Help! Mud, hay and mares!

[pistolpete]

So going forward in my ramshackle situation we have the delightful prospect of feeding hay to four horses out in the field twice a day. We have wooden hay crates which end up not being moveable due to getting sunk in the mud. We don’t have a barn hay is stored under a tarp. Any tips hints survival tactics please? Dreading winter. Small bale hay is all we can get at the moment so it’s quite a challenge.

 

[Sandstone1]

mud control mats? they are expensive but you could make a couple of small areas and put hay crates in the middle?

 

[meleeka]

My tip would be to put the crates near a fence, if you have one that you could walk along without actually going into the field. Alternatively, put a haynet ring in the bottom of them and fill large haynets. There's nothing quite as bad as trying to push a heavy wheelbarrow through mud when hungry horses and trying to stop you.

 

[TheMule]

Mud Control mats if you can afford them, or there are often 2nd hand playground mats or Astro turf available on Marketplace that are fine for just around a hay box. I move the hay around in 1 tonne bulk bags from builders merchants which are soooo much easier than anything else. I also have picked up a couple of free small metal sheds which can store about 10 small hay bales in at a time up by the field, then I can just move the bales in bulk on the weekend.

 

[Abacus]

I use a fairly sturdy camping type trolley to pull the hay out to the field but will switch to quad and trailer soon when more of them need it. I can get 2 bales in it plus stack the feeds on top. I also have the crates just by the fence so that I don't have to go in, but the area around them will get muddy. Still haven't managed to put in mud mats but that's the next option.

I am considering swapping the wooden crates for big plastic ones, like those below. I already have some and they are indestructible, not sure what size I have but they are big enough to fit in about 1/3 of a bale.

Wham Bam 150L Recycled Heavy Duty Storage Box with Lid - Black

Wham Bam 150L Recycled Heavy Duty Storage Box with Lid - Black at Charlies. This Heavy Duty Storage Box is made from 100% recycled plastic. This is a fantastic choice for use around your house or garage. It is extremely durable and strong

www.charlies.co.uk

 

[pistolpete]

I’ve got a thousand pounds worth of mud control mats laid there already but half are in the corral and half on one side of the gate so realistically can only put one hay box on them. The corral is so useful if we need to bring a horse in so wouldn’t want to take it down. So unfortunately no more cash to do anything expensive. I did try mud control islands first year and they just sank.

 

[Highmileagereindeer]

We have had some success with bark chippings poured onto the mud. Gateway got absolutely trashed during the wet winter of 2023/4. Local tree surgeon brought a transit tipper full of shreddings from a job and tipped them for us, and we raked them level - about a foot deep. We know they will break down and rot, but at the moment they have baked hard over the summer and are holding up pretty well.

 

[pistolpete]

Mines the chunky one in the foreground. For three horses this works well. For four it absolutely will not!

 

[pistolpete]

If I extended the corral width ways I’d remove a lot of natural shelter but I could keep safe and spread the hay boxes out more. Would that be mean.