I am looking for just what the title says but here are a few more specifics. It would need to be in the $300-600 price range and reasonably durable. It doesn’t need to be a slow feed, but bonus points if it is. It also needs to have a pan below to catch all the little pieces as they would end up trampled into the mud if it didn’t. It also can’t require a board fence as the pasture is T posts and tape.
I would also be open to making one so long as it’s relatively easy to make. Reasonably easy, meaning one relatively technically inclined person could make one in an afternoon with generic tools.
I love these but they are a little more pricey than I was hoping for and there’s no dealer near me.
ETA: I will be feeding 1-2 horses per feeder (I plan on buying 2 of them). I am located in the PNW so a covered one would be nice but it can’t be too heavy as I do not have a tractor to move it. And to make things more difficult, I would like to stay away from wood as I have a pony that is part beaver (yes, vets have addressed this but nothing seems to help).
I love these but they are a little more pricey than I was hoping for and there’s no dealer near me.[/QUOTE]
Those are amazing. I have seen them in person. I really want to get one.
I have a home made hay hut that I mainly use for round bales but during the summer I frequently toss square bale hay into it, or hang small hole hay nets inside it.
You don’t say how many horses you have or where you are located, but I have this feeder and it has been used to feed 3 horses that got along very well. The tray at the bottom has a drain hole on one end, to let any rain drain out. They are pretty heavy and I’ve never had one tip it over. I bought it from Cashmans, which is near Columbus, OH. http://www.cashmans.com/Cashman/CA_WebProd.nsf/catTease/Pasture~Feeders?opendocument
Edited to add, I think I paid right around $300 for this one. It’s been about 10 years since I got it, so I can’t remember exactly.
Or this one and extend the tray underneath? Looks simple enough to make.[/QUOTE]
I really like both of these ^ A LOT, and I bet someone could build them, fairly easily.
Also, check local horse forums, craigslist, etc and see if anyone is selling used
covered hay feeder hardware.
I bought an Amish built, covered hay feeder, with a metal roof,
and converted it to a small (8x10) run in shed/shade for my horse.
I removed and sold the hardware, and got so money back for my ‘run in’ materials/labor budget.
The girl I sold to, built another covered hay feeder.
LOL, we both ‘repurposed’ and got what we wanted :winkgrin:
We built these feeders for round bales, although squares work fine in them. I like the fact they are covered. We can move the feeder around with a tractor. Mr. IF and IF Jr. built the feeders several years ago. Took a weekend each. We use Hay Chix round bale nets to slow down our easy keeping Fjords.
I like that I can space them out so the horses don’t argue over hay.[/QUOTE]
I’ve been coveting a set of Porta-Grazers for my herd. It’s just outside my budget to buy one for each horse.
In the meantime, I use hay poles and nets. I did not buy the pre-made ones from the website, I just built my own for about half the price. One for each horse. My nets have 2" holes and the usual cords for closure instead of the snaps. I just wrap all the length of cord around the post so there is no slack and secure the end to the eye bolt with a double-ended snap. I love the set up!
I’ve wanted to go to slow feeders for awhile, but didn’t want to spend the $200-$300 or more for some of the feeders I’ve seen. About 2 months ago I started making different styles/types for both outside and for our stalls. I’ve used nets and metal grates. From what I’ve seen as of now, there are pros and cons to each.
For the outside horses, one of the styles uses re-purposed shipping crate/boxe. I have extra boxes that we’ll pre-load with hay. Using our tractor with pallet forks, we take a full box out to the pasture, set it in place, then pick up an empty one to take back and refill. Makes haying the horses fast and easy. The bottom of the boxes are slatted, so any chaff falls to the ground for the horses to clean up. We have some with metal grates and some with nets. Here’s some links…
My wife’s favorite is the one I made from a 150 gallon plastic water tank that had cracked. I used Pex tubing, a couple of conduit clamps, rope hooks, and net. Total cost was under $50.
[QUOTE=Brian;8507851]
I’ve wanted to go to slow feeders for awhile, but didn’t want to spend the $200-$300 or more for some of the feeders I’ve seen. About 2 months ago I started making different styles/types for both outside and for our stalls. I’ve used nets and metal grates. From what I’ve seen as of now, there are pros and cons to each.
For the outside horses, one of the styles uses re-purposed shipping crate/boxe. I have extra boxes that we’ll pre-load with hay. Using our tractor with pallet forks, we take a full box out to the pasture, set it in place, then pick up an empty one to take back and refill. Makes haying the horses fast and easy. The bottom of the boxes are slatted, so any chaff falls to the ground for the horses to clean up. We have some with metal grates and some with nets. Here’s some links…
My wife’s favorite is the one I made from a 150 gallon plastic water tank that had cracked. I used Pex tubing, a couple of conduit clamps, rope hooks, and net. Total cost was under $50.
It seems I’m a bit of a contrarian based on what I have read in the forum over the years when it comes to feed and hay.
For a number of years I have been in the position to manage all of the horses on our farm exactly the way I want to. I also have the benefit of managing a fairly large population of various ‘shapes and sizes’ as many as 50+. All are TBs.
The vast majority live out 24-7. I have never found the need to give ‘free choice’ hay in the winter. All of our horses are giving their daily ration of 20 lbs+ once a day. At afternoon feeding. We grain our horses also.
Each horse gets their own ‘stack’ and the stacks are spread around so each horse has its own ‘hay space’. They eat at the rate they please. There is usually some left at morning feeding but that is usually gone by midday. We rarely encounter any waste. On very cold days/nights we give a few extra pounds.
Understand this is what I do for a living. It is a business and is managed as such. I do not cut corners but I do have to pay close attention to the numbers. The profit margins in just about any horse operation are very slim. Feed and hay are a major cost of doing business. I don’t have to be ‘cheap’ with my hay. I grow and bale a lot of it. Quality orchard/timothy. Have more than enough for our horses. The excess is sold and is part of the farms income.
All of our horses are in good flesh with excellent coats. We have only had few cases of colic in many years. All were in the warm months. Only one involved the horse a yearling going to the clinic for minor surgery.
Stalled horses are given hay throughout the day. In limited amounts at each time. We use regular hay nets with horses on confined stall rest.
I have mixed thoughts on the use of ‘slow feed’ hay nets. The benefits to the owner/caretaker are obvious. But I am not so sure it is for the horse. Horses produce a lot of stomach ‘juices’ when eating hay. A necessary part of their digesting process. But I don’t think it is controlled by the amount of hay being consumed. I feel it is stimulated by the shear act of eating/grazing not the amount that is acutely getting into their bellies. So to me they could very well be producing far greater amounts of ‘juices’ then needed. Which could lead to stomach disorders. I have no idea if this line of thinking, looking at it has any ‘science’ behind it but seems relational to me and my understanding of things.
If anybody knows of any sound studies that have been done I always like to read up on these things.
I also feel strongly that it is better for horses to consume forage that is ‘long stemmed’ full leaf, and in mouthfuls instead of ‘tiny bits’ that slow fed hay nets offer. I also prefer feeding a quality 1st cutting it is more ‘coarse’ because of the seed stems found in 1st cuttings of Orchard and or Timothy. To be clear not over the top, way too mature 1st cuttings that look more like straw than hay.
The one case of impaction colic was with a young horse in a small paddock that had very short grass to work with. She had to be opened up but the surgeon was able to ‘massage’ the impaction to get it ‘moving’. In post operation discussion I was asked if we were feeding her Coastal hay. Which is this area is not found/used. The surgeon didn’t think we were for that reason but just wanted to ask. There are much higher than usually impaction cases with horses fed Coaster hay.
To each their own on this. Just my way of looking at things and how we have managed our horse very successfully for many years.
I’m not sure if there’s a big difference between a “hay net” vs “a slow feed hay net.” Unless, you’re speaking of the nets with 1" openings. The nets I used have 1.75" openings. The metal grates have 2.75" openings. I think sometimes the term “slow feed” is more of generic term. Feeding out of a net definitely makes the hay last longer. Mostly because the horse cant’t toss the hay all over the place to be messed on. Secondly, they do take smaller, continuous bites, similar to grazing (without the walking), thus slowing them down.
The first pasture we used the hay boxes in has 8 horses. We were feeding six small squares or about 34-38 lbs per head per day. They were always out of hay the following morning. Unfortunately, we were losing a good portion to the mud. We went to 3 boxes for the 8 horses, each with 2 small squares. Same amount of hay, but now the hay is lasting almost 36 hours. The first week alone, we saved 12 bales of hay and still averaged about 25 lbs per head per day.
[QUOTE=gumtree;8508042]
If anybody knows of any sound studies that have been done I always like to read up on these things.
I also feel strongly that it is better for horses to consume forage that is ‘long stemmed’ full leaf, and in mouthfuls instead of ‘tiny bits’ that slow fed hay nets offer. I also prefer feeding a quality 1st cutting it is more ‘coarse’ because of the seed stems found in 1st cuttings of Orchard and or Timothy. To be clear not over the top, way too mature 1st cuttings that look more like straw than hay.
The one case of impaction colic was with a young horse in a small paddock that had very short grass to work with. She had to be opened up but the surgeon was able to ‘massage’ the impaction to get it ‘moving’. In post operation discussion I was asked if we were feeding her Coastal hay. Which is this area is not found/used. The surgeon didn’t think we were for that reason but just wanted to ask. There are much higher than usually impaction cases with horses fed Coaster hay.
To each their own on this. Just my way of looking at things and how we have managed our horse very successfully for many years.[/QUOTE]
Not really an article on “length of forage”, but more about continuous feeding, here’s a paragraph from the AAEP link above…
"Feed deprivation has been shown to cause ulcers in the squamous mucosa of horses, which is due to repeated exposure of the squamous mucosa to high acidity. In yearling and adult horses, hay and saliva (rich in sodium bicarbonate), may help buffer gastric hydrochloric acid. The timing of feeding and the type of roughage source may contribute to gastric ulceration in yearling and adult horses. In a study, horses fed hay continuously had less acidity, when compared to horses that were fasted. In another study, horses fed alfalfa hay had significantly less acidity and lower gastric ulcer scores, than horses fed bromegrass hay. High protein (21 percent) and calcium concentration in alfalfa hay provides buffering of stomach acid up to five hours after feeding. Also, high roughage diets stimulate production of bicarbonate rich saliva, which may contribute buffering of gastric acid. "
There are also studies that link colonic ulcers and gastric ulcers to colic.
You are correct, to each their own when it comes to caring for horses. As I read posts on this forum (and others), I’m always amazed at the complexity in which people feed their horses and the amount of supplements used.
I met a guy years ago the bragged about using Succeed on every horse in a 40 stall barn, and that he’d hadn’t had a colic in the previous 5 years. I’m thinking we must be doing something right because with at least 20+ horses, we haven’t had a colic in over 14 years. Best part for us was, we didn’t have to spend $3/horse/day to prevent one.
DH and I bought this NibbleNet this fall and built a stand like in pix 3-4 http://www.thinaircanvas.com/nibblenet/pages/plentyframe.htm
My horse loves it and it’s finally one he can’t destroy as he’s…special…we’ve tried MANY adaptations of hay feeders for him. My intent is not to restrict his intake, as he gets unlimited free choice hay, but if I just put loose hay out for him he spreads it everywhere and walks and poops and pees all over it and then stares at you like “mom I’m hungry can I have new hay?”. With the new net, he eats easily and waste is minimal. I surrounded it with rubber stall mats so he doesn’t stand in mud all day (when it’s wet out) and also as a clean surface for the bits that fall, he’ll still eat them if they stay clean.
DH and I are both at work all day so just giving small amounts of hay throughout the day is not an option for us- thus going through many trials and errors to find the perfect solution. We put this up in an afternoon. We used joist hangers for the central board rather than just nailing it on the posts, as I had no doubt my horse would find a way to pull the board off in no time if it was just nailed on. Since it has holes on both sides, having 2 horses share it should be no problem so long as they get along reasonably well. It holds a full 50# small square bale easily.
That is the great thing about horse management, we all have to figure out what works best for our animals in our set up.
I know that if I plopped 20 pound piles of hay onto the ground equal to the number of horses I would have lots of soiled messed on, trampled into the mud hay to clean up and three horses who needed more food when I got home from work. Well, except on any day with any wind at all, then I would have to answer to my neighbor, who really likes his lawn to be perfect and frowns on my hay blowing over there.
Brian, do you have any photos of how the netted top attaches and works with the trough?
The bottom of the metal ring has started to disintegrate from being on wet ground after ~8 years. That would be my only complaint. I stretch a hay net across the top to keep them from tossing the hay out.
[QUOTE=trubandloki;8510095]
That is the great thing about horse management, we all have to figure out what works best for our animals in our set up.
I know that if I plopped 20 pound piles of hay onto the ground equal to the number of horses I would have lots of soiled messed on, trampled into the mud hay to clean up and three horses who needed more food when I got home from work. Well, except on any day with any wind at all, then I would have to answer to my neighbor, who really likes his lawn to be perfect and frowns on my hay blowing over there.
Brian, do you have any photos of how the netted top attaches and works with the trough?[/QUOTE]
I make a rectangular frame using 3/4" PVC. I slide the PVC thru every other opening in the net one side at a time. I use a dab of grease inside the 90 degree corners in case I have to disassemble. Once done, it’s basically a like rectangular net “basket”. I mount the framed net to the top frame that opens with 3/4" two hole conduit clamps. 8 clamps holds the frame securely inside the top. When you open the top, the net opens as well giving you clear access to fill the feeder.
If you look closely at the photo in this link, you can see the clamps. I also add additional wood above the PVC frame as well as beneath on part of the box that’s stationary.
