Does anyone feed hay cubes in a hay net?

[StarPattern]

Hey all! My horses are currently on free choice (netted) grass hay, but a couple of them also eat hay cubes for a little extra weight and I have a couple seniors who will eventually be graduating to a hay cube only diet since they have issues chewing.

However, they gobble their soaked cubes down really fast and I want to avoid that.

Does anyone feed hay cubes inside a hay net? Does it work well?

I figure I could pack the net with cubes, soak them and hang the net up for horses to work on. In my head, it makes sense… but I wanted to see if anyone had any personal experience with it.

[KBC]

I can’t see how it would work in a net, even a small hole one. I did winder about one of those mangers with a grid over it, but I dint think they would work either. Most things work for hay, by one mouthful pulling enough out so you can grab the next…

[FjordBCRF]

I have an extreme slow feed net where the openings are an inch. While it maybe would kinda not fall out (?), it’s going to be mush with no bits poking out for a horse to grab. Any bag with holes big enough for the horse to get at it, I don’t think would slow the feeding rate down, again, if it stayed in the net.

[Simkie]

I wonder if a porta grazer would work for soaked cubes? Can’t see a net working at all.

[Scribbler]

@StarPattern

Hey all! My horses are currently on free choice (netted) grass hay, but a couple of them also eat hay cubes for a little extra weight and I have a couple seniors who will eventually be graduating to a hay cube only diet since they have issues chewing.

However, they gobble their soaked cubes down really fast and I want to avoid that.

Does anyone feed hay cubes inside a hay net? Does it work well?

I figure I could pack the net with cubes, soak them and hang the net up for horses to work on. In my head, it makes sense… but I wanted to see if anyone had any personal experience with it.

Soaked hay cubes would just dribble out of the net.

What job are hay cubes doing in your diet? If you are feeding alfalfa cubes and want to slow the intake why not feed alfalfa hay with more chew time? And perhaps cheaper per pound.

If your horses are not able to eat enough netted hay to keep weight on, switch to feeding half your hay loose. Small hole nets are not appropriate for hard keepers who need to be encouraged to eat. Or use large whole nets.

[Texarkana]

In 2011-2012 I was boarding at a pretty dreadful barn in an area where the only other options were even worse.

I tried dry hay cubes in a small hole net to extend forage availability overnight. It sort of worked. My mare figured out pretty quickly that she could just violently shake the net and they would all fall out. Then I tried placing the small hole net inside a hay bag, which worked until she just chewed through the net.

What worked better for me was the Amazing Graze. I used them religiously for years even after I left the dreadful boarding situation.

[StarPattern]

The seniors eat soaked cubes because they can’t chew hay as well. They get fed soaked Timothy-alfalfa cubes plus beet pulp. Plus they have access to hay 24/7 if they want it, but they visibly prefer their soaked diet. I had a couple old girls that I wasn’t sure were going to make it through the winter and I’m convinced that their soaked cubes made all the difference. We went from a boarding situation to having them at home and I have complete control over their diets.

The hard keeper has 24/7 access to hay, but she just can’t seem to keep enough weight on to thrive. She’s not underweight, just at the level I want her to be at. The soaked cubes help keep her at a weight that I’m happy with.

[mmeqcenter]

Soaked hay cubes will just fall right out of a net.

If you can give her soaked cubes more frequently throughout the day, that’s best.

I had one very old senior with like no teeth who quibbed even soaked cubes. He was happy and healthy for over a year getting a large amount of soaked pellets AM and PM, he would “graze” the bucket a little bit at a time all day and night.

[candyappy]

Why not just use a muck tub and soak enough that they can get through the day? Sounds like you have at least 3 that eat soaked so they should finish it up before evening.

[trubandloki]

What about something like This thing designed to slow down a horse when eating grain?

[candyappy]

@trubandloki

What about something like This thing designed to slow down a horse when eating grain ?

Pricey and they are very shallow so you wouldn’t get much in there? It would work if you were trying to give them something to do ( get it out of those holes) but not if you were trying to offer more food for weight gain or maintenance.

[trubandloki]

@candyappy

@trubandloki

What about something like This thing designed to slow down a horse when eating grain ?

Pricey and they are very shallow so you wouldn’t get much in there? It would work if you were trying to give them something to do ( get it out of those holes) but not if you were trying to offer more food for weight gain or maintenance.

That is the point. The OP is not asking for a way to just feed soaked cubes, the OP is asking for a way to feed soaked cube but slow down how fast their horse eats them.

@StarPattern

However, they gobble their soaked cubes down really fast and I want to avoid that.

[CHT]

Have you seen those dog food bowls that have little ridges and bumps so the dog has to get the food out of crevices? You should invent one like that for cubes. In theory, a small salt block or rock thrown in a large tub should slow their eating, as would separating portions into two buckets placed far apart. I do not think a net would work well or for long.

[candyappy]

@trubandloki

That is the point. The OP is not asking for a way to just feed soaked cubes, the OP is asking for a way to feed soaked cube but slow down how fast their horse eats them.

I guess it would slow them down since they would have barely any to start with.

[trubandloki]

@candyappy

@trubandloki

That is the point. The OP is not asking for a way to just feed soaked cubes, the OP is asking for a way to feed soaked cube but slow down how fast their horse eats them.

I guess it would slow them down since they would have barely any to start with.

It was just an example, there are other brands.

The one I linked is 23"x19"x6" deep.
So not tiny.
Certainly not as big as a muck tub, but not tiny.

[bdj]

OP, do your seniors need the cubes specifically, or would chopped hay be an option for them?

I’ve been casually wondering if I could feed chopped hay (TC Safe Starch in particular) in a Helix feeder… pony did NOT appreciate her regular hay in the Helix, but I think she might be more motivated with the Safe Starch. She flings the Safe Starch out of a feed tub if given a larger quantity , so I’ve been contemplating some slightly more controlled options.

(Helix is similar to the PortaGrazer, but collapses as the hay is eaten.)