have to hang a haynet (when looking after others) the knot is allways at the haynet end. The loop is threaded through the bottom of the haynet and pulled back as tight as possible and then quick-release-knotted and the end of the loop threaded back through the knot loop and back under the squares of the haynet so that there is no loop hanging down. Also allways tie at the back of the net.,

I hate hate hate to see haynets hung low and loose - so dangerous - even for the most docile horse.

Also prefer to use small holed nets rather than the traditional larger holed variety.

 

[Chex]

I don't use haynets anymore, but when I did I had the knot at the end of the rope, but it was a really long string so the knot wasn't difficult to get through the loop (rubbish explanation lol). Mine got his hoof stuck once when I was picking out his feet, he threw his front hoof forward and somehow got it stuck in the net.

 

[Happytohack]

Now use haybars rather than haynets - much safer and easier. One horse is frightened of his haybar (don't ask - he's 17.3 and a woss!), so he has his hay off the floor.

 

[k9h]

Used them as have rubber matting in stables. Always make sure the knot is in the rings so string is clean to tie. Then I double it back & forth till it is high. Had one mare that use to put her hoof through it on a night & then she would swing her leg so that her hoof banged against the wooden partion (internal stables) I lived up stairs above so would wake me & I would come down to see her grinning (Yes this horse could grin!) at me as she had got attention. After untagling her I chucked her hay on the floor & took haynet out. Went back up to bed half an hour later could hear theis rattling noise like the ghost of scrouge's chains! (very apt!) & so go back down stairs & she was running her teeth up & down the chain across the door!!! Chain off door slammed shut! Grin dissapeared!!
I got peaceful nights sleep Oh but on 3 hrs till I need to be up anyway!.
Loved that mare to bits she was such a sweety & georgeous girl. Remember finding work experiance lass asleep in her stabled curled up in her legs in ballgown after Hunt Ball when she came back pissed & couldnt make it up the stairs into my flat!!! Hannah never moved even when feeding the other horses she waited till Lightning was out the way

 

[Forget_Me_Not]

I tie a knot like a would a horse... then again and push the end in.... easy to undo but tight.... alway use tiny holed nets ne ho so no hoovies going to get caught.

 

[JessPickle]

I always loop through the bottom of the haynet then pull it back up and tie it in a quick release not then turn it so the knot is facing the wall. Alklthough most the time I cant be bothered to fill up a haynet so he gets it on the floor

 

[S_N]

IF I use a haynet, I tie it with the knot up near the rings of the haynet - not on the excess rope. I put the rope through the ring and pull the haynet up as high as possible, put the rope through TWO string bits on the net itself, then back up to the ring and through it and back to the net and again through TWO of the string bits before tieing with a quick release, but I put the end through the loop and then turn that back to the wall! And yes I do believe that could be a record for a sentence

 

[Governor]

I'm convinced Governor's neck muscle has improved since I gave up with haynets.

Definately safer at the least.

 

[fizz-tally]

i use haylage nets, i would feed jay from the floor as he is on rubber mats with a full straw bed but fizz is on shaving & only 11.1hh & needs to eat her hay slowly.
i do quick release on clips & the knots always on the haynet part of the string,not the bit i use to tie

 

[Broodle]

I have always looped the string through the bottom of the net, pulled it tight, and tied near the ring. Would always personally tie to the ring itself rather than string as imho it is less risky to have a horse standing with one leg caught than charging around with a haynet to get tangled up in.

Agree with others though that no haynet is definitely preferable... My old pony managed to get one of the ropes of a small-holed net stuck between hoof and shoe... they are never risk-free!!

 

[the watcher]

[ QUOTE ]
use haynets for 2 of the 3! - take them up tight and pull rope through bottom of net and back up very tight, then turn it over so knot is at back of haynet, never had any probs...

[/ QUOTE ]
IF I use a haynet I do this too, but I feed from the floor by choice

 

[TLL67]

Don't use haynets, Ben has a haybar. Before i bought it, he had his hay from the floor.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

I have a Haybar - Thus not a problem

 

[Llwyncwn]

Well thank you everyone (particularly Huntress and the Ghost of Scrooge!) Threads all made very interesting reading.

 

[Bert&Maud]

Another reason for feeding off the floor is that the teeth are positioned to graze from the floor and if you feed from a net you encourage uneven wear because of the angle that the jaw works at. I have fed from the floor for many years for all of the reasons quoted in the other threads. It's only wasteful if you give them too much, they normally clean up any leftovers which also mirrors foraging when grazing.

 

[SpruceRI]

I feed off the floor or in a hay rack in the field.

Once, my shettie got loose in the trailer and managed to get a foreleg caught in the hay net hanging at the front. We were on our way to the vets for his vacs. At the time he had a hug wart on his nose, which in his tribulations he'd knocked the head off, so was bleeding all over the place.

If Dad and I had been carrying a knife we would've cut the blimin' haynet down but we didn't. So poor Dad had to try and lift the weighty boy up while I extricated his leg whilst trying to avoid the bloodied nose. He was about this size at the time so we did manage it:

IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f191/jumpasaurus/Inkapics004.jpg[/IMG]

 

[SpruceRI]

I feed off the floor or in a hay rack in the field.

Once, my shettie got loose in the trailer and managed to get a foreleg caught in the hay net hanging at the front. We were on our way to the vets for his vacs. At the time he had a hug wart on his nose, which in his tribulations he'd knocked the head off, so was bleeding all over the place.

If Dad and I had been carrying a knife we would've cut the blimin' haynet down but we didn't. So poor Dad had to try and lift the weighty boy up while I extricated his leg whilst trying to avoid the bloodied nose. He was about this size at the time so we did manage it:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f191/jumpasaurus/Inkapics004.jpg

 

[EMZ]

dont like nets working at a large yard last year we had nets and in that time have seen a number of horses that have their legs stuck and even one who caught it in his mouth and pulled back and dislocated his jaw. Also this time of year it is better for a horse to eat with his head down to drain muscus ect and also helps build up neck muscles.