how to feed hay to a greedy pony at ground level ?

[JLD]

Hello. My pony is a bit porky with laminitic tendancies, I have been feeding soaked hay in a double hayledge net and he still stuffs it in about an hour, if fed of the floor it lasts him no time at all and I don't want him standing around with nothing to eat but I don't really like haynets and would much rather feed off the floor. And ideas how to do this but slow him down. Wondered about a haynet in a haybar but not sure if this would work ? Thanks for ideas.

 

[Bobbly]

Can only suggest a very small holed haynet drawn up very tight and either fixed very low down or the drawstring tucked inside the net and left on the floor. Must have holes sufficiently small not to get toes tangled in. Someone (on facebook) makes a very tough square 'bag' with a mesh front designed to be on the floor and kicked around.

 

[WandaMare]

I have to admit to completely giving up with haynets and greedy ponies. I have two and I've tried trickle nets, double netting, all the tricks and it just seems to make them more stressy about food and eat twice as fast. I find the best thing is to mix some older hay in with the better hay so they have to sort through for the best bits. They are more relaxed eaters when fed from the floor because they can get that huge greedy mouthful a few times, then they seem to calm down.

I shopped round our local farms for some coarse, yellow hay (not dusty or mouldy though) and I mix 50% with the good stuff. Having tried other approaches I find this to be the most effective and safest way, I would worry about any sort of haybag / net things on the floor. good luck I know its so difficult with the greedy ones.

 

[0310Star]

My horse is exactly the same although weight wise she is fine. I would love to be able to feed her adlib bit it just wouldn't be possible with her. So I give her two hung up nets, both double netted along with hay on the floor. That way she has some to eat from the floor and then the nets for after. I have found she actually has some left in the morning too which is normally unheard of for her!

 

[3Beasties]

I use a hay bar but tie a hay net inside the bottom of it, safe and easy.

 

[Tess Love]

I'm surprise some clever, manufacturer hasn't come up with some sort of timed automatic hay feeder for greedy ponies. No idea how it could work really but would be great and save some much stressing, together with low calorie grass lol!

 

[putasocinit]

Agree with wandamare and my greedy cob actually eats more slowly when it is not in a net, when its finished its finished, he wont die

 

[Magicmillbrook]

I'm surprise some clever, manufacturer hasn't come up with some sort of timed automatic hay feeder for greedy ponies. No idea how it could work really but would be great and save some much stressing, together with low calorie grass lol!

I was thinking this for an out door hay rack. Every 3 hours or so it would rotate and deposit a wedge of hay into a trough, like a giant cat food dispenser.

OP, I my 'fat no more' cob has soaked hay mixed with straw in a double bagged net. He wastes time snuffling through to get the hay and when thats gone, if he is hungry he will polish off the straw. I also put a pile of straw on the floor too, especially at the weekends when I will be a bit later with breakfast and turnout. I would prefer to feed at ground level and like the idea of a net tied in the bottom of a hay bar, I may experiment with a home made one before I splash out on the real mcoy. I would just worry about a protruding surface for big boy butt scatching!

 

[putasocinit]

Which type of straw please

 

[Magicmillbrook]

Which type of straw please

Oat straw when I can get it, failing that clean barley.

 

[putasocinit]

Does barley not contain too much sugar

 

[MrsElle]

Can you get someone to cut some strong weld mesh into a circular shape? Put the hay in a trug on the floor with the weld mesh on top, as the horse eats the hay the mesh drops down, and if the holes are small enough it would take the horse a while to get through it.

 

[Brightbay]

Do you think you could get something like one of these? (I have heard of people making their own): http://www.porta-grazer.com/

I agree some oat straw as well as hay would be a good approach too.

 

[Magicmillbrook]

Does barley not contain too much sugar

Barley maybe, but not barley straw

 

[tankgirl1]

Theres loads of ideas on youtube http://www.youtube.com/results?sear....5j2.7.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.6u9tMvfdTqk

 

[AnnaGHDT]

You might find this article of some interest for your problem.

http://gettyequinenutrition.biz/Library/Bringbackthehorsesinstincts.htm

 

[tankgirl1]

this looks ace! a bit pricey at $500 but maybe you could make something similar?

http://www.slowdownhayfeeder.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

 

[JLD]

Thanks - some really useful ideas and links. Will see what I can knock up. Am not happy leaving him for long without forage.

 

[dalidaydream]

Do you think you could get something like one of these? (I have heard of people making their own): http://www.porta-grazer.com/

I bit the bullet and bought my turbo eater one of these as I'd tried everything else (trickle nets caused neck problems and didn't slow him down any way). My advice would be don't waste your money - it didn't slow him down at all - in fact it seemed to spur him on to attack the hay faster and although they say it's virtually impossible for a horse to get the tray out my pony did a couple of times. He also got it stuck half way once so he was then left with nothing to eat as it wouldn't go back down again. I have however found a use for it. I now put a few scoops of http://www.honeychop.com/chopped-oat-straw.html in it (he can't get the tray out as it's the action of pulling the hay through that enables him to do that) and put his hay on the floor. That way once he's eaten the hay (which he does slower from the floor than any other way) he has the chopped oat straw to nibble at.