Haybar with haynet, recommendations please

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benz

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I need to find a solution for winter that allows me to soak hay easily, not waste too much hay, slow down rate of eating and allows horses to eat with head down rather than up. I was thinking the best solution will be smallish holed nets tied inside a haybar, does this sound reasonable? If so can you recommend me where to buy a decent but not too expensive hay bar and good quality nets?

Does anyone think this is a bad idea or there are better alternatives? Is it reasonably safe?

I have looked at the portagrazer but it has some bad reviews so for the price I don't want to risk it (I have 8 horses to feed!).

Hay cube looks good but horses can just drag hay out and it won't slow down eating.

Haybar on its own will have same problem as hay cube.

The wheelyhay sounded ideal but there are too many sharp bits sticking out, guaranteed one of ours with have its eye out!

Don't want to make my own as I am a bit rubbish at DIY :)
 
I use a haybar, bought it from feed merchants for £45. I put a tie ring low down and tie nets to it, it certainly slows down the eating and is in a much better position for eating than nets higher on a wall.
If I could stomach the price!! Ideally I'd like one of those hay cubes, again with a net tied in it.
 
Thanks :) can you recommend a haynet? I have never bought one and there are so many on the market are they all as good as each other?

Yes the haycube with haynet would be ideal but I can't think of a way you could tie a net in there?
 
I approached this from a different angle when my mare needed to lose weight. She was obese when she arrived here so couldn't have the ad-lib hay that ours usually get. However I wasn't prepared to have her standing in with nothing to eat and even with a haynet in a haybar, which ahs to be better than hanging up, I feel that there will be quite a lot of tugging going on and so incorrect muscle development.
I fed her a measured amount of hay (no soaking), at 2 or 3 intervals up to midnight and gave her trugs of plain oat straw chaff to fill up on if she wanted to. It took 3+ years but she is now back to being able to eat ad-lib hay and in fact she now has a small feed of grassnuts to maintain her weight.
 
Think the nets I have are perhaps shires ones???? Tbh they are just from the Local tack shop, I've never taken much notice of the make!
I've never seen haycubes in the flesh, but I assume you could put a tie ring inside one and tie a net in it?
 
benz said:
I need to find a solution for winter that allows me to soak hay easily, not waste too much hay, slow down rate of eating and allows horses to eat with head down rather than up. I was thinking the best solution will be smallish holed nets tied inside a haybar, does this sound reasonable? If so can you recommend me where to buy a decent but not too expensive hay bar and good quality nets?

Does anyone think this is a bad idea or there are better alternatives? Is it reasonably safe?

I have looked at the portagrazer but it has some bad reviews so for the price I don't want to risk it (I have 8 horses to feed!).

Hay cube looks good but horses can just drag hay out and it won't slow down eating.

Haybar on its own will have same problem as hay cube.

The wheelyhay sounded ideal but there are too many sharp bits sticking out, guaranteed one of ours with have its eye out!

Don't want to make my own as I am a bit rubbish at DIY :)
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I have hay cubes for mine after my 14.2 good doer was diagnosed with ulcers. She has soaked hay ad lib in it and even leaves some at bottom which is amazing as she is the greediest pony out. Neither of mine drag the hay out of them! Best investment ever! I do a trug of chopped hay/ straw chaff for them to nibble on too.
 
Ive just purchased the eazi-grazer, not received it yet though, quite pricey but mine drags his out the haybar and gets tangled in nets unless they are really high which is not ideal
 
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