How do you feed hay in the field?

[kit279]

Sorry if this seems a very obvious and silly post!

My two horse live out 24/7 and only come in when the weather is awful. I feed them hay in haynets which I tie to the post and rail fencing around their paddock. I used to tie the haynets down to an old trolley but one of them got tangled up last week (thanks to a poorly tied haynet courtesy of the boyfriend

) and now I try to tie them as high as possible on the fence. Despite this, this morning, one of the rails is broken on the paddock and the haynet was in the middle of the field

I can only assume that one of them has got tangled up again but I can find no cuts whatsoever on either of them nor are they lame at all *big sigh of relief* but these near misses are really making me worried.


How does everyone field their hay in the field? My hay is in round bales and the ground here is so muddy (and the b*ggers have such bad table manners) that feeding from the ground isn't really an option but I really want to find a way to make them safer... Advice please!

 

[AmyMay]

Either in round haylage feeders - if there are four or more horses.

Or big piles in the field (always adding 1 more pile than horses to stop fighting). Adequately spaced out for safety.

Never in a haynet.

 

[Slightly Foxed]

We, too, are on heavy clay soil (although I have put in some hard standing at great expense!). I use old tractor tyres to put the haylage in, you still get a little waste but nothing like feeding straight from the ground.

I did invest in a hayhutch which would have worked really well if it hadn't been for one b****r who wouldn't let the others near it. The warmbloods now have the Hayhutch but I have to use it without a lid cos the holes in the sides aren't big enough for their warmblood heads!

 

[BBH]

Big round Haylage bales are easiest but we do get a lot of wastage at the bottom.

 

[stencilface]

If its not windy, straight onto the muddy field, if its windy then in haynets tied to the fence nice and high up. None of them so far have ever got tangled - and if they did, our decrepid haynets would give way easily

I have contructed a hay bar on the outside of their field shelter, which they do use too, but have only done one so far, and thats not enough as they like to all eat seperately - the grumpy b*ggers!

 

[samstar]

I never put in haynet in field. Too worried they'd get tangled up in it. throw it in on ground, if too windy then I'll soak it.

 

[hedgehog1]

I just dump it on the floor (generally I get someone to drive the quad bike and I chuck it off the back in lots of different heaps so they can all get some).
Works a treat, and as its in a different place every day you dont get that horrible trashed bit of field which is like a bog as you do if you feed them in the same place every day.
Also that has the added bonus of the youngsters loving the sound of the quad as it means food, which means traffic is never a problem when they get older!!

 

[YorksG]

Ours get hay in the field in the weeks when our grass is poor, before they come in for the night in November. We feed from the ground, the biggest problem is the wind, so try and put it in most sheltered part of the field. I would never feed from hay nets outside, mind you I don't use them inside.

 

[T_K]

In big tubs with hayledges inside. I don't put it straight on the floor as it will generally blow all over the field and hay in the mud is not very good for the growing grass.

 

[hussar]

I've invested in a HayHutch this winter as my horses are out 24/7 (google it if you're interested and there was a thread either here or in Stable Yard last week). It's essential a big plastic drum (takes two standard bales) with a removable lid and holes round the outside that the horses feed out of. It means the hay stays dry and there's minimal waste. I decided to go for the biggest one, designed for 6 horses, despite only having 2 and a donkey, to minimise the risk of fights. There's nothing for them to get caught up in, you can move it around to avoid poaching, and so far it's worked like a dream.

 

[NeilM]

I have attached mangers, in pairs, onto the post and rail fence. This means we can feed them in either of our two fields. We have two mangers, so that each horse has their own, but of course they always end up bickering over the same one!

To keep the mangers at a sensible horse height, I have mounted them on the bottom rail and put a third rail between the posts where the mangers are.

We tried it for the first time last year and we had a lot less wastage and a lot less poached ground. It also meant that come the spring I did not have to remove loads of soggy stinking hay from the grass.

 

[Jericho]

How do you keep the hayledge in side the tub - mine tip them over and then it still gets trampled in mud!!!

 

[T_K]

[ QUOTE ]
How do you keep the hayledge in side the tub - mine tip them over and then it still gets trampled in mud!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

That's the idea of the hayledge:
http://www.hayledge.craddocksmoss.co.uk/

The shetland on the front page is my little angel

I ahve nothing to do with this company BTW, we just bought some and were so happy that we sent a recommendation and let them use photos of our ponies using them

but if admin don't agree please PM me and I will delete this post as I don't want the whole thread deleted.

 

[Lill]

Big bales in round sheep/cattle feeders

 

[hollyandivy123]

hay and it is held under old tree branches, free and easy to move

 

[Rainbowrider]

I just looked at the Hayledge website. I cannot believe people would pay over 40 quid for a weight to put on top of their hay!!

Surely a couple of big stones would do exactly the same thing? (Happy to be corrected). My friend uses a shelf out of an old fridge for her shetty, which works brilliantly.

 

[amandaco2]

i feed from nets as its too messy otherwise and they eat it too fast!

 

[SpruceRI]

I feed small bale hay out of home made hayracks. Used to have a hay net strung across the top of it to stop them pulling the hay over the top, but then it was a fiddle to get the hay in there so gave up that idea.

I'm on heavy boggy clay too to have paving slabs down around the racks. Stops ground getting too boggy but they do sink into it a bit.

Passed a field the other day that had a big square wooded thing in the middle of each field with the horses eating out of it, thought that was a good idea. They'd still be able to put the hay out of the top presumably.

 

[T_K]

[ QUOTE ]
I just looked at the Hayledge website. I cannot believe people would pay over 40 quid for a weight to put on top of their hay!!

Surely a couple of big stones would do exactly the same thing? (Happy to be corrected). My friend uses a shelf out of an old fridge for her shetty, which works brilliantly.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's galvanised so doesn't wear away, it is the right size and shape to fit in a bucket/bin, keep all the hay in and allow ponies to eat and most importantly it's a hell of a lot safer than using a few stones.

 

[nuffield]

I feed hay in a wooden crate. it takes about 1 and a half smll bales. the crate used to contain slates/tiles. found it at a builders merchnts. cost me £2. basically its a wooden pallet with 3"x3" posts at the corners and rails round it.

 

[Nickijem]

We moved our gate back a few feet so there is some hard standing by the gate. We can feed hay from the ground there so it doesn't get trampled in the mud and horses aren't standing in mud while they eat it.

 

[Dottie]

I feed my hay in a large plastic tub. It has holes at the bottom for water too drain out and is corkscrewed into the ground about a foot. I tie my haynets though the loops at the end of the corkscrews.

I used to feed it loose in the tub, but my horses would just drag it out and trample on it

This way it saves on wasting too much hay- but it is a little fidley...especially in the dark, when its cold...and raining...and windy

 

[Enfys]

also a foal bed on occasion.