Round bale small hole net hack cheap £18! Or make large trickle nets

PurBee

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I’ve found an alternative to buying standard round bale net which usually have huge holes anyway, not slowing the horses down. Trickle round bale nets are 50 quid + shipping.

Ive just bought a 3x4m cargo net from ebay. Its huge enough to wrap a large round bale and tighten with added twine. The cargo net comes with a weaved thick elastic rope which is removable if needed.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cargo-Ne...hash=item23cbb78f61:m:mxZD-rrKBl480KYvt9Zkv3w

Or this could be cut into 3 or 4 to make very large trickle hay nets, which rrp for just 1 is more expensive than this netting.

Its knotless so is smooth on the horses lips. Uv and rotproof. 1.5 inch holes. Ive pulled at it and its strong poly material.

Im going to section it up to make several trickle nets that would hold easily 2 small bales each.

Thought you folks might like to save a few quid like i have, im very chuffed with this :)
 

PurBee

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I havent made them yet mini-eventer, having just received the cargo net. It’s huge! I think ill be able to get 4 massive nets out of it.
It definitely will fit the largest round bales...mine were 5.5feet in both directions...so i measured the cargo net to fit them.

Ive got 2 (shires i think they are) trickle nets, theyre about 2 inch holes but knotted. Had them years, but horse chewed one knot just by trying to grab the hay, rather than maliciously to make the hole bigger, and had to repair, which keeps getting chewed. Ive had them 5+ yrs so they do last but theyre 13 quid-ish for one which takes only 5kg max.
The cargo net is knotless so im intrigued how these will hold up.
When ive made my nets ill post a pic and review of use here. Hope to get onto that job this week.
 

PurBee

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On the ebay link i bought the 3x4metre sized net, specifically for round bales. There is the option to buy 2x3metre netting also, which wouldnt fit the usual large bales...at a push it would cover some smaller bales.

However, im not going to continue with round bale use for various reasons so am now going to use it to make trickle nets and station them around the yard.
 

honetpot

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I have used hockey nets, I got a pair for under £20. I use over round bales with sheep ring feeder, I just throw it over and then use rope to threaded through the feeder to hold it in place They do still chew holes in it but there is loads of it. I think my origanal purchase is on its fourth year.
 

PurBee

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What put you off in the end?

Im not doing round bales mainly because it leaves them stationed at just one place....so they get less movement exercise, and park themselves at the bale for hours on end without moving!

They overeat is the main concern - they were downing 30kg each horse in 24hrs - that 6% BW in forage - and its mixed meadow hay -3 times what they get when measured out 2% - they wouldnt slow down, they just park up and eat...they didnt end up ‘self regulating’ after 3 weeks....3 barrow loads of poop in 24hrs for just 2 horses...insane! That was without the net. I bought the net to slow them down but still didnt like the lack of movement part, and the next reason:

All the round hay bales i have access to within 3hr drive on this side of the country, 20+ suppliers tried, first need unrolling 2 outer leaves and throwing away. Then the ends need ripping off 10 inches. These are the ‘mouldy’ parts of the bale as the practice here is to make hay and leave them outside to be rained on for 3 weeks before they get put in the shed. The reason is really due to this climate, making hay and having even 3 days without rain in summer is a rare break, so the hay is often baled after being drizzled on, which means its heating up after baling - so if they were to put in shed straight away theres a high chance of hay stack fire.
So...im switching to all imported bagged forage of various types as im fed up with shoite quality hay from this climate!

They try to make hay in 3 days here, thick stems hold moisture within, my experience taught me 5 days needed and 3 turns. They generally chop, wilt and dry a day, turn next day, bale 3rd day...its okay for cow feed but cruddy quality for horses, despite the ads ‘top quality, no weeds, not seen rain’...they mostly all lie. Ive been to all counties throughout the yrs.
So i have a lot of pulling off /throwing away of the bale before i net it.
Also, some bales are fine, others have docks and other anomalies i dont want them eating,so letting them at it, without checking is taking a risk...re: For Poisonous weeds.
Storing ‘perfect hay’ (if rarely found) is impossible to keep dry as during 5 winter months of 95% outdoor moisture levels. This external moisture is seeping into the hay in the haybarn and making the outside of the bales damp, which grow mould quickly, and thus a lot of wastage and time pulling off shoite.
I have a weather station as i couldnt figure out why nothing would store here in barns, after living east midlands uk for yrs...which is a paradise climate compared to ireland.

If you have fabulous quality round bales of consistency, with no weeds, netting the whole thing and feeding that way is easier, and if youre able to shut them off from access for a few hours throughout the day/night, if they become too greedy.

These 3 primary reasons also have ‘knock-on’ undesirable effects i could rant on about but will spare all ;)

Having trickle net posts and the horses moving about more tracked, moreso in the winter has worked before, so ill use this method instead.

If you have horses that do self regulate youre lucky...and this net would be very helpful.
I just cant believe how greedy horses can be...:oops:
 
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