OMG..I LOVE my Trickle Net!!!

I've had my Tricklenet several weeks now. It is brilliant. I have a large haylage net.bog standard net from a well known equestrian company. I am most disappointed in it. Thin material and much more difficult to tie up due to a large knot and the string not being quite long enough. Waste of £10. When it wears out;which wont be long I think; i'll be having another TrickleNet to replace it;far better value and easier to use.
 
Best 30 pounds I've ever spent. In fact I actually bought 3 for my fatties and I'm shortly going to buy another 7! Yes 7! 5 for me as we've added another mouth to the family and I want 4 nets for through the night and 4 for through the day when they can't go out because the fields are too wet. I can them just swap them on a morning and don't have to worry that they are not getting enough to eat.
The other 2 are for a friend who also thinks they are fantastic.
Buying other small holed nets is false economy because I was having to replace them every 2 months as they just ate their way through them. These are so strong even my bunch of hooligans are foiled.:D and, .....shock, horror, they even have some hay/haylage left in the morning.
 
Clever bit of advertising Equimo! I actually worry that these nets give the horse too little to satisfy the stomach acids and if longer term they could cause colic or ulcers?

Would be interested to know what trials were done over what period of time, how many horses were involved etc.
 
Had mine 6 weeks now. No wear in it at all (she damaged other brands of nets) and there has not been one morning without a bit of hay left in the bottom.

She is also filthy in her stable usually, and this has also noticeably improved, so she is obvisouly entertained for longer.

Absolutely worth the £30. I WISH it had been cheaper, but then I wish a lot of things were cheaper!! ;) Absolutely recommend! Totaly worth every penny.
 
ISHmad said:
Clever bit of advertising Equimo! I actually worry that these nets give the horse too little to satisfy the stomach acids and if longer term they could cause colic or ulcers?

Would be interested to know what trials were done over what period of time, how many horses were involved etc.
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Only if you are actually not giving your horse enough? My mare gets more that she should get weight wise, but she eats it way too fast in a standard haynet. In a large hole haynet, she can actually get through 6/7kgs of hay in an hour! So this net slows her down, but she does GET hay, so can't see how she is having too little to satisfy stomach acids? She is actually now never without hay. Surely the acid problems come from long periods of time with no access to food and when they are actually not being given enough (weight wise) in the 1st place.
 
galaxy said:
So this net slows her down, but she does GET hay, so can't see how she is having too little to satisfy stomach acids? She is actually now never without hay. Surely the acid problems come from long periods of time with no access to food and when they are actually not being given enough (weight wise) in the 1st place.
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that.

Id see a small quantities of hay being eaten steadily over several hours as better for the stomach than larger quantities grabbed from a larger holed net over a couple of hours, and then nothing for the rest of the night, as being better, surely?
 
Echo Galaxy! Horse is 17hh and has a rammed full Trickle net, always plenty left in the morning but he's certainly getting enough....stopped him door kicking in the mornings too.

As for the cost, I was using tripled up shires nets, but they weren't big enough son had to have two lots of tripled up nets....so that's six hay nets to do the same job of the trickle net (only trickle net is easier to fill and does slow him down more, amd doesn't show the wear and tear so quickly)

At approx £5 per hay net....you do the maths! It isn't any more expensive for me!
 
Equimo - you are my heroine.:D
For you doubters out there, these haynets are worth the money if only for the peace of mind I get knowing that they always have something to nibble on. I have a horse who is very susceptible to colic and this ensures that she always has something going through her system.

And NO! Equimo is not paying me to say this or to advertise these nets I'm speaking purely from the experience I've had with these.
 
I originally started this thread and have NO AFFILIATION with Tricklenet other than I bought one at the beginning of December and am pleased with it!

I fill it jam packed to the brim with hay (must be about the 8kgs that it holds) and although it's empty by the time I come in the morning (about 8), I know judging from where her poos are piled up in one spot now, that her hay is lasting her most of the night now instead of just 1-2 hours. We can't feed ad lib hay at our yard so this net is the next best thing.

Hattie tears holes easily in her nets and I was forever fixing them with bailing twine but so far, the bailing twine has stayed wrapped up in the feed room!
 
Just this minute ordered one. I bought 3 new shires nets to double net and it worked for a few days but the holes are already stretched.

£30 is a lot but I also have Haybars which were a lot more expensive. While I would prefer not to feed from a net ( why I bought the hay bars ) Daisy is such a pig that its the only option.
 
Have been using my trickle net since December and last week noticed my mares front teeth were showing excessive wear. She doesn't crib bite or anything and has always had really good and even wear when check by the dentist (every 6 months or so in the 12yrs I have had her). The trickle net is the only thing that has changed (management wise), so has that resulted in the increased wear to her front teeth or is it something else? Anyone else who has been using these nets a while notice this??
 
I LOVE these nets!! They have made such a difference, my horses hay lasts him so much longer so now hes not stood hungry most of the night. YES they are expensive, but after paying 5k in vets bill for lami last year its a saving and a small price to pay!!!
 
sidesaddlegirl said:
I've had my net since December but haven't noticed anything. My TB cribs though but even then, the vet has never remarked about excessive wear on her teeth either. She does flap her lips more trying to get the hay out and doesn't actually bite the net.
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I really hope it is not the net causing this increased wear. Have you looked at your TB's teeth yourself? This wear has happened between 6 monthly dentist visits where she only ever needs a minimal routine float as wear always very evenly. The tricklenet is the only change I have made and whilst I love it as her hay is lasting longer, and was considering buying a 2nd, I am now concerned incase it is the cause............ I used to feed from a trug at ground level and before that from a haybar (till she broke it by scratching on it).
 
Is there wear showing on the net itself? You would think teeth would be harder than the net.

I have to say that I looked at them but didn't buy one but I could imagine my filly getting sore lips!
 
Persephone said:
Is there wear showing on the net itself? You would think teeth would be harder than the net.
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Nope only wear on the rope that ties it up. I'll get a pic if I can it is only her front 2 top teeth, that have suddenly shown increased/excessive wear and as this is the only change I have made I am naturally concerned. I love the net, but not if it is going to cause issues further down the line.
 
I think they are a good idea in principle and could eliminate the 'ad lib' culture that I am convinced is contributing to equine obesity....trickle feeding is a far more natural way of feeding.

However I would be concerned over any long term back and neck problems they may cause as pulling continously at small tufts of forage surely can't be good for them?

Mine have a weighed amount, calculated by their condition and work load. This is fed from the floor and although I am sure they eat it too quickly, and may well be left for a few hours with no forage, doesn't seem to do them any harm!
 
BlackVelvet said:
I LOVE these nets!! They have made such a difference, my horses hay lasts him so much longer so now hes not stood hungry most of the night. YES they are expensive, but after paying 5k in vets bill for lami last year its a saving and a small price to pay!!!
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I disagree, I've now paid out a fortune on physio treatment for my pony's neck after he pulled his neck muscles (as explained in another post) and he's still not right.

Mind you they have done me a favour as after years of double, triple and even quadruple netting I've now found my pony eats his hay slower off the floor. He is much more relaxed and not grabbing huge mouth fulls (yes he even did this with the trickle net). Maybe because it looks so much more when you shake the hay out onto the floor it's the full plate syndrome :rolleyes: It's true his hay doesn't last all night but he seems to be happy that way and frankly who am I to force him to do things my way?

I do believe these nets slow down less greedy horses but surely that misses the point. The truly greedy ones like mine are very likely to hurt themselves trying to get at the hay as my pony is sadly proof of.
 
Sidney said:
I think they are a good idea in principle and could eliminate the 'ad lib' culture that I am convinced is contributing to equine obesity....trickle feeding is a far more natural way of feeding.

However I would be concerned over any long term back and neck problems they may cause as pulling continously at small tufts of forage surely can't be good for them?

Mine have a weighed amount, calculated by their condition and work load. This is fed from the floor and although I am sure they eat it too quickly, and may well be left for a few hours with no forage, doesn't seem to do them any harm!
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Couldn't agree more
 
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