haynets while travelling

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catherine22

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I always gave my horses a hay/haylage net while travelling but recently they have been out 24/7 and I havnt had any (or thought about getting some until its too late!) so they have travelled without and seem just as happy because they never seemed to eat it anyway! and the trailer is so much easier to clean out!

Does anyone else travel without hay/haylage?

Disclaimer! This has only been short journeys and they have only been out competing for a short amount of time, not stood to trailer all day with nothing to eat!!
 
Have done both without problem. My boy doesn't really eat much of it if he's travelling on his own because he's too busy screaming to anyone who will listen that he's been kidnapped and taken from his friends.
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When we're on the motorway he'll usually settle and have a nibble and I prefer it to be there in case he fancies it than leave him without - cleaning the hay out is the least of my problems when you see what comes out the other end while travelling !
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Yes - our mare never eats it either, not even on the 2-3hr journeys we have to do for some of our shows. But we always make sure she has hay at the shows even if just tied to the lorry for half an hour or so (she's a show horse so we're not expecting her to do fast work with a tum full of hay!) and gets a haynet as soon as she gets home or into her show stable if staying away.
She has had respiratory problems in the past and I'd rather not have hay in her 'airspace' in the lorry anyway.
 
I do because I like the lorry to be a 'nice place', similarly they always have a 'loading carrot'. We have 1 with copd so use haylage so no worries re airspace
 
I think its a matter of preference tbh and also depends on the horse. Mine wouldn't be too bothered I don't think if i didn't give him hay while travelling, but if I put a net in he usually eats it all
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My friend does endurance and never travels with hay, even though her horses do quite long journeys sometimes. it doesn't seem to bother them too much
 
Zoomy's owner never puts hay in the lorry and she sometimes travels 5 hours to comps! I nearly always put hay in but I forgot to pick some up the other day so we travelled an hour without it.

Zoomy wasn't fussed. She spends the whole journey looking out the window anyway.
 
If we put hay in they will eat it, but never seem put out if theres nothing in there for them.

I will take it away from them before doing anything though, as although I'm sure at the speed/effort I do things it won't make a difference, but you never know
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we would have a mutiny if there was no hay in the lorry lol
normally have a bale of the horsehage [sp?] for emergencies, incase someone eats everything. They are dales ponies BTW and are always hungry
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Have to admit have never even considered travelling without a haynet, and always take a spare in case of breakdowns or major traffic jams!

My old mare used to eat continously while travelling, but my gelding just has an occasional mouthful.
 
I always used to put a small net in - but then I have started gonig to lessons regularly, and don't want my gutsy mare to be stuffing her face all the way down to the lesson in the lorry, so I have stopped putting a net in.

She was a bit grumpy about this to start with - but I think she has got over it now (well she has stopped being quite so grumpy about going in the lorry anyway!!!)

If we are going to a show I take a haynet, but I don't usually give her the net until we have done our bit.
 
Since my mare had gastric ulcers I am terrified of them returning!

She is NEVER left without food on my vets advice. I wouldn't travel her for any length of time with nothing to eat.

I totally agree with what someone else said about making the trailer a nice place too!

Every tie ring I have on the yard even has a haynet right there ready for her. I am lucky that she is not a pig, I can see it would be a real problem otherwise!
 
Depends if they have plaits in!! If they are all plaited up, theres nothing worse than picking bits of hay out of their plaits.

They aren't fussed either way tbh.
 
never travel to a show with a haynet but always travel back with one.

purely because i wouldnt like to run on a full stomach and wouldnt want my horse to either.
 
We only use a net if it is a longer journey, say over two hours. If there is aready one in though we don't remove it for short journeys. They rarely eat from it.
 
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