Porta Grazer

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Freddy2

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My horse has recently been diagnosed with EMS after suffering from laminitis. He is now on a very restricted diet including soaking his hay. It is a bit of a nightmare particularly as he is bolting his hay and then standing grumpy and hungry for hours :( I am looking at ways to slow his eating down, as even a double small holed net doesn't work!! I have seen the Porta grazer and it looks like a good option particularly as I can soak in it as well. Has anyone tried it?
 
I brought one of these for my EMS horse, I do really like using it as you can soak your hay in it. But does not slow him down as much as I'd hoped, you can't really fit much hay in and if i stuff it full my horse constantly gets the lid out! I actually don't think it was worth the money.
 
Thank you for your response. I was hoping this might be the answer to my problems but maybe not! Out of interest approximately how much hay will it hold and how long does your horse take to eat it? My boy can polish of a medium hay net in less that an hour so two hours of eating for that amount would be an improvement!
 
Have you tried triple netting small holed haynets? Shires do a extra small holed one, I find 3 of those inside each other help.
 
I find I can get approx 10 pounds of hay in, he comes in around 8 am and he's normally done between 11 - 12 am a slight improvement on the hay nets! I like to use it as tugging at small holed hay nets constantly can't be much good for his back and neck. Apparently you can get 30 pounds in it but I fail to see how unless I'm doing something wrong. I am thinking of ordering a smaller holed lid for it to see if that helps slow him up. The shires nets are expensive and in my opinion not worth it as the holes stretch easily, I found martsnets on eBay, one has tiny holes and its the only net he has struggled to empty, I hang some of his ration in this. The other thing I do is give either a tub of straw chaff or a fold of decent straw it makes me feel less guilty and even though he's not keen he will eat it if he's desperate, it also reminds me that if he doesn't eat his straw he's not as starved as he makes out because sometimes he'll Hoover the lot up!
 
I have been using a Porta-Grazer for my horses for a while now. For me the main reason I wanted them was because as The Jakenator said, tugging at small holed haynets can't be good. For my 15hh horse I can get 3 slices in fine which is enough for him and lasts most of the night (it is gone by morning but if I've ever been out late at night he still has some and he's less anxious for his morning feed so it must have lasted much longer into the night). For my 17hh horse I can't fit enough in for him, but I just give him the rest he needs in a haynet. I figure that eating most of his ration in a better position is better than eating all of it out of a haynet. It gives a bit of variety too which can't be a bad thing. Yes my horses too have got the pan out now and then, but I think it's mostly when I have crammed too much in and put the pan under pressure. It rarely happens overall, and I'm happier with them eating this way, so for me it's not a big deal. I am saving for a smaller holed one for my little pony now. I guess one of the smaller holed versions would slow bigger horses more if that's what you need it for?
 
Thanks for your comments. My horse is 15 hands too. What size holes have you for your horse? I would have to go for the 3.5 at biggest, i think, as he has little feet .
 
I have the 3.5" holes for my 15hh horse and the 4" holes for my 17hh as the recommended sizes I think. But my 17hh manages fine with the 3.5" hole one (I've tried) so I imagine my 15hh horse could manage with the 3" holes. I think it would depend how rough your horse is likely to be with it, he might get frustrated if you go too small. My horses are used to them so I don't think it would cause a problem. But then you could just feed a haynet too initially (as is recommended anyway) and then he would get used to the smaller holes without frustration. Or always feed something easier to eat with it so he can eat that quickly and then settle with the Porta-Grazer once that has gone (thinking out loud here!). It depends how long he goes without food, the less of a time gap between fillings, the less he will be frustrated to eat. I try to feed enough that means mine don't get frustrated. Either way, for my horses they last longer then haynets even with the recommended holes. I would say though that soaked hay is definitely harder for them to get out than dry hay, so I wouldn't be sure I'd go down a hole size with soaked hay. I soak mine even for the horse that doesn't really need it, just because it takes him even longer to eat it that way. Hope that makes sense and isn't a load of garble. If I remember I'll try the 3" holes I'll be getting for the pony with my 15hh horse once I have it and revisit this thread!
 
If you soak the hay in the Porta-Grazer is there a plug to let the water out or do you soak the hay in something else and transfer it to the Porta-Grazer?
 
There is a plug, it doesn't quite drain all the water out though, you need to tip it slightly and even then i find it doesn't all come out. The plug is very small and I've actually lost mine! Having said that, it's better than pulling wet nets out out of a bin!
 
Yes there is a plug that you unscrew. I leave mine draining whilst I do everything else, and then just tip for the last bit. Or sometimes I leave it on a slight slope and then I don't need to tip for the last bit at all. I find all of it comes out if I tip the last tiny bit. I look after some other ponies that I have to soak haynets for and am trying to persuade their owner to buy Porta-Grazers for them. I hate soaking their haynets, the effort of lugging them out of bins and usually getting my feet soaked in the process!
 
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