Do you like the "built in" canvas hay bags in horse trailers?

[kcmel]

I’m upgrading my horse trailer (yay!) and the new (to me) one has the canvas hay bags. My first trailer had these and I took them out and never used them (they were kind of old and worn). But one of my current horses delights in pulling hay from his small hole hay net and just dropping it in the floor, making a big mess.

I was thinking I could clip a hay net inside the hay bag (I have to check the configuration to see if this will work). I think if I left loose hay in the bags my horse would just toss it all over the place.

So who has these and do you use them? Do you like them? Can you use them with a hay net?

Thanks!

[Jexa]

I’ve used them without hay nets with good success. I like that they allow the horse to stretch his neck down and clear his airway, vs hay nets that have to be secured so high that particles fall in their face and nose easily. Plus no worry about them getting a hoof caught in one. My gelding that likes throwing his hay everywhere doesn’t make a mess with these.

Depending on your trailer set up I think they’re a good way to go.

[stb]

I have them and love them. Much nicer than a hay net.

[dressagegirl123]

The problem I run into, is that if the horse is tied tightly enough to keep him from turning around and looking backwards, he can’t reach the hay in the hay bag. How do you get around this?

[Highflyer]

My horses just throw all the hay out of the bags into the driveway/ field so I sometimes put the small hole hay net in the bag for longer days.

[stb]

Dressagegirl, I clip the tie rope to the side rings on the halter.

[Garythesquirrel]

[QUOTE=kcmel;8751405]

I was thinking I could clip a hay net inside the hay bag (I have to check the configuration to see if this will work). I think if I left loose hay in the bags my horse would just toss it all over the place.

So who has these and do you use them? Do you like them? Can you use them with a hay net?

Thanks![/QUOTE]

This is what I do and it works great. I use a small hole net clipped in the feeder. I don’t like the trailer feeders that have the grommets, they don’t seem to last too long before the grommets rip out. I bought a feeder from Riding Warehouse and love it. A big bonus is it’s made in the USA!

http://www.ridingwarehouse.com/World_Class_Equine_Corner_Slant_Load_Trailer_Hay_Bag/descpage-WCEUCFB.html

[SonnysMom]

I recently moved from haynets/haybags in the trailer to the manger bags. Generally I like them better. They are much easier to fill. I can put a small bucket in them with wet hay cubes for the horses to get a little extra hydration on the trip home.
The disadvantage is that I trailer one horse and he loves to throw all of his hay out of the bag. But the underlying issue for him is he eats an alfalfa mix and he wants to eat all the leaves first so he throws the hay out of the way. It is easy to flip the hay back in the bag. I had a cheap bag for a bit and the horse that really throw their hay around are rough on those bags and will rip them apart at the seams.
I also had a large pony paw when we unloaded her buddy and she got her hoof under the chest bar but in the manger bag. I don’t think a horse could do this as they can’t get back far enough in the trailer. I plan on adding a middle velcro strap to my bags to keep them tighter against the chest bar. I only trailer ponies occasionally so it isn’t high on my to do list.

Having the hay in a net or bag and then in the manger bag may work well. I would try to clip it in place somehow so they can’t through it out of the manger bag. Or you could have the manger bag in place and just hang the hay net. Hopefully when the horse pulls out the hay if winds up in the bag where he can still reach it.
The other disadvantage of the manger bags is it does make it harder to duck under the chest bar. My horses self load so not an issue generally. However I will haul for other people and I just unhook the bag from the chest bar and hook it to the front wall while we load. It can be a pain if the bag is really full of hay.

Generally I still really prefer the manger bags to the hay nets/bags I used to use.

FYI mine are the rectangular bags not the triangular ones.

[Texarkana]

A little hijack (sorry!)-

For those who purchased aftermarket bags, how/where do you attach them? Many trailers that don’t come with them as an option don’t seem to have a good way to attach them to the far wall…

[ecileh]

I just started using the ones that came with my trailer after years of using hay nets-- which I HATE stuffing.

My mare pulled a lot of hay out of the net and dropped it onto the floor, but she actually eats it out of the bag. I think she trailers better with the bags, too, though it’s hard to say for sure if they are the cause.

It used to be that she would not eat grain for about a day after we trailered (but would still eat her hay just fine). Now, it seems that eating the hay on the trailer somehow…I don’t know…settles her stomach, maybe…and she eats about half of her dinner and all of her breakfast the next day.