No more hay nets

[mummymole]

Yest morn our pony who is a piggy had somehow attached his front rug clip to the haynet . Bit alarmed by this as no idea how long he had been like it .Luckily he was calm and allowed us to cut haynet and thankfully seemed none the worse for wear .We always weigh his hay and double net as he woofs it down ,but think now he will just have to have it loose in a bin and once its gone its gone .Any ideas .

 

[JillA]

Maybe give him a hay pillow - a small hole net with the neck cord either tied tight and the loose end tied up and looped into itself, or removed and replaced with a shorter clip of some kind (someone I know uses a carabiner). It can then be loose on the floor, so he won't rub on it and get his rug caught, and because it moves around each time he takes a mouthful of hay it takes longer to empty. Best with unshod horses in case they get it hooked under the heel, but I do that in the drier paddocks with mine and have never had a foot caught yet.

 

[Goldenstar]

Get a hay bar , tie the net inside it if you what to use one .

 

[mummymole]

The trouble with him is he has one of these elastic noses that can get thru the tinest of gaps so he had pulled the inside net thru the outer net and got hooked up .Will look into the hay bar

 

[Luci07]

Honestly? Don't use a net. At all. Try to split the hay if possible. Have it in different places, maybe try a board in the corner of the stable to keep the hay in place but having had my lovely 6 year old really damage himself badly by catching his leg in his net...never again. 6 weeks on box rest, 3 months of hacking and now schooling again. Still not sure if I am out of the woods yet either. He didn't damage his tendons ( thought he had originally) but enforced box rest for a large active growing horse caused foot issues.

 

[Patchworkpony]

Hay bars are fantastic. Better than hay racks as they don't get seed in their eyes.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

If you tie hay net up as normal and then take the end of the string, loop it through the net about halfway down and then pull it up tight and tie the net again to the ring it will be a completely solid pillow of hay and tied up with no hanging down and no chance of rug clip issues.

It's a balance of risk isn't it, my big chap has it on the floor as he's not greedy or prone to weight or lami issues and so can have it ad lib, but the pony has to have it trickle fed so doing the net like this means it lasts her longer, once finished she has oat straw on the floor to chew on.

NB could pony also not be rugged in the stable? This would get rid of that risk at least?

 

[Polos Mum]

Soak the hay so he can have a little more, get someone to give him some at late night check and/or mix with straw so when he's desporate he'll still have something to eat

 

[mummymole]

His hay is soaked and he doent make a mess with it .Doesn't wait a bit .The net was tied as high as possible ,threaded thru etc as i am also thinking of safety but because it was double netted he had managed to pull the inner net thru the outer one and get hooked . No more hay nets for me just a plastic bin i think .Hay bars are way to expensive and thinka plastic bucket doe s the same job .We are on a private yard so no services so he has his hay about 6pm but he does have a straw bed which he will nibble on when his peckish

 

[philamena]

His hay is soaked and he doent make a mess with it .Doesn't wait a bit .The net was tied as high as possible ,threaded thru etc as i am also thinking of safety but because it was double netted he had managed to pull the inner net thru the outer one and get hooked . No more hay nets for me just a plastic bin i think .Hay bars are way to expensive and thinka plastic bucket doe s the same job .We are on a private yard so no services so he has his hay about 6pm but he does have a straw bed which he will nibble on when his peckish

Hay bars are scarily expensive - some have had great success making a home-made version using a bit of rubber matting etc which is worth a try if you've got someone handy. You can tie a net to the bottom inside to get best of both worlds, though it does mean the horse has to pull the hay out upwards which isn't best for their neck or back muscles. A big plastic bucket might do it - though tried it with mine and it took four seconds for her to tip it on the floor so might as well just put it there myself I reckon! You could get a tubtrug and use a carabiner and tie ring to attach it safely to the wall so it can't get tipped over. I haven't got around to trying this...

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

I think that haybars are often not cleaned and may be set on to the floor, so that a lot of wet mould gathers at the bottom, so a good strong ribber bin ,if you can find one!

 

[philamena]

I think that haybars are often not cleaned and may be set on to the floor, so that a lot of wet mould gathers at the bottom, so a good strong ribber bin ,if you can find one!

You just fit them six inches above the floor, push the bits out the gap in the bottom and sweep it out. I relented and bought one and it is fab and easy to clean. It does hurt when you buy it though!