Opinions: To feed hay, is it better on the floor or a net?

Bluebelle666

Bluebelle666

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The livery my horse is at say they will feed her hay either by throwing it in the front of her stable where there is no straw, or use a hay net. This hasn't been offered at her previous liveries and am unsure as to which way is for the better??

I understand that feeding from the floor is more natural and better for muscles, mucus draining, and supposedly less stressful, however I know that a hay net trickle feeds the horse over night so is better for boredom. Either way her stable is hayless come the morning.

Opinions? :confused:
 
I, personally, feed my horse hay from the ground, purely for the muscle strenghtening aspect of it, however this is only when he's in his stable, when he's in the paddock, they feed from large hay bales, which would be the eqivalent to a hay net.
 
On the floor is better but depends if she is a piggy and eats it all straight away and then stands for hours with nothing. Mine have ad lib hay but in nets more because they waste it and mix it in their beds.
 
I think it is better to feed from the floor for the reasons you have stated yourself, although one of mine has a net to stop her being a pig but it is hung fairly low. The youngster gets hers from the floor as I won't put a net in low for her as she will get her leg stuck and I wouldn't put a net up high anyway, so floor it is. I've just had to be careful as if I give her too much she trashes it and puts it in her bed, so I've reduced it down to an amount which means she's got a bit left in the morning, but not so much that the stable is trashed. She is also getting a bit fat, so having a bit less won't harm her!
 
I'd NEVER use a haynet- nasty dangerous things! Especially if they're hung low!

I'm not sure how a haynet trickles feeds a horse better than putting hay on the floor. A greedy horse will eat quickly either way. Hay is long fibre, so that is trickle-feeding. The only difference I can see, is that perhaps a haynet will be less wasteful, as horses who don't have nets can rummage through for the tastiest bits and mix the hay in with the bed. What you really need to be concerned about, is 'is the horse getting enough hay?' if there is none left in the morning.
 
She only came to me 2 weeks ago and the livery she was in previously gave her 1 hay net and 1 pony sized feed a day, she was out 8 hours but the field was baron with no hay, the owner only got to see her twice a week due to working away and the YO reduced her feed to this without discussion.

At the livery with me she is turned out for 8 hours a day with 3 others in a large field that has huge round bales of hay in at all times, she has 2 large feeds a day as well as me giving her a few carrots and some fibre nuggets (which she loves), she then has a large amount of hay in her stable for the night. Writing it down it does seem a lot but she is quite a bit on the thin side at the moment.
 
From a veterinary perspective feeding from the floor is best, its the horses natural way to eat to ensure adequate drainage from their sinuses (which is severely restricted when eating from a haynet/with their head held high).

Its a pain as they waste it and mix it in their bedding and pooh in it... but in the long term for both muscle definition and the drainage from the sinuses it allows, feeding from the floor is best :)
 
Floor is better, totally natural, if you give adlib, the horse wouldn't run out do would have enough for the whole time stabled.
Only down side is the mess!
They do like to mix it all in!
 
I like the floor, for above reasons, though if ny horse wasted his hay in his bed I might rethink due to economical reasons. Though I prefer floor if possible.
 
I am completely torn about this.

My first reaction is on the floor, UNTILL you have a greedy 13.2 pony where we need to ask ourselves if it is more beneficial for a horse to eat from the ground for all of thew above reasons then finish his entire hay ration (7.5 kg) for the night by 7 oclock (in an hour and a half) then stand with an empty stomach for 12 hours untill he is fed again (I have watched him do this).

We choose haynets (a tripple net), which is completely against my ethos and belief, but gastric ulcers are worse and ad lib hay would be over a bale a night.

I would like to say the others have hay from the floor.
 
I use nets and a rack.

My boy has a hay rack, as he doesn't like eating from nets. He will hoover up anything he drops, but he won't eat if I just put it in a pile on the floor. However he's quite happy to munch on his bed when I put clean straw in! :rolleyes:

Both my girls have nets, and they seem to waste very little with them. The little one will eat most off the floor if I just drop it in but wastes a lot, but the bigger mare won't touch it if it's not in a net :o
 
OP, your horse does sound to have quite a lot of hay but if she's a bit on the thin side, she obviously needs it atm.

If a fatter horse/pony finishes its ample ration too soon, the best way IMO, to avoid the (very real) possibility of an accident, is to supplement the hay with straw.
 
I have always fed from the floor, I don't like haynets and it is better for them. However I did have to go to a trickle net for the fat orange one because he'd stuff his allowance in about an hour which would mean 11 hours with nothing so would be far worse. I guess you just have to weigh up what's best for your horse.
 
My mare officially is fed out of a haybar, instead she emtpies it and eats from the floor. She s both fat and quite greedy so is fed hay and straw, if she finishes what she is given as food, then she eats her bed.
 
Bluebell666 - what kinda horse is she? How big? What breed? Age? Does see require soaked hay? Is she a piggy?

Two folds of hay doesn't sound enough to me but then she could be a little pony..... What hard feed do you feed? Is this feed of the floor or on the door/corner manager?

So she is on loan - did she come with nets? Does owner use them?
 
Mine has both!! She gets ad lib haylage so from 7am ish to 7pm-ish she eats from the floor and from 7pm-ish to 7am-ish she has two haynets. I don't use a hayrack as its a bit to high for my liking!
 
I'm liking the opinions and discussion

Apologies for the loose explanation I am about to give (only had her 10 days)... She's a 16hh Palomino, 15 years old, was used for cross country by previous owner until a tendon injury a year and a half ago, now in light work but aiming to build up her fitness slowly. In summer she is meant to be a good doer but feel that because she is under weight and now being worked a little it's just going to take some time. I cannot explain what mix they are giving her as concentrate but will ask the YO as I really should know. Hard feed is fed from the floor.

I understand this reads as a fluffy explanation :rolleyes: but this is my first attempt at horse ownership and so am learning quickly (previously was riding schools or share's where I was not involved in any decisions) and hoping that the full livery will ensure I don't do anything too wrong :eek:
 
Good luck - you will both be fine.

Just make sure they are giving her enough hay. She's a big girl so I would be feeding her a good 4 big sections at least.
Ps - if you don't have to muck out yourself then I wouldnt worry to much if she makes a mess with it! :)
 
I feed haylage from the floor - when I can... Which instantly rules out the TB... :rolleyes:

He eats enough for two small elephants (1 mahoosive net and 1 large net) overnight... 1 3/4 slices or so of the heston (? name) sized bales... The once I tried to leave his on the floor whilst he's wintered in at night, he dragged it all over the rest of the stable, pooped and pee'd in it so he wouldn't eat it and was a starving wreck when I got there in the morning... Daughter's Sec B pony is the same although we are talking more normal quantities...

The young QH and foalie Sec D both eat tidily from the floor but I've never introduced them to nets... Much easier than filling nets too...
 
Both get the bulk of their night hay on the floor (well, in haybars because they are messy). However, they also have some hay in a tricklenet or double netted as they are both piggies and that way have some hay left for later in the evening when the haybars are empty.
During the day they are in pens over the winter where they get haynets, hung up high so they don't get themselves in trouble.
 
I do the best of both worlds - trickle net done as a "hay pillow" on the floor. That way they eat at a natural position but dont scoff it all in an hour!!! Mine are barefoot though so no danger of getting caught on a shoe. So pleased i have finally found the solution I have been looking for for years!
 
Old mare gets hers in a Haylage net otherwise she will have finished it all in record time. Big baby gets his on the floor as he takes his time. Horses for courses!
 
Floor. Kal is a pig, but he's also currently fat and unfit . . . so he gets what he gets - on the floor . . . and if he mixes it in with his straw bed then he keeps himself occupied by foraging for it - there is never ANY left in the morning. If/when he's finished all his hay, he starts on his straw ;).

P
 
I like to feed on the floor...but!

But I use one of those really big flexi tubs. You can pick them up in B&Q etc cheaper than tack shops, this way the horse is still fedding from ground level but its tidier and the hay dosent get dragged in to their bed and wasted! :D
 
One of mine has a hay bar but doesn't get used much as he is a guzzler, so has a net and some in his hay bar. The baby had only ever been fed off the floor so I give him a large holed net and some on the floor so he can pick and choose. When my old boy goes the baby will go into the stable with the haybar, and use that mostly.
 
My preference is straight from the floor but my two are good doers and need restricting! Little fella has his hay soaked, double netted and tied in his haybar. Big fella has his soaked, netted and secured in massive tub trugs that are attached to the wall with a tie ring:
Image0108.jpg

They then get the benefit of eating close to the floor but are slowed up by the net. I've just ordered Trickle nets for further spring/summer restriction and having both boys BF I may go with the hay pillow suggestion as above :)

ETA Sorry that pics so big!
 
Our dentist was saying how harmful nets are to the the teeth (wrong grinding position apparently) and that from the floor is better. I always feed from the floor - I hate hay nets.
 
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