How can I feed hay to this pony?

Meredith

Meredith

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Prompted by a comment on another thread.

Good doer pony who has previously had ulcers inhales hay so is fed from a soft mesh small holed haynet to make his ration last all night.
Hay bins, fixed or free standing, of any description are a no-no because he destroys them.

If haynets may cause Si issues as mentioned in another thread, can anyone suggest what alternative method I can use?

Thanks
 
Clodagh said:
Is he shod? If not you can tie the net up on itself and leave it on the ground.
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Yes, he is shod.
He is very good at destruction.
His feed bowl is regularly trampled upon. I do not replace it.
He has pulled a corner mounted manger fitted with huge masonry bolts off the wall.
I am not prepared to spend £££ on plastic tubs etc. They would be destroyed pretty quickly.
 
maya2008 said:
We just give ration of hay/haylage then let pony munch the bed when it is gone (or provide straw on floor if bedded on something else). Endless food, always full gut, no weight gain.
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Yes I would just provide straw! Assuming this isn't a horse who's pone to colic.

"Endless food, always full gut, no weight gain."....the Holy Grail for pony and cob owners
 
I think you are balancing between ulcer management and potential issues caused by haynets.
I have a very good doer and have partly given in to using haynets, but also use a Hylo slow feeder and put some on the floor.
I don't think the slo-feeders would be any good for a destructive horse.

My only suggestion is to soak all the hay (12 hours plus) so you can feed more of it without weight gain. Its an absolute pain but it means I can feed decent amounts of hay safely. You obviously can't soak hay that long unless the weather is cool.

I like the idea of small mesh nets in a box, but I know another horse I have would demolish it pretty quickly, and sounds as though yours would too.
 
Lady Jane said:
I think you are balancing between ulcer management and potential issues caused by haynets.
I have a very good doer and have partly given in to using haynets, but also use a Hylo slow feeder and put some on the floor.
I don't think the slo-feeders would be any good for a destructive horse.

My only suggestion is to soak all the hay (12 hours plus) so you can feed more of it without weight gain. Its an absolute pain but it means I can feed decent amounts of hay safely. You obviously can't soak hay that long unless the weather is cool.

I like the idea of small mesh nets in a box, but I know another horse I have would demolish it pretty quickly, and sounds as though yours would too.
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What is a Hylo slow feeder? Can’t find it on Google.
 
If he really won’t self regulate (which I find the vast majority of horses do when given the chance) then go for something like a Haygain forager, or make your own with a sturdy wooden box, haynet and carabiners.
But, honestly, of all the horses I have rehabbed (which is in the thousands now), I’d say maybe ten of those didn’t learn to self regulate. My system is ad lib forage (normally Timothy haylage for the fatties, often mixed with straw), and up the exercise for the first two weeks while they learn that they aren’t going to be starved.
I’ll try and find a link to the study about starving and gorging. It’s really interesting, and shows that a horse who has stood without forage for a period of time will consume significantly more in twenty minutes than one who has eaten slowly with no period of denial.

ETA - if you’re soaking hay, only soak for one hour, in hot water.
 
Starzaan said:
Sorry to hijack, but the problem isn’t just the pulling, it’s the position.
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after seeing your mention the damage haynets can cause I was just wondering, if the haynets are on the ground is there still the same risks?

if your feeding loose do you put it in a container or just loose on the ground?

I currently use a haynet and she’s just started finishing her net and throwing her oat chaff around her stable so the grass must really be going but she does still have plenty of weight to lose so didn’t really want to up her hay much.
 
Starzaan said:
Sorry to hijack, but the problem isn’t just the pulling, it’s the position.
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Ah ok. I've never heard of hay nets causing exacerbating SI issues before but I can see how they might. It was more the neck that I was thinking, constant snatching on the neck which can cause overdevelopment of muscle on the bottom of the neck whereas having a bigger hole means less pulling and snatching.
 
Peglo said:
after seeing your mention the damage haynets can cause I was just wondering, if the haynets are on the ground is there still the same risks?

if your feeding loose do you put it in a container or just loose on the ground?

I currently use a haynet and she’s just started finishing her net and throwing her oat chaff around her stable so the grass must really be going but she does still have plenty of weight to lose so didn’t really want to up her hay much.
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I don’t use haynets at all, apart from for travel, and won’t allow them on my yard.
The vast majority have hay bars, and some eat straight from the floor.
The risk isn’t the same if they’re truly on the ground, or secured tightly in something like a hay box so the horse is using the correct muscles to eat.
 
Birker2020 said:
Ah ok. I've never heard of hay nets causing exacerbating SI issues before but I can see how they might. It was more the neck that I was thinking, constant snatching on the neck which can cause overdevelopment of muscle on the bottom of the neck whereas having a bigger hole means less pulling and snatching.
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The snatching is the worst, but the whole unnatural position causes the damage too.
 
Starzaan said:
The snatching is the worst, but the whole unnatural position causes the damage too.
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Sorry to hijack post. I hang my net over my hay bar and hang it as low as I can get away with but maybe I ought just put hay in the haybar as Lari has SI issues. Trouble is I hate the waste and mess when it gets dragged all over the bed.

1673442432283.png
 
Starzaan said:
I don’t use haynets at all, apart from for travel, and won’t allow them on my yard.
The vast majority have hay bars, and some eat straight from the floor.
The risk isn’t the same if they’re truly on the ground, or secured tightly in something like a hay box so the horse is using the correct muscles to eat.
Click to expand...

thank you for your reply. Good to know and will get something else sorted. OH will be delighted to have more horse jobs to do.
 
Birker2020 said:
Sorry to hijack post. I hang my net over my hay bar and hang it as low as I can get away with but maybe I ought just put hay in the haybar as Lari has SI issues. Trouble is I hate the waste and mess when it gets dragged all over the bed.

View attachment 105874
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Yep I would definitely ditch the haynet and use the hay bar. If he has free access to true ad lib, he will stop dragging it through his bed.
 
One January I bought an obese Draft mare, who had been given haylage and hard feed with alternate days winter turnout. I brought her home, turned her out for 12 hours every day (winter) and 24/7 (summer), feeding ad-lib forage with a measured amount of hay and as much straw as she wanted. I swapped to plain oat straw chaff after she had colic but I got her weight down to acceptable over 2 years and she began to self regulate within the first year.
 
You could be talking about my Shetland, she's wrecked the hay bar and the hay hutch was chucked over the wall! She's a hoofer so low haynets are not safe, ground feeding is so wasteful and she's had ulcers. No chance of self limiting as she's a gannet. I'll be very interested in possible solutions!
 
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