trickle nets/ slow feeders for hay - any ground level options?

[Horsekaren]

i have a greedy feeder net for my boy but he really needs to be eating off the floor so his neck is in the natural position.

Are there any products out there for this or DIY ideas? I have a hay bar but he eats too quickly. I dont want anything that he could get caught or hurt on. I have seen the hay balls but i'm looking for something that is the equivalent to a hay net which i can load up every evening.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I take it he's shod?


could you rig up a slow feeder net to go inside his hay bar and anchor it in the bottom somehow?

 

[Horsekaren]

I take it he's shod?


could you rig up a slow feeder net to go inside his hay bar and anchor it in the bottom somehow?

he isn't shod but if any horse is to get in a pickle it would be him.
I like this idea but my worry would be that as he got further to the bottom the net would become baggy and layer onto of its self stopping him from eating

 

[Follysmum]

I use the trickle nets on the floor for my barefoot ponies and that works well, not good of your horse has shoes though

 

[MotherOfChickens]

he isn't shod but if any horse is to get in a pickle it would be him.
I like this idea but my worry would be that as he got further to the bottom the net would become baggy and layer onto of its self stopping him from eating

If you could put a long string on it you could anchor it top and bottom by threading through maybe? long time since I saw a hay bar so not sure how that might work.

if you search on here and google you will find various ideas for slow feeders. martsnets make floor feeders with split strings if he isn't shod or you could fashion a split string to go on an existing haynet.

I once made floor feeders out of 50mm plastic garden mesh (the thick green stuff) that was tied on three sides with rope threaded through once full (hay pillows), they worked well.

 

[ester]

I use nibbleze nets, F only has the big holed ones but the 20cm holed ones worked very well for a small greedy welshie. Because they don't attach to anything they cannot yank at them. Never had any issue with them stopping eaten when the net flattens on itself.

 

[pansymouse]

Ours and unshod and we use a trickle net to stop the greedy one inhaling his hay in 10 minutes.

 

[meleeka]

I use a small holed net from Martsnets. My cob has it tied to a ring fixed lower so it sits on the floor. He’s not shod and I make sure I tie it so there’s no loop or string big enough to get anything caught in. In the field I use a crate hay feeder with a ring at the bottom and tie it on there.

 

[scats]

I have hay bars and a tie ring the same height as the top of the bar. I tie greedy feeder nets to this so they are low and hang in the hay bar. Girls are still eating in the head down position, but no chance of shoes getting caught in the net.

 

[mums the groom]

I use one of these forfor a greedy section b
http://www.horsefeeders.co.uk/shop/horse-feeders/hay-play/

 

[Identityincrisis]

I have a hay bar and found my boy just inhaled his hay as he's greedy! I put a tie ring at the bottom of it, put a small tub trug upside down (to lift the net slightly off the bottom) and put the haynet into the bar 'upside down' and tie to the ring. He eats no problem and with minimal waste

 

[zola89]

I was trying for the same - feeder lower/off the floor, but slowly. I tried making something out of a bin in a tyre & clipping the haynet in but she kept pulling the net so it was hanging out and I was too paranoid about her getting her shoe caught. So in the end I've gone for a haygrazer bag. It's not on the floor but it is a lot lower than a net. They're pretty robust and hold 6-8kg of haylage.

 

[Landcruiser]

I used tractor tyres to make mine, they are not huge (old Massey 135 rear tyres). I got a good thick plank (roofing timber) and bolted it to each side of the tyre wall using big washers so the bolts don't pull through. Turned the tyre over so the plank lies on the ground, then screwed an ordinary ring tie to the middle off it for whatever net I want to use. I have 2 of these and they work very well. All the dead hay ends up on the ground inside the tyre and I can just roll them to a new location when I want to clear them out. My boys are unshod and sensible, but I have never seen them put a foot inside the tyres anyway.

 

[stormox]

I have seen a wheelie bin used. A hole is cut in the bottom of front so horses can pull hay through it. You can load it up from the top and fasten lid down.
My own horse much prefers eating out of a haynet than eating off the floor. Her decision- i put hay on the floor and in a net and its always the net she goes to first.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

have you seen the continental style haynes OP? I have one for each of them when they are stabled-one has a net in the middle so you can use a combination of mesh widths. I like them because I can stick a load of hay in them and just leave them hanging when I fill them. I had an Elico one which was cheap but not great quality and now have two Swedish Hoof School ones (one was sh off eBay, the other was expensive but now 8 years old and still going strong) but Martsnets make them as do these people

http://www.slowfeeding.net

 

[Street_Skill]

I use nibbleze nets, F only has the big holed ones but the 20cm holed ones worked very well for a small greedy welshie. Because they don't attach to anything they cannot yank at them. Never had any issue with them stopping eaten when the net flattens on itself.

Second this! I bought a 20cm Nibbleze net for my TB before Christmas as I was concerned that he was finishing his hay early overnight and if I couldn't check on him late he was going for long periods without anything to eat. He hasn't got confirmed ulcers, but it wouldn't surprise me if he was prine to them and I was hoping this type of net might help. He quickly got used to the net and I have found That it has distracted him from cribbing, which is his other trick if his hay runs out, and he does seem to do it less even when tied up without food strangely. He doesn't have shoes on and I alternate between hanging the net low from a ring on the wall to leaving it on the ground to keep him interested. It also reduces the amount of waste on the floor compared with traditional nets or feeding from the ground. I'm really impressed with this product - it get soaked every day and has stood up well. No signs of wear despite daily use over a 6-8 week period so far and you get a repair kit with it.