A surprising observation re: slow-feed hay nets

[saultgirl]

When I was first looking in to purchasing slow feed haynets, I read on one of the vendor sites that horses “prefer” to eat from the nets once they are accustomed to them and will leave loose hay on the ground to go eat from the net.

I didn’t believe that.

Now, low and behold, I am finding it to be true! I usually throw the horses a flake of hay each while I’m getting the nets ready, then I take them out into the paddock. The horses always walk away from the loose hay before it is finished, to go and graze from the nets. I find that absolutely bizzare.

Has anyone else found this to be true?

[skip99]

Nope, total opposite, but my only experience is with my young horse. She was eating through her hay so fast I decided to put up a slow feed hay net, as the barn I am boarding at doesn’t do free choice hay. For the first week she ate out of it but by week two she completely stopped eating the hay and would just stand looking at the net. It was rather pathetic looking. I decided better her eat than not and removed the hay net. She is back to happily scarfing down her hay, and I can’t wait until she is home so she can have completely free choice hay.

[imaginique]

I sometimes throw an extra flake on the stall floor after I put the hay in the nets. The horses always go for the stuff on the floor before they eat from the nets. I guess it depends on the horse.

[FraggleRock]

Yes!! I have 4 horses and for the most part they enjoy the nets more. Mine are not super small slow feed though I think 1 .3/4" maybe. My oldest mare always has one in her stall for her soft second cut hay, give her a loose flake and it gets pawed into bedding and peed on. She loves the net and she’s the one I worried the most when I first got them, she has extra front teeth and no problems using hay nets!

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[Lusoluv]

I’ve had 2 horses that I use a haynet to stretch out their feed rations. They always go for the haynet first too! I have no idea why. My 1 mare goes for the haynet first even when there is grain in her feedbowl. Then she’ll wander over to the bowl, eat a few bites and then go back to the net.

[SugarCubes]

Yup! My two think the hay has been poisoned once it has touched the ground. They’ll empty their nets and leave hay on the ground untouched :rolleyes:

[eclipse]

Nope, mine will always eat the extra hay I put on the ground before his hay net… always! Lol

[PlanB]

Mine usually eat about 1/2 of their loose hay before wandering over to the hay nets, then they wander back and forth between the two until everything is gone. Keeps them moving.

[Simkie]

I only have one horse (out of four) that eats the hay on the ground first. The other three want the net and will ignore the loose hay.

[trubandloki]

Mine prefer the hay in the nets too.

The one mare is the type that will pee on her hay on the ground and then have a snit fit about not having anything to eat. She used to be so picky about her hay. We tried all kinds of things, never thinking that the fussy horse would do well with something that would make it harder for her to eat her hay. Then one day I found her eating out of a neighboring horses hay net (thru the fence). Now she gets a small hole hay net and she eats all her hay happily. I think she enjoys the challenge of picking it out of the net.

[Myout]

Mine always wants the hay net, thinks hay on ground is bedding BUT likes hay in a rubber tub on the ground…though hay net is eaten first.

[Scribbler]

My mare eats even faster out of a net. I think she believes the hay is being hidden from her and she better act fast. The hay net is always soaked in spit, actually damp after and even wound up in s knot…

This horse also once ran out of her stall away from her own hay to her opposite neighbors empty stall to try to capture the hay in there. In a field situation with multiple horses and feeding piles she keeps everyone playing musical chairs.

So yes she will attack the hay net first but I think in her case it’s anxiety not preference.

And when I watch her wrestle with the bag I am sure this is not long term good for neck, jaw, teeth.

I use haynets in the trailer out of necessity as the open top soft manger bags don’t fit my setup, but just feed from the floor in the stall.

[WildandWickedWarmblo]

Not for my horses. My horses refuse to eat from a slow feed hay net. They will eat from hay nets, but not from the slow feed nets with smaller holes.

[PlanB]

@Scribbler

My mare eats even faster out of a net. I think she believes the hay is being hidden from her and she better act fast. The hay net is always soaked in spit, actually damp after and even wound up in s knot…

This horse also once ran out of her stall away from her own hay to her opposite neighbors empty stall to try to capture the hay in there. In a field situation with multiple horses and feeding piles she keeps everyone playing musical chairs.

So yes she will attack the hay net first but I think in her case it’s anxiety not preference.

And when I watch her wrestle with the bag I am sure this is not long term good for neck, jaw, teeth.

I use haynets in the trailer out of necessity as the open top soft manger bags don’t fit my setup, but just feed from the floor in the stall.

That’s really kind of strange behaviour. Is her hay really restricted for a reason? I’ve only seen that kind of food anxiety when a horse is really limited on how much hay they get.

[Scribbler]

@PlanB

That’s really kind of strange behaviour. Is her hay really restricted for a reason? I’ve only seen that kind of food anxiety when a horse is really limited on how much hay they get.

Maresy gets multiple feedings per day ( 4 minimum, usually 5). But yes she is on a ration of ideally 15 lbs of hay a day, probably more an average of 17 lbs. This keeps her at a voluptuous 5 or 5 plus body score. Give her more and she tends up to a 7 with fat pockets.

If she was totally starving shed hoover up the loose hay first. I think she gets angry at the hay nets. Interestingly she is better about them on trailer or tied to the trailer.

It may be context. On the trailer the haynet is a nice plus. But in her stall how dare her main meal be made difficult?

Anyhow she can empty a hay net almost as fast as hoovering it off the floor so there seems no point.

As far as free choice hay with or without hay nets, I’ve seen it work fine for OTTB but make stock horses and ponies obese and even founder.

[saultgirl]

That’s interesting - seems divided almost equally!

I love my haynets. They are quite possibly the best investment I’ve made in horse-care supplies. Slows them down eating (i had to go down to 1 inch holes to truly slow them down), no hay is wasted, the hay doesn’t blow away in the wind (they live outside), and they get some exercise moving from net to net (I put 3 or 4 out on the ground).

It just seems bizzare to me that they don’t hoover up everything on the ground before going to the nets!

[ASB_Stars]

I’ve got another one who eats from the net, and leaves the hay on the floor. I don’t get it, at all. I feed an alfalfa mix, and it is gorgeous stuff. The leaves are what falls through the net, of course. When I hay in my paddocks, and load up the hay rack, the horses in the paddocks are eating the leaves out of the bottom of the Gator as fast as they can.

So, I scoop up everything that he leaves on the floor, and I put it in a spare wheelbarrow, that sits around just for this purpose, and when it’s relatively full, I dump it outside for the paddock boys. They hoover it right down.

Go figure!!

[Magicboy]

It’s really interesting and I’ve observed the same variety of behavior. Anybody have an explanation?

[Bem55]

I have the ones where you can put a small bale of hay into it and leave it on the ground for them… My horse didn’t have the patience and threw it around until he ripped a nose size hole in it and then ate from it like normal, he’s done it to two of them. I’ve given up :sigh:

[Amy3996]

I switched my horse to a slow feed net about three months ago. It’s large enough to fit a 45-50 lb square bale in it. My horse adjusted to it really quickly, and now he typically chooses to graze out of the net rather than eat loose hay when both are offered. I love that the net is large enough for him to have plenty of hay to get him through the night, so he never goes without. I had to get a little creative in how I hung it in the stall, because he’s shod and I didn’t want him to catch a shoe in the netting, but I’m happy with how it’s set up, and he really seems to prefer it!