Haynets and haybars

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HelsB

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I use a haybar as I don't like haynets for various reasons....

My boy is a greedy guts and I would like to slow down his eating and saw a suggesion on a forum somewhere about putting a tie ring at the bottom of the haybar, and tying a small holed haynet from the bottom up, so that he was still eating from the haybar but slowing down the feeding rate.

Has anyone tried this? Are there any dangers or downsides that anyone can think of like wrong muscle build up that you can get from tying haynets in the traditional way?
 
i'd be more worried about the horse pawing at the haynet but my horses are cheeky gits who would think nothing of sticking their feet in a haybar!
 
i don't think most horses could get their leg over a haybar and into the bottom of it without pulling the whole thing off the wall...
another idea i'm toying with is to make a cage top to put on top of the hay behind the haybar, which will drop downwards as the horse eats the hay through it. needs smooth edges and corners obv, but should be doable with the right material.
 
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i don't think most horses could get their leg over a haybar and into the bottom of it without pulling the whole thing off the wall...
another idea i'm toying with is to make a cage top to put on top of the hay behind the haybar, which will drop downwards as the horse eats the hay through it. needs smooth edges and corners obv, but should be doable with the right material.

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Ive been thinking the same thing..... need to invent a haybar type thing that has netting on the top.....Let me know if your idea works!
 
I thought about a grid on Stinky's hay bar - not to stop him being greedy but he does like to pull the odd section out and strew it. Problem is that it is funnel shaped so would only work for the first half and then he would not get at the bottom.

Aren't yours home made - if they were square shaped then a heavy grill could work as it would go to the bottom - I am sure that wonderful hubby of yours could knock something up if you asked him to.

I think a haynet could work, but you might still get the muscle problems of where they have to pull the hay out and tooth wear. How about a haybag which is less damaging tied in the bottom. If you want an old one to try experiment with, let me know as I have a one kicking about.

Other thing you could try, which is what I do if Stinky is in for a while and getting bored, is to give a couple of slices in morning, more late afternoon and then another few slices in the evening.
 
It's the overnight stretch I would like to slow down - he already has masses of hay!!

Now thinking along the lines of attaching netting to the top....my haybars are home made but also funnel shaped so a grill would not work, but some way of attaching loose nedding all the way round might....hmmm some more thinking to do!
 
I wondered about the tieing a haynet to a ring inside the haybar thing and asked my horses chiropractor what she thought - and she thought it would work and didn't think it would cause any musculoskeltal probs.

Haven't done it yet as OH stil hasn't built the haybars, but in a flash of genius I have decided to attach cargo nets (as you buy for securing loads) over the top. They could clip onto various points, are easily removable for filling and are elasticated so spring up when full , or can be stretched down (by fat greedy neddy) to reach hay at bottom.

Think haybar should patent and pay me royalties for this idea (maybe in the form of haybars and said netting product, as god only knows when OH will get round to fitting them!!
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I'm afraid there are already a couple of "grazing type" hay feeders on the market. I found this one quickly http://www.uniquelyhorse.com/custom.em?pid=817952 but there is also one that has a mesh screen and a spring loaded mechanism to push the grate down on to the hay as the level goes down. I don't love any of the ones I've seen so I'm no a mission to invent a smooth, soft, portable type of grazing feeder than can be easily filled, doesn't pose a risk to the horse (given that it's horses we're talking about . . .) and is portable. Wish me luck.
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There are also automatic feeders with doors or chutes that open at selected times to allow the horse access or refill the feeder. They're very common for cattle and quite a few companies now make horse-specific models.
 
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