Hay soaking dilemma

C

CobsGalore

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 August 2012
Messages
2,298
Location
Buckinghamshire
Visit site
I have to soak my hay to reduce sugars, but after a drainage problem at the yard I now have to empty the water in a different place.

So tap is in one location, drainage spot in another, and stable in opposite direction to both. At the moment I am struggling to carry buckets of water over to soaking location, it's not close at all and the hose won't reach, and then lugging the haynet back to his stable.

I have thought of buying a large wheelbarrow that I could put under tap with hay in to fill up and then wheel to soaking location, but unless I buy a £150 one I don't think the hay would fit in, and I really can't afford to buy that right now.

Does anyone else have any wise ideas before I do my back in?

Thank you in advance
 
have same problem especially all that water needed to rinse afterwards, so I got a wheelie bin, drilled a hole and fitted a water butt tap at the bottom. Then went to market and bought one of those 100ft collaspable hose pipes. problem solved, a;though i don't rinse inside the bin, that would take too long
 
Get a big blue drum, attach some baker twine for a pull cord, and drag it to where you need it. Done this myself and it's actually a lot easier than it sounds
 
Too far to attach hoses together and not a straight line so would be tricky to pull out.

Like the idea of the wheelie bin, I could then wheel it to soaking location, and drain when needed. How easy is it to drill a hole and insert tap thing?
 
Buy a pull along garden trug. Mine was £19 at The Factory Shop, but lots of places do them. I put hay net in, fill up at tap and can then either wheel along to where I want to tip it out or tip straight away onto grass. Either way, you can then wheel it to the point of consumption without your legs getting soggy!

This thing... must be cheaper elsewhere if mine was 19 quid!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B007GD8O8E?pc_redir=1405155815&robot_redir=1
 
Last edited:
Hmmm I did spot a pull along gardening / trug type thing in a certain supermarket (Tesco) the other night. To be honest I wasn't paying much attention to it as I'd gone in for cranberry tablets for the dog but, from what I remember, it would be more than big enough for a haynet. Looked fairly sturdy too.

No idea of price though sorry.
 
Like the look of the trug, but once filled with haynet and water, would it not spill everywhere when you move it? Also, I currently use 75ltr bucket and this is only 40litres, do you find it is big enough for a haynet? (About 4kg)
 
I'd watch the wheelie bin idea if you need to drag it somewhere to drain. A wheelie bin filled with water is almost impossible to move. Old yard done it briefly to get water in fields but then it was only filled at half if at most and was difficult to move.
 
we just use black bins that are kept clamped to the walls with cycle ropes and we fill them up with water and just stick the hay in there and the horses eat out of them. But where we keep them there is good drainage so we can just tip the water out without moving them.
 
I currently use a large trug and tip water down drain which is next to tap, so no problem there. It is the lifting out and tying up a soggy haynet that I can't stand so have put a Haycube on my wish list, although at around £100 it may take a while to save up for one, but it does look a good idea to save the backbreaking bits.
 
I have an old bath that we fill and then I soak my hay in there in a haynet, luckily its next to an old shed so most of the time it fills with rain water which makes things easier.

Can I ask something else too please about the soaked hay dilemma? :-)

How do you all get your soaked hay into the field for your horses? Its ok at the moment as I can wheel something across the top field but I can't think of a way of getting it 200 yards across the field when its ankle deep in mud, the thought of haynet dripping down the back of my legs is not nice.
 
CobsGalore said:
Like the look of the trug, but once filled with haynet and water, would it not spill everywhere when you move it? Also, I currently use 75ltr bucket and this is only 40litres, do you find it is big enough for a haynet? (About 4kg)
Click to expand...
It's just about big enough for mine, but I also weigh them down with a full bucket for soaking. If you're not on rough terrain, wheeling along is doable. I've also seen trug trolleys with all terrain wheels, which I guess could have a bigger bucket if needed!
 
I would wheel barrow water containers to the area you soak/drain and then wheelbarrow the hay to the stable after its drained (I hate carrying soggy wet hay!) a big wheel barrow like you were thinking of would probably be too heavy for you full of water. I have a big 2 wheel barrow that hardly gets used as it gets to heavy on rough or muddy ground
 
May be a numpty answer but what about steaming the hay - Does that get rid of the sugars ??? If so, black bin + a couple kettles of boiling water, job done and not too heavy to move about once hay nets are out ...
 
I can't remember what they are called but I've seen a plastic collapsible water mover that you put in a wheelbarrow, fill with water, wheel to destination and then use the tap on it to empty. Just had a quick look at the internet and they are called H2 Go bags (£7.50 on eBay).
 
PonyclubmumZ said:
Can I ask something else too please about the soaked hay dilemma? :-)

How do you all get your soaked hay into the field for your horses? Its ok at the moment as I can wheel something across the top field but I can't think of a way of getting it 200 yards across the field when its ankle deep in mud, the thought of haynet dripping down the back of my legs is not nice.
Click to expand...

How about getting a big piece of heavy duty plastic sheeting that you could put your hay on and then dragging it (hopefully over the mud)?
 
PonyclubmumZ said:
Can I ask something else too please about the soaked hay dilemma? :-)

How do you all get your soaked hay into the field for your horses? Its ok at the moment as I can wheel something across the top field but I can't think of a way of getting it 200 yards across the field when its ankle deep in mud, the thought of haynet dripping down the back of my legs is not nice.
Click to expand...

A bulk bag from a builders merchants is ideal, they last a long time and you can hold all four corner handles together and drag them easily. An unused one should cost you £6 max.
 
CobsGalore said:
I have to soak my hay to reduce sugars, but after a drainage problem at the yard I now have to empty the water in a different place.

So tap is in one location, drainage spot in another, and stable in opposite direction to both. At the moment I am struggling to carry buckets of water over to soaking location, it's not close at all and the hose won't reach, and then lugging the haynet back to his stable.

I have thought of buying a large wheelbarrow that I could put under tap with hay in to fill up and then wheel to soaking location, but unless I buy a £150 one I don't think the hay would fit in, and I really can't afford to buy that right now.

Does anyone else have any wise ideas before I do my back in?

Thank you in advance
Click to expand...

depends on the amount of hay these fit 2 sections in http://www.qualitygardentools.com/h...XK_gFVMnmIgr14Mu7hc4aKivAm5yPD5iIkRoC03Dw_wcB

failing that get a plastic barrel and use a hose to it to fit it up.
OR

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QPS-250L-...Horse_Wear_Equipment&var=&hash=item3a98bb251a

or

http://www.paxtonagri.com/Equine/Hay_Soaker.aspx
or
http://www.equidiner.co.uk/Large_110ltr_Water_ConserverHay_Soaker/p928461_6351476.aspx
or
http://www.jswhorseboxes.co.uk/shop-online/feed-storage/portable-hay-soaker-on-wheeled-castors.htm

or
http://www.healyourhay.com/#!about/c24vq
 
Terminator said:
If I'm not mistaken you said that your bins with holes are stationary (?) and the OP needs mobility... hence the suggestion. £99 was cheaper than regular visits to the osteopath!
Click to expand...

I've got one too love it can be wheeled full if needed or emptied of water and wheeled, good investment as opposed to knackered back, I agree
 
I like them but field is the other side of the school so i'm not sure they would wheel over well? also i need morning and night hay feeds and soak for 12 hrs so would need two if i was feeding pony out of it? I just soak, put on barrow and wheel to field. but i don't have a a gap in where I do what like op
 
Haycube looks good but the wheels on it look very small? I will need to wheel it across the yard which can get a little muddy at times, will it withstand going back and forth every day? And is it heavy to move when full of water?

Would and 80 litre wheelie bin really be too heavy to move when half full of water?

The h2o bags look good too. Thank you for all the suggestions
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top