Make my own slow down hay feeder - advice please.....

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Tayto

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I have been searching the internet to try and find an alternative to a haynet as I would prefer my horse to have a more natrual grazing position in her stable.

Feeding from the floor is not an option as she is VERY greedy and will demolish it from the floor too quickly so I would prefer something like this:

http://www.slowdownhayfeeder.com

This is exactly what I am looking for however they are quite pricey so wondered if anyone had any ideas on how to make my own one?

I have read previous threads about a star shaped weight that you can put in a tub but I cant seem to find these weights anywhere - any ideas folks?
 
I feel your pain and am a strong advocate of feeding from a natural position. However I have recently invested in 2 trickle nets as my ISH is a fat barsteward who hoovers anything remotely edible.

He is turned out 12 hours a day so is in a natural grazing position albeit restricted and has been in at night since last Friday. I have come to the conclusion that it's far healthier for him to spend hours battling with a trickle net tied to a ring than for him to be overweight.
 
What about a bucket the size of the one pictured, fastened securely in the stable, with a ring at the bottom to tie a trickle net to? Effectively tying the trickle net to the floor and hopefully stopping the horse getting a foot caught on it.

I haven't thought through the safety side of this so it may have problems... any thoughts?
 
I cant remember what they are called, but I saw on fb some brilliant hay "nets" they are shapped with pillows and made of a mesh and web that they cant pig out on or get stuck on, but they were about £70 which I thought was awful.

Im lucky my girl eats one strand at a time- which is very annoying but does mean I can leave her to it with it on the floor!
 
These are the small version slow hay feeders that I made. Based on the giant plant pots used to plant trees. I have some much larger ones now that I'm just refurbishing for the winter. A real labour of love, but well worth it for me with 3 living out. I've changed the design a bit to improve it so if you want details pm me. Normally I'd use this size anchored to a wall in a stable I think. The ones in the field are really big and don't move about so much.
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A friend of mine uses the same tubs, tied to fence posts, with a giant small holed net tied in through a hole in the side at the bottom. That works very well too, just make sure there is no way the spare net string can get loose.
p.s. Get huge lump of useful netting from The Rope Seller, a very helpful man. You need this one http://www.ropeseller.co.uk/garden-pond-safety-netting--4m-x-2m-strong--60mm-75-p.asp
which would be very suitable for constructing your own giant hay nets, trickle hay feeders etc.
 
For an unshod horse in the stable or out in not too muddy conditions you can also try hay pillows. Which are just hay nets filled and tied up at the top, with the spare string threaded in and out of the mesh and secured so that it can't come loose. Just fling them on the ground.
 
Tinypony said:
These are the small version slow hay feeders that I made. Based on the giant plant pots used to plant trees. I have some much larger ones now that I'm just refurbishing for the winter. A real labour of love, but well worth it for me with 3 living out. I've changed the design a bit to improve it so if you want details pm me. Normally I'd use this size anchored to a wall in a stable I think. The ones in the field are really big and don't move about so much.
DSC04739.jpg
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DSC04740.jpg
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A friend of mine uses the same tubs, tied to fence posts, with a giant small holed net tied in through a hole in the side at the bottom. That works very well too, just make sure there is no way the spare net string can get loose.
p.s. Get huge lump of useful netting from The Rope Seller, a very helpful man. You need this one http://www.ropeseller.co.uk/garden-pond-safety-netting--4m-x-2m-strong--60mm-75-p.asp
which would be very suitable for constructing your own giant hay nets, trickle hay feeders etc.
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Ooo this looks like the type of thing I am looking for what a brilliant idea!

defo got my thinking cap on now thanks for the ideas :D
 
Tayto said:
Ooo this looks like the type of thing I am looking for what a brilliant idea!

defo got my thinking cap on now thanks for the ideas :D
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I typed up instructions for making somewhere, so give me a shout if needed. I use old clips off rugs on a couple of the bungee cords so that I can flip the lid up and over to fill. I am working out how to have the cords go right down through the bottom of the tubs this year, so that the net can go easily right down. Make sure the blue pipe is very securely fastened, you need to put something like a length of copper pipe in the ends and glue it. (Nothing worse than the things coming apart and you finding them like that in the middle of a blizzard...). Also, my original knots came undone sometimes, I'm using better knots this time around.

These things saved me a fortune in wasted hay for the last two winters. No hay trashing. The large ones each take about a bale and a half of hay if stuffed in well, so if I was struggling to get there one day I knew they wouldn't run out of hay even if I didn't get there for hours.
 
I'm not quite sure how to give you a link, but if you go to YouTube and search steksinoly Slow Feeder, he's got two short videos of a slow feeder he now sells. I found the video well before he was in business, and had my handyman make two of them. They are the best thing since sliced bread!!! Natural position, no waste at all, easy to fill, and they hold as much or as little as you want. There is a grid, called gridwall, that has 3 inch square openings through which the horses pull out their hay. The gridwall is obtainable from ebay and comes in 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 feet long sizes. They are all 2 feet wide. Give it a go (whether you make one or buy one). You will never regret it.
 
RutlandH2O said:
Oh, thank you so much, amandap! I'm such a dinosaur!! I did manage to put a link in one of my posts several months ago, but I've forgotten how I did it.
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It's not that long since I had to ask what lol, rofl etc. meant. Doh!
When you are on the page you want to link, copy and then paste the address in the top bar of the page, right click function.
 
Tayto said:
http://youtu.be/l7Ws8--3IOU

Hope this link works but if not, type "slow box feeder that's simple and works!" into you tube. What a brilliant idea!
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The first slow feeder we made was very similar to the one in your link. We found the runners (the 3 metal guides holding the grid in place) didn't work smoothly and using it became a chore. When we went to the one I mentioned in my first post, it was magic. The lid, which is lifted before removing the grid so as to fill the feeder with hay, is what keeps the horses from lifting the grid out of the box. We built ours about 8 inches off the floor (each corner is on legs) and put angle irons all around the edges because my donkeys are termites when it comes to wood. They haven't made a dent in the ones we made. If your Dad is handy, go for it!
 
Tinypony said:
For an unshod horse in the stable or out in not too muddy conditions you can also try hay pillows. Which are just hay nets filled and tied up at the top, with the spare string threaded in and out of the mesh and secured so that it can't come loose. Just fling them on the ground.
Click to expand...

Mine are shod, I use this method, tie at top and secure loose end inside at the bottom, only difference is that mine are attached by a short string and clip to the bottom of the manger so it doesn't go all around the stable, has worked well so far....
 
amandap said:
It's not that long since I had to ask what lol, rofl etc. meant. Doh!
When you are on the page you want to link, copy and then paste the address in the top bar of the page, right click function.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. That does ring a bell. I drive my grown son crazy because he always tells me that I'm using a small fraction of the capabilities of my computer. As long as I can use the computer for shopping, email, my photos, music, posting on a couple of forums, and searching for information, I'm happy.
 
Bobbly said:
Mine are shod, I use this method, tie at top and secure loose end inside at the bottom, only difference is that mine are attached by a short string and clip to the bottom of the manger so it doesn't go all around the stable, has worked well so far....
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I've read some dire warnings elsewhere about shod horses getting hay net caught under their shoes. I don't know how much of a risk that is, and it's probably affected by how big the haynet holes are.
 
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