They make smaller-holed hay bags. Hay Chix makes a 1" hole that would slow her down even more.
@demidq we feed it in small hole nets. Sometimes it’s put in the nets we feed the hay in - we have a track and big Dolav box feeding stations that we put three + flakes in at a time, so we just straight swap a flake of hay for a flake of straw in each one.
Other times we will put individual small nets with straw in around the track.
In your situation I would either add a separate net of straw just to give her something else to nibble on once she’s finished her ration (and start to reduce the hay gradually), or mix it in, gradually increasing the amount until you are up to 1/3 of her daily ration of forage.
If you can get oat straw thats great, it is generally considered the best alternative.
Edited to add - if she really is voracious and wont stop til it’s gone, then either the smallest hole nets you can find or double / triple netting to make it harder.
I have one here who was grossly over weight as she literally does not stop eating. We got her 100kg down by muzzling constantly, weighing to feed forage to 2% of body weight and soaking the hay, plus 1/3 of total allowed ration was straw and it was fed in individual triple netted small hole nets.
It took that much effort to slow her down - and yes she could still get hay out of a triple net with a muzzle on!
Thanks so much, Hightale! That’s exactly what I wanted to know.
Thanks everyone for your input. There are now quite a few recent articles from reputable source including Kentucky Equine Research about adding straw as part of the forage ration. There was a study from the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in 2021 that showed reduced ulcers and no increase in the risk of impaction colic in horses fed up to 50% of their forage as wheat straw vs horses on hay only. Feeding time was longer, plasma glucose and energy intake was lower and serotonin levels were higher. Google “feeding straw to horses”. I’ll discuss with the vet before we start, and will increase very slowly in a 1" hole net, aiming for half her ration overnight. It’s been an interesting discussion.
3 Likes
I have read some people double-up the hay nets to slow down feeding even more.
1 Like
