I made a haybar today

[Leo Walker]

it cost me a whopping £6.20 in wood, and there would have been enough to make 2. I used some off cuts of rubber matting that we had lying about so they didnt cost anything. It didnt take long and it was so easy to do that theres no need for anyone to spend £60 on one. Bobbie of course hates it and is considering going on hunger strike as it is so terrifying! I suspect greed will help her get over that!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

We have haybars but I think I like yours better. I love the fact that they can get to the hay without having to go over the top.

 

[NLPM]

Looks great. We've got haybars and I like them, but haven't put one up for the little mare as I'm pretty sure she'd scratch her bum on it until it dented/possibly broke... I like the fact yours could be used for itches as well as feeding with no fear of injury!

 

[Bellaboo18]

Amazing!

 

[Snitch]

Looking good!

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

That's brilliant!!

 

[Rowreach]

Oh is THAT what you were doing?! Did you break anything else?

 

[Leo Walker]

Oh is THAT what you were doing?! Did you break anything else?

Yup. Driving was cancelled due to really strong winds and hail stones so I needed something to amuse myself! Only the one drill bit was broken and to be fair I knew it was blunt, I just thought I might get away with it. I did not. I do have a small burn to my hand from touching a hot drill bit and a scratch right across my palm from god knows what. But thats not unusual for me and my gimpy hands anyway Glad its done though, I'm just hoping its still in one piece tomorrow as Bobbie likes to wreck things!

 

[DabDab]

Oo, thanks for sharing, I really love the idea of using rubber matting - v.clever

I might knick the idea and make one for Dabs if you don't mind? (Arts sadly would destroy it in maybe 7 or 8 seconds)

 

[splashgirl45]

love the idea of bending the rubber matting, how did you secure it?

 

[Leo Walker]

2 batons of 3 x 3 I think, secured to the wall. Then I screwed the matting to the batons. Then another baton of 3 x 1 I think, over the top of that so it was secure. Basically the rubber matting is secured between 2 batons, one of which is attached to the wall. I put screws in every 10/15cms on the back baton, and I used long decking screws so it went right into the wood, then used slightly less screws on the final baton, but made sure they went through the baton and matting and into the back baton.

If shes daft enough to climb into it it should fall apart, but I've made it sturdy enough it will tolerate a bit of bum rubbing or a glancing blow with a hoof.

 

[splashgirl45]

thanks for that, very useful....hope it is still standing in the morning

 

[DebznBaz81]

Wow that looks great, unfortunately I think my cob would destroy that in minutes with her bum rubbing lol, but i would like to see if it would work with my others, so thanks for the idea.

 

[JillA]

Mine are similar but made of plywood rather than the rubber, I do like yours. I find horses tend to drag the hay out so I tie filled haynets inside (or you can weight the top with a heavy lump of wood or similar). And two of mine now seem to prefer a haynet at head height, after years of using the low level bars *sigh* Good luck with it though

 

[Reacher]

Looks great, I chuck hay on floor in corner or stable, I could do with one for retired mare who tends to trample it everywhere.

 

[Leo Walker]

Mine are similar but made of plywood rather than the rubber, I do like yours. I find horses tend to drag the hay out so I tie filled haynets inside (or you can weight the top with a heavy lump of wood or similar). And two of mine now seem to prefer a haynet at head height, after years of using the low level bars *sigh* Good luck with it though

I've got a tie ring i can put in at the back corner, so if she ever needs restricting I can tie a haynet in to it. Hopefully I wont need it though. Shes a lovely weight at the minute, and needs feed and ad lib hay to keep condition, so I have no idea how she was so fat when I got her!

 

[JillA]

I've got a tie ring i can put in at the back corner, so if she ever needs restricting I can tie a haynet in to it. Hopefully I wont need it though. Shes a lovely weight at the minute, and needs feed and ad lib hay to keep condition, so I have no idea how she was so fat when I got her!

I don't know how rigid your rubber strips are but I tie mine between the two strips of wood - over the top and through the base of the haynet in the gap. Saves having to fix a tie ring but it might pull the rubber strips out of line

 

[dogatemysalad]

I like your design. We made haybars that could slide out for easy cleaning and with a small gap at the bottom, but even so, the hay was dusty that year and we had to go back to nets.

 

[3OldPonies]

That is a brilliant idea. I'm going to have a go at those, probably the wooden version as I don't have a spare bit of matting. Was wondering if something was possible, now I know, watch out there's a DIY fiend about!

 

[Boots*McGruber]

Top marks!

 

[Leo Walker]

All still present and correct this morning, and nearly all the hay had been eaten, so clearly Bobbie got over her horror

 

[Lucky788]

Brilliant idea, I brought one off eBay recently which is basically a curved rubber mat to make a hay bar rather than plastic as I was worried about my horse itching on it if it was solid.

 

[tankgirl1]

I really like your design, the more I look at it the more I want to make one! Especially as my shettie would still be able to get to the hay through the gap

 

[Floxie]

Very nice, I much prefer this to my actual Haybar!