Is this a daft idea for hanging haynets?!

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Fullers1845

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The cob I share is the stereotypical good doer and also loves his food.😆

He does often squeeze the haynets against the stable walls with his face in order to get a bigger mouthful.

I was wondering whether hanging the nets away from the walls might slow him down a bit, has anyone tried this?
 
I must admit that I feel so sorry for ponies that have to work incredibly hard for each mouthful of hay. I can imagine nothing more frustrating for them! I realise that you have to get the balance right of energy in versus energy out, but if you can find any other way to feed bulk without making it nearly impossible, it must be kinder.
 
I have one who is good doer and also loves her food. She has one haynet tied up to the wall and also one hanging from the rafters. When you put her in the stable she will go to the one hanging from the rafters first, by her own choice. She seems to enjoy attacking it, and making it swing about!
 
I do this. I have 2 tie rings on different walls across a corner, then I plait some bailing string (where would we be without it) and tie it between the rings. The hay net gets hung from the string so it dangles, but if she wants to she can press it into the wall on either side.
 
Tarragon said:
I must admit that I feel so sorry for ponies that have to work incredibly hard for each mouthful of hay. I can imagine nothing more frustrating for them! I realise that you have to get the balance right of energy in versus energy out, but if you can find any other way to feed bulk without making it nearly impossible, it must be kinder.
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This is why I always feed a normal net as well. The normal one satisfies hunger then the small holed
net gives them something to do for the rest of the time. I wouldn't personally just feed a teeny holed net on its own.
 
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Fullers1845 said:
The cob I share is the stereotypical good doer and also loves his food.😆

He does often squeeze the haynets against the stable walls with his face in order to get a bigger mouthful.

I was wondering whether hanging the nets away from the walls might slow him down a bit, has anyone tried this?
Click to expand...
The same principle with those dangle likit toys. Hang them against the side of the stable and they'll eat them quickly.
 
Tarragon said:
I must admit that I feel so sorry for ponies that have to work incredibly hard for each mouthful of hay. I can imagine nothing more frustrating for them! I realise that you have to get the balance right of energy in versus energy out, but if you can find any other way to feed bulk without making it nearly impossible, it must be kinder.
Click to expand...
I leave them something on the floor to start with, either a large double handful of haylage or perhaps a bin of sugarbeet/Chaff so they can spend a few minutes just filling their bellies. Then they get a small hole net and can spend more time working at it but with something inside them. Or simply give their evening feed padded out with a bit of chaff when you finish at night.
 
Tarragon said:
I must admit that I feel so sorry for ponies that have to work incredibly hard for each mouthful of hay. I can imagine nothing more frustrating for them! I realise that you have to get the balance right of energy in versus energy out, but if you can find any other way to feed bulk without making it nearly impossible, it must be kinder.
Click to expand...
I agree, it just doesn't feel fair.

We use haylage nets that have 2inch holes rather than smaller ones and tie a pair of them on two opposite walls. Ponies seem to like this and move between them ('cos what's in the other net is always better than this one......)
 
meleeka said:
This is why I always feed a normal net as well. The normal one satisfies hunger then the small holed
net gives them something to do for the rest of the time. I wouldn't personally just feed a teeny holed net on its own.
Click to expand...

Yes I do the same - feed from large holes and what we all used to call haylage nets if I need to use nets. Never those tiny holed nets.

I'm sure I've read some where that the action of pulling from nets has been linked to arthritis in the neck due to the unnatural repetitive action. I'd have thought that a swinging net would be even more of an issue.
 
dorsetladette said:
I'm sure I've read some where that the action of pulling from nets has been linked to arthritis in the neck due to the unnatural repetitive action.
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I had a haflinger, Think eating machine. :D:D I tried even just a horsehage net and the amount of pulling on his neck was terrible, I think we gave up after a couple of nights. If you imagine the movements a chiropractor makes which are very will timed subtle moves in the exact place and they put "something back" then the movements with small hole haynets are ten times more forceful out of frustration and must surely put "something out"
 
paddy555 said:
I had a haflinger, Think eating machine. :D:D I tried even just a horsehage net and the amount of pulling on his neck was terrible, I think we gave up after a couple of nights. If you imagine the movements a chiropractor makes which are very will timed subtle moves in the exact place and they put "something back" then the movements with small hole haynets are ten times more forceful out of frustration and must surely put "something out"
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Agreed.
 
I find it very difficult because I hate frustrating them and I do worry about neck issues. They’re not terrible and don’t thrash their necks around like some, but I still worry. They’re quite happy to eat slowly, as long as they’re eating something.

However, my girls would get through a normal 3kg overnight net in less than an hour and I don’t want them without forage for more than 4 hours, let alone 11. I also can’t feed more than 3kg a night realistically due to one fatty actively on a diet and the other putting weight on at a hat drop, and being prone to lami. I’d bulk up with straw but I worry about colic and there are no inexpensive and reliable straw suppliers locally, plus I don’t really have any more storage available. 🤷‍♀️

It’s simply the lesser of two evils in my case.
 
Yes ours hang from the middle of their stables and it really slows them down! We've done it for yearssss as well as double netting, would really recommend.

We started with a fancy contraption we bought from Burghley and when they inevitably got destroyed we just tied a leadrope round one of the ceiling beams with the clicker end pointing down. We then tie the haynet's string through the haynet holes and attach the leadrope clip to it.

Re neck issues - ours are only in at night and the rest of the time are eating grass or, in winter, hay off the ground or in small-holed haynets hung low (neither have shoes anymore and live within view of the house so we don't worry too much about them getting caught). If they were in a lot more I might worry but honestly being overweight or going too long without food is probably likely to do more damage than neck issues caused by one haynet.
 
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