Soaking hay, losing the will to live!

[chocolategirl]

Help please with any suggestions as to how I can make this pita task any easier on my knackered old back?? I have 2 on soaked hay(dietary reasons),and now they’re in at night and I’ve had to increase the amount they have, I’m literally breaking down. What I could do with is a big container that has a tap on for easier emptying, making the nets less heavy to handle. All the ones I’ve seen are hundreds of pounds, has anyone come across one that doesn’t break the bank please as I’ll need at least 2 of? Tia

 

[windand rain]

The best way is to use ordinary haynets with less hay in them so 2kgs per net they are easier to lift and horses manage fine with a lot of haynets in their stable. As to water get a rainbut with a tap at the bottom if possible put the tap into a drain

 

[ROMANY 1959]

My friend has a pulley ratchet system over her water but. She drops 2 half filled nets into water to soak, then hoisted them up , drains them and then puts in stable. Makes them more moveable

 

[Goldenstar]

Get an old bath .

 

[ycbm]

My husband put taps on the bottom of large plastic soaking bins for me and I use more haynets like W&R

 

[Identityincrisis]

I saw a genius idea on Facebook a few years ago and it saved my back!! You need to be a little DIY but it really isn't difficult.

Get a wheelie bin (i had an unused one, and i don't care you're not allowed to use them!)
At the bottom front drill a hole approx 2inch diameter (we put a screw on lip thing to make it deeper) you can either put a tap on or as i did, get a rubber bung that can be expanded or contracted to the size you need ( couple of quid from a plumbing site)
We cut down the front to make removing the net easier.
I put a grill on the bottom so the hay could drip once the water had been removed

Put haynet in, fill with a hose (making sure bung is in place!) And leave to soak.
When it has soaked, remove bung and leave to drain and drip. Use wheelie bin to wheel to stable and remove from bin. It is so much lighter as it has been allowed to drip for approx 15 minutes

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I buy the wide top water butt its green Google it and its patterned like a wooden barrel on the outside it's £35, I can fit 4 medium nets or 2 massive ones in at a time, it's so easy as they have a tap at the bottom so the hay drains in there so easy to take out, I just put something in the bottom so they don't sit in the bit of water that is left in the bottom.

 

[holeymoley]

A couple of the cheap feed bins. Just tip them over and then pull haynets outs once the waters out. Will probably cost you the price of a couple of feed bins once a year or so. I have a haycube which is designed to be easier for soaking but the water pressure is so slow that it take ages to fill, so I went down the feed bin route. You can normally always get some that someone wants rid of. I don't find it too hard on the back either. Another tip is to split your haynets to make them lighter so that you're lifting less.

 

[AnShanDan]

We've got an old bath.

However, this year we're on big bale haylage so no soaking

 

[I'm Dun]

I saw a genius idea on Facebook a few years ago and it saved my back!! You need to be a little DIY but it really isn't difficult.

Get a wheelie bin (i had an unused one, and i don't care you're not allowed to use them!)
At the bottom front drill a hole approx 2inch diameter (we put a screw on lip thing to make it deeper) you can either put a tap on or as i did, get a rubber bung that can be expanded or contracted to the size you need ( couple of quid from a plumbing site)
We cut down the front to make removing the net easier.
I put a grill on the bottom so the hay could drip once the water had been removed

Put haynet in, fill with a hose (making sure bung is in place!) And leave to soak.
When it has soaked, remove bung and leave to drain and drip. Use wheelie bin to wheel to stable and remove from bin. It is so much lighter as it has been allowed to drip for approx 15 minutes

This is what I did. Easy peasy! I filled it when the bin was over the drain as its heavy to move when full. Then its just a case of drain and take the haynet where you want it

 

[milliepops]

i'm back to soaking hay for a bit, and i picked up a couple of haycubes off FB marketplace, no faffing

 

[ginatina]

Can you feed some haylage? I've just sourced a special low-sugar haylage that the farmer grew specially for laminitic prone horses. it isn't sweet and rich like regular haylage, and doesn't need soaking, hurrrah!! Maybe worth asking around locally to see if theres any grown in your area

 

[TPO]

Another vote for haycubes. Game changers when it comes to soaking hay!

Not the cheapest option, but there are 2nd hand bargains to be found, but definitely value for money. My oldest one must be nearly 9 now and still looks as good as new.

 

[meleeka]

No advice but just to say you have my sympathies. It’s got to be the worst horse related job there is.

I used a water butt with a tap at the bottom, like what is used in gardening.

 

[SEL]

I hate it! Nearly cried with relief when I had my hay tested and found it was really, really low sugar / starch.

 

[LaurenBay]

Another vote for Haycube, I loved mine (so did my back)

 

[Polos Mum]

I think you need 2 soaking receptacles from cheap old baths to DIY IBC / wheely bins or expensive cubes - depending on budget.

Don't try and lift wet hay, drain it where it is - hence the need for 2 as you want one soaking and one drying all the time.

Then smaller nets that are easer to manage when drained.

 

[Esmae]

I have a wheelie bin hay soaker. It lives on a flat sack barrow so I can wheel it about. I also have a pulley system so the haynet goes in the soaker and is duly soaked. I let down the hook on the pulley and hook the haynet out of the water and allow to drain. Then I wheel the soaker to the drain and let the water out. Soaked haynet is lowered into a wheelbarrow and wheeled to the stable and hung up when it's finished dripping. Saves all sorts of back trauma.

 

[paddy555]

I soak for up to 8 and find it is the easiest job. I bought human baths, either very cheaply as seconds (damaged with chips out etc) and some I spoke to my local builder who was changing bathrooms to wet rooms and had no shortage.
They came with the taps on and a plug in the plug hole and most importantly an overflow.

I was able to build them in, but you could just put them up on blocks. Chose a suitable place with water and a drain, connected in the water and drain

I soak loose, I don't soak haynets as that is hard work. I put a whole bale in and then cut the strings. I put lid on top and then soak. Pull the plug, let it drain. I have hooks for a haynet next to the bath so just open the net and put the hay in checking for foreign bodies. For some I feed in a large bin fastened back to the stable wall so just lift wet hay out of the bath into the bin and wheel on a sack truck to the stable.
You don't have to soak a whole bale. If you soak, drain and just want to soak again it is very easy to lift the wet hay out into hay feed bins and wheel them around later. By 5pm I have around 6 haynets and 5 bins of wet hay waiting to feed later on. I only half fill the haynets to make them easier to lift so a horse has 2 smaller nets rather than one large very heavy one.

If you don't have the time to wait for the bath to fill with a conventional tap, as I don't, then I found the answer was a tank of water next to the bath. The mains water goes directly into this, there is a ball cock to stop it and then there is a large bore pipe (around 2 inches) to the bath. Open the tap on this and within a very short time bath is full and water tank already refilling.

 

[joelb]

Sending sympathies OP as I have 2 x 16.2 heavies on soaked hay for health reasons and I'm dreading winter after being a slave to nets all summer.
I currently use my hay saver for soaking which easily takes 4 nets but the lifting, emptying, rinsing, plus lugging to yard twice a day is hard work.
Eagerly following for some bright ideas.

 

[Red-1]

I buy the wide top water butt its green Google it and its patterned like a wooden barrel on the outside it's £35, I can fit 4 medium nets or 2 massive ones in at a time, it's so easy as they have a tap at the bottom so the hay drains in there so easy to take out, I just put something in the bottom so they don't sit in the bit of water that is left in the bottom.

This is what I used for a year, with Rigsby. I bought an in-line tap, so it didn't need to be on a stand. I put hosepipe to take the water away. It was still arduous. I have now transferred him onto Horsehage blue (high fibre). It is a lot more expensive, but bliss!

BTW, who are Horsehage kidding, 1 bale lasts the average horse 2-3 days???

 

[Marnie]

A couple of people have mentioned hay cubes - I have done an internet search and various things come up but nothing actually called a hay cube that I can see. Can anyone link to one? Thanks!

 

[milliepops]

A couple of people have mentioned hay cubes - I have done an internet search and various things come up but nothing actually called a hay cube that I can see. Can anyone link to one? Thanks!

https://www.haycube.co.uk/

 

[SantaVera]

I soaked mine in plastic trugs large ones would have prefered an old bath but there were non about.i soaked leaves of hay with a brick on top i found this way easier to handle as the nets are too heavy for me. i have seen a pully system set up with block and tackle to hoist the soaked nets and let them drip then lower into a barrow to move them. this year i had the hay tested and it came back only 8 and a half percent sugar so i dont need to saok (hurray) i water with a watering can just to dampo it down for the one who coughs.

 

[scats]

https://www.haycube.co.uk/

Do they clip onto the wall MP?

 

[milliepops]

they do have a bracket to hook onto but i don't use them like that, i just shove them where i want them. Millie used to nudge hers around a bit but Kira generally leaves it where i put it.

 

[scats]

they do have a bracket to hook onto but i don't use them like that, i just shove them where i want them. Millie used to nudge hers around a bit but Kira generally leaves it where i put it.

Ive just managed to pick one up second hand on FB, but not sure if it will survive a night with my Millie unless it’s tied to a wall.

 

[Julie Ole Girl]

I saw a genius idea on Facebook a few years ago and it saved my back!! You need to be a little DIY but it really isn't difficult.

Get a wheelie bin (i had an unused one, and i don't care you're not allowed to use them!)
At the bottom front drill a hole approx 2inch diameter (we put a screw on lip thing to make it deeper) you can either put a tap on or as i did, get a rubber bung that can be expanded or contracted to the size you need ( couple of quid from a plumbing site)
We cut down the front to make removing the net easier.
I put a grill on the bottom so the hay could drip once the water had been removed

Put haynet in, fill with a hose (making sure bung is in place!) And leave to soak.
When it has soaked, remove bung and leave to drain and drip. Use wheelie bin to wheel to stable and remove from bin. It is so much lighter as it has been allowed to drip for approx 15 minutes

Similar to me, I just run the hose in a big feed bucket of hay, leave to soak and then pour the water out. Whilst they have haynets hosed down, this gives them their nightime munchies.

 

[milliepops]

Ive just managed to pick one up second hand on FB, but not sure if it will survive a night with my Millie unless it’s tied to a wall.

I have spare brackets if you want me to send you one, I've ended up with 3 ?

 

[Northern Hare]

https://www.haycube.co.uk/

I really liked the Haycubes, but unfortunately my old horse decided that it was a great game to see if he could fit both front legs into it once he'd eaten his hay. Fortunately once he realised that he couldn't free himself, he just stood patiently waiting for someone to help him. I didn't have it attached to the wall with the bracket, perhaps that might have deterred him, but it was still next to the wall.