Very small holed nets, can't be good for neck muscles

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thatsmygirl

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Iv just brought my greedy highland a shires greedy net and was stood back watching him tonight putting such effort in pulling and tugging the hay in all directions with such force to pull it out. I'm just not overly sure it can be that great for their neck muscles surely tugging with such force in every direction possable to pull the hay out.

Any thoughts on this out of interest
 
Yes nets build up the muscle under the neck too much. Feeding from the ground would solve this but no one has come up with the perfect solution yet
 
I used small hole nets once. I was worried about their necks and their teeth, not to mention destroying the stable.
 
I agree. It's a most un-natural feeding position. As the owner of a good-doer I understand the need to restrict/prolong forage feeding but I sooner mine had a few hours without than that awful pulling and twisting of necks that those nets cause.
 
Agree. Have no choice but to use one though as he would eat for England. Tried and tested. His neck muscles under neck have definitely grown. Roll on summer.

Can't win either way
 
Yes, I doubt they are ideal but they have been invaluable in reducing Orca from a dangerous weight.
 
Pen said:
I agree. It's a most un-natural feeding position. As the owner of a good-doer I understand the need to restrict/prolong forage feeding but I sooner mine had a few hours without than that awful pulling and twisting of necks that those nets cause.
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You see this is what worries me, iv left him with it tonight but watching him grabbing it and pulling so hard and twisting so hard to get the hay out I'm just not happy with it.
It was like watching a dog wrestle with a stick if you have hold of the other end, that's how he was pulling the hay out.
How do u make the forage last all night though, or the best part of a night when he eats everything in record time.
 
I'm another one who has concerns about this. My cob mare goes so frantic if you feed her in a very small holed haynet that I have stopped using them. I think the stress from the haynet makes her gobble the hay even more and she won't stop until the last piece is gone. I have started putting at least half the ration on the floor so that she can munch happily until the edge has gone off her appetite, then I leave some in the net in the hope that she might pick at it overnight. I have found this a better solution for her. The nets I use now are just the usual smaller hole ones, not the special ones for greedy feeders. I don't think they suit all horses.
 
Definitely my boy has neck muscles of steel!! But without them... He'd have a belly the size of a whale and most probably laminitis!
 
WandaMare said:
I'm another one who has concerns about this. My cob mare goes so frantic if you feed her in a very small holed haynet that I have stopped using them. I think the stress from the haynet makes her gobble the hay even more and she won't stop until the last piece is gone. I have started putting at least half the ration on the floor so that she can munch happily until the edge has gone off her appetite, then I leave some in the net in the hope that she might pick at it overnight. I have found this a better solution for her. The nets I use now are just the usual smaller hole ones, not the special ones for greedy feeders. I don't think they suit all horses.
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Also ditto this I put half on the floor and half in the net, he actually goes for the net first at times... Reckon he enjoys the challenge- or that's my thinking!
 
thatsmygirl said:
You see this is what worries me, iv left him with it tonight but watching him grabbing it and pulling so hard and twisting so hard to get the hay out I'm just not happy with it.
It was like watching a dog wrestle with a stick if you have hold of the other end, that's how he was pulling the hay out.
How do u make the forage last all night though, or the best part of a night when he eats everything in record time.
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I'm now feeding oat straw and hay. This way she has forage to keep her belly ticking over but not too much of the good stuff and no need for a net :)
 
I was concerned about mine as I have those hayledge nets with the tiny holes and I've found that putting 2 bigger holes in the net (basically looks like a worn net that's been chewed through) has helped mine eat their hay easier, and it still lasts them all night until I go to them in the morning. not sure if it would work for yours, but it certainly has with mine :)
 
twiggy2 said:
I worked with a very greedy dustbin of a mare who just gave up with getting the hay out of the nets, she ended up with ulcers and colic
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Oh he def wouldn't give up, iv never had a type so greedy, I do put a bit down on the floor to take the edge off the hungar but need to slow him really, may add straw as well I guess, I had thought about it but as yet haven't done it.
 
I did the putting two slightly bigger holes in trick ... My horse prompted "enlarged" that hole and used the haynet as a nosebag ... Sigh! I give most their hay in normal nets or on the ground and then 1/3rd of it a small holed hay net so they can nibble for the rest of the night.
 
EQUIDAE said:
Yes nets build up the muscle under the neck too much. Feeding from the ground would solve this but no one has come up with the perfect solution yet
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I have :D

I have a giant tub trug attached to the wall using tie rings and baling twine and then tie a big tiny holed hay net through one handle then the other and tie to the net.

I probably wouldn't do it with a shod horse incase they get their shoe caught in it.
 
Tiarella said:
I have :D

I have a giant tub trug attached to the wall using tie rings and baling twine and then tie a big tiny holed hay net through one handle then the other and tie to the net.

I probably wouldn't do it with a shod horse incase they get their shoe caught in it.
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You should sell it!! Or post diagrams so we can see how to do it :)
 
I hang mine at face height for my horse and works for me, if I use the rack or the plastic bath from the ground they would eat it too quickly, I have not found any evidence with my horse getting muscle built up or anything.
 
I read somewhere (H&H maybe) that kissing spines prevalence nowadays could be contributed to by all net feeding, as the horse isn'ty stretching down to eat as they are designed to. I am unconvinced, as no horses were floor fed in my youth, they had hay racks. I don't use hay nets though, except in the trailer and they are always wet.
 
Clodagh said:
I read somewhere (H&H maybe) that kissing spines prevalence nowadays could be contributed to by all net feeding, as the horse isn'ty stretching down to eat as they are designed to. I am unconvinced, as no horses were floor fed in my youth, they had hay racks. I don't use hay nets though, except in the trailer and they are always wet.
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But hay racks they didn't have to snatch at for each mouth full?
 
I'm another who hates haynets. When I had my own yard everything was fed ad lib from homemade hay bars (piece of wood with handles cut out, removable so hay can be swept out from the bottom).

I never had any issues with horses gorging themselves. I specialised in box rests and had everything from an 11.2hh Welsh show pony to a Grand Prix dressage horse, and post surgery horses. Horses prone to laminitis, horses with ems etc. If horses needed a lower calorie diet they had soaked hay mixed with good quality straw to eat. All still ad lib. Topped up when I did lates last thing. Nothing was fat and I never had a case of lami.

I'm sure there are exceptions, but all horses I've met thrive on ad lib forage, and many only need a small amount of balancer rather than hard feed.

I hate seeing horses standing without forage for hours, and I hate seeing horses with upside down necks who obviously have to battle with a haynet all night.

Oops. That turned into a rant, sorry op!
 
You can make your own haybars by screwing two batons of wood 3 foot from a corner then slot a piece of rubber matting down.

DSC00364.jpg
 
After being OK all summer the ponies got very frustrated with the greedynets with the tiny holes once the weather turned - they chewed holes in them in a couple of days.
We have gone back to 2inch 'haylage nets' - ponies much happier and neck of the riding pony seems fine.

One thing that helps a lot is to split the ration into two (or more) nets hung in different parts of the stable, though we feed ad-lib using this system and the ponies are happy to self-regulate.
 
I do use greedy feeders and was also alarmed by the frustration when they first come in and are really hungry. I now always have some easy access hay available to take the edge off first. They then eat from the smaller holed nets much better and then can not gobble all their food in seconds flat!
 
Faracat said:
Has anyone tried a hay pillow?
http://thehaypillow.com/

I would think they are for unshod horses only.
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I think they look like a good idea. Although it would still take some pulling to get they hay out it would be at a natural level. Horses are often digging and tugging roots etc, stubborn bits of grass out the ground. Good for a little fat pony of box rest as I imagine it would be a bit of a toy too.

Mine just rips the haynets open to make massive holes. I always feed hay from the floor unless travelling etc.
 
I have a haybar but wanted to slow my greedy horse a bit so screwed a tie ring at the bottom/underneath, put the filled net in the haybar 'upside down' and tie the string to the tie ring. Very effective
 
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