Eating hay on the trailer

[awaywego]

My horses are pretty good solo travelers but neither will eat hay when they are on the trailer solo. I don’t really worry too much about it for short trips (less than an hour), but it worries me for longer rides.

Am I worrying more than I need to? Or how can I encourage hay eating on the trailer? I have a 2+1 without stud doors so I only have the center post or the side wall to hang hay from. I was thinking a manger like in a bumper pull would make it easier than a hay net, but I don’t see how I can pull off something like that.

[Demerara_Stables]

One of mine won’t eat unless she has a buddy that’s eating or we’ve pulled into the driveway at home and I’ve opened the door. The longest I’ve hauled her is 4 hours and I don’t worry much. She’s not a great eater anyway.

I have an Equispirit and they have hay/feed bags that attach to the center post and side wall - do you have rings to hang one of those?

[candyappy]

My horses never eat in the trailer. Hauling solo or with their herd mates makes no difference.

On multiple long distance moves 14 hours + they neither ate nor drank (water that was offered at stops) and while I would have preferred they did , I can’t force them to.

They haul calmly and just get into their travel zone and never move. Once we get to where we are and offload they eat and drink immediately and have never had any issues health wise because of it.

I always fill and hang nets for them but they go untouched.

[Scribbler]

My horse gets a large hole hay net in the trailer. She won’t eat while moving unless she’s really hungry but will start eating ferociously as soon as we get to our destination and I start to prepare to unload. She won’t eat out of the small hole bag in the trailer it’s too much work.

I think they are all different.

[goodhors]

Interesting to read this. Never had a horse who would not eat some hay in the trailer! They also drink in the trailer, some better than others, but they are getting hydrated. We have done some rather long hauls, 12 hours and more. A non-eating, non-drinking horse would have me quite worried about impaction colic! We did have one new-to-us horse who refused to pee during almost 15 hours in the trailer. Turned out horse liked to stretch waayyyy out to pee, could not do that in the trailer. But unloaded, put in a stall, he went forever!

You may have tried this, but make hay in the trailer be breakfast. Horse goes in trailer hungry, might be more willing to eat then. This can be done with truck and trailer sitting in the barnyard, not actually going anyplace. Perhaps not moving trailer might help horse choose to eat a little while parked for an hour or so.

We do this loading and feeding with our youngsters, so they associate trailer with food. There is ALWAYS something to eat in the trailer. Rides on the road come later and spending longer times in the trailer. Rides with a horse friend along, then by themselves. Waiting quietly when the truck is turned off. May unload or we may not, horse needs to stand quietly when in the trailer. Just another phase of skills a well-trained horse needs to learn well.

We do let horses learn to manage a smaller hole (2 inch) hay net, get over being frustrated with only getting small servings while at home in the stall. I do anchor the nets at both ends so horse can push nose in, net stops and he gets some hay. Too frustrating for horse to push net and have it swing away!! He gets no hay at all that way. Nets anchored at two ends in the trailer as well. I want horse who is not hungry or angry when we arrive!

[Aleuronx]

It’s so dependent! My mare will eat more if we are traveling during a meal time, more on highway cruising than in town at slower speeds.

To increase your chances always use the best, yummiest candy hay you can, in the easiest to eat configuration. For us that is soft second cut in an open hay bag/manager.

[trubandloki]

Mine typically refuses to eat her hay in the trailer. Though she is more than willing to contort into a pretzel to try to steal pieces of hay from any other hay on the trailer that is not meant for her to eat (say a neighbor horse’s hay, or a bale that is out of reach).

She for sure will not drink on the trailer. Nope. Not happening.

I do what @Aleuronx mentioned. I have trailer only hay. The best hay I can find that this mare really likes.

[Montanas_Girl]

My experience has been that most won’t eat much while the trailer is actually moving, but they do eat while stopped.

[GraceLikeRain]

Mine will demolish hay in a manger but won’t touch a net. Unfortunately, I have a slant so no manger. I give her a fat flake of alfalfa before loading and then she digs into her hay when we unload. I tried an open front hay bag and I do think she grabs a bite or two when stopped but not in motion.

[awaywego]

Thanks everyone, I was really wondering if it was just my weirdos because I swear I have had horses in the past who would finish their hay bag before we got to the show I have a horse now who is prone to ulcers so I think I’m extra paranoid about the lack of eating for any length of time. I do put alfalfa in the trailer, which they only get a limited amount of to begin with, to try to encourage eating. They eat from small hole hay bags normally in their stalls, and I use a big old hay net on the trailer to make it even easier! I also do a scoop of Outlast and beet pulp before going anywhere too just to make extra sure there is good stuff in the belly before the ride. I’m guessing anyone who has dealt with ulcers would understand my paranoia

ETA: extra thank you for no one suggesting that it is my bad driving to blame

[Scribbler]

For a while I was setting it up so horse anticipated a meal in the trailer but my last trip, 5 hours to go camping, I decided to overfeed her during the night so she had some untouched hay in the morning. She loads nicely so that’s not an issue. I didn’t think she’d eat a lot on the freeway so I made sure she was well fed to start. She might have picked a little bit from the trailer bag but when I unloaded her into the vacation paddock she started eating.

[SLW]

To encourage a horse to eat hay while traveling I’ll mix a flake of Standlee compressed alfalfa in with the brome hay. That yummy alfalfa gets their nose in the bag.

My retired mare did not like to eat while being hauled. My current horse eats like a teenage boy when being hauled. The choice to eat in a trailer is so individual in my experience.

[PNWjumper]

It’s always been horse-dependent for mine. I have one mare who finishes her 1-2 flakes of trailer hay before we pull out of the driveway. The rest usually barely touch theirs. I know who I had in which spot after I unload, though, by how much is left because although they’re all different, they are very consistent in what each of them eat/leave.

And I’ve never been able to get a single horse to drink anything of substance on the road.

[beowulf]

Maybe it is a matter of not want to be pulling and tugging while concentrating on standing upright in a moving vehicle. My current 2 won’t eat hay out of the cotton rope hay net while the trailer is moving, but they both will nibble at any poking ends out of the hay bag (which is just a glorified manger).

Like others have said, seems to be horse dependent. In the past I did have one TB who was very serious about his food and would empty a 3-flake net en-route.

[Djones]

Mine will eat alfalfa in their manger but won’t touch grass hay in the manger or a hay net.

Although it’s not safe nor legal I have on occasion ridden in the LQ while underway. There’s a pass-through door and window. All three of mine just get into the travel zone and sort of nap, like me flying commercial. They are all very good haulers, and I don’t really worry about them not eating hay anymore. When I used to show I would give them alfalfa on the trailer, then grass hay at the event. Now I do still hang hay bags, but mostly to transport them and then rehang them on the outside of the trailer while we tack up and hang out (trail riders).

[ndirish07]

Not to hijack from OP’s original question, but mine is related. I just bought a 4 star 2+1 that does have the full stud doors. It has rings on the doors to attach a hay bag. My horses are used to the manger style hay bags in their current 4 Star 2 horse. My horses are pigs and eat the whole time in the trailer, but don’t really like using hay bags when they’ve had them in friend’s trailers. Any suggestions for a type of hay bag that might work… or think I could rig up hanging the manger style hay bag they current have off the stud door and in that space infront of the stud door?

[beowulf]

You could try these hay bags, they are easier to eat out of and mine will snack on the ends (but not try too hard) while the trailer is moving.
https://www.doversaddlery.com/ds-1200d-hay-bag/p/X1-270204

[FromTheGalaxy]

I use one like @beowulf suggested or a Kensington 2 flake hay bag that has the top and front open (NOT the slow feeder one). https://kensingtonproducts.com/products/2-flake-hay-bag-w-rim?currency=USD&variant=7348858880036&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=64a63e2ab059&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiOy1BhDCARIsADGvQnCnDhTU-nWHhMY8u0cXQIVJpM3sqylImbwuA6zUMuqQ2aK2w9aFBWsaAv5_EALw_wcB

[trubandloki]

I wish I could use those. I have one and my mare always flips it around so the hold is against the wall. That leads to a mare temper tantrum.

[foursocks]

I have a 2+1 as well, and I rigged things up so I can hang two large mangers in front of the straight stalls. My older guy will only eat out of a large hole, rope hay net (versus a slow feed one), on the trailer, but he also likes to throw his hay all over the place and then trash it, which is not cool. The manger suits us both, and I generally only put western alfalfa in it since he will throw whatever he doesn’t like out of the manger. He’s a PITA, what can I say? He has a hay hierarchy- alfalfa in the trailer/tied to the trailer, alfalfa and really high quality grass hay in his stall, nice but doesn’t need to be amazing grass hay out in the paddock.

My other guy will eat anything out of a net or a manger or whatever, but since his diva brother has a manger, less-diva gets one, too. I always trailer with alfalfa since it’s so good for their gut, and the side bonus with that is that teaching both my guys to self load was a piece of cake. They see the mangers and know there is a bunch of yummy alfalfa in them!