Hay Hut - anyone ever used 1/2 of one? Edited: anyone use one over a fence?

[usernameTaken]

I already have a hay hut for this. I feed small squares - not round bales. The hay hut has worked great with three or more horses in a field. However, I have a situation where I now have two horses in one field and one in another; unfortunately, due to one mare, they need to be separated.

I recalled Hay Hut’s webpage saying you could just use half a hut - either straddle a fence or build a plywood back for each hut. I was considering attaching a half hut to each run in (they are both sturdy wood stand-alone structures) as it seems it would be more stable, and I would put the half hut on the side of the run in that would be out of the wind.

Has anyone ever used a half a hay hut like this? If so, did you like the setup? Tips or details about how you did it/how you attached or used a half hut would be very much appreciated!

Edit to add: I had also contacted Hay Hut and they responded quickly. It sounds like it might be possible to do this but likely difficult when it comes to attaching the sides due to the inside angles.

Has anyone used it over a fence? Did that work out?

thanks for reading.

[trubandloki]

I do not use a hay hut but this does sound like an interesting idea. I hope someone answers with some good ideas of how to make this work for you.

[lorilu]

I dont see why you couldnt “split” the hay hut on either side of a fence line and take the fence boards down inside it. I do something similar - I dont have a hay hut, but this is what I do - I have a run in shed that goes across a fenceline so each side has shelter. The fence under the shed is opened up - I took the boards down. During the summer (no hay needed here) I use a gate across the opening to separate the fields. During the winter, I have a “table” made of round metal poles with the "top " made of diamond mesh. It fills the space in the opening. That’s where the compressed bale is put. Both sides can eat off it. WOrks well for us.

[EssexFells]

yeah, I’d just remove one section of boards and the hay hut becomes the fence. Recommend putting a small gate on one side of the hayhut, to give yourself some working room when you want to pick it up to clean it out.

[usernameTaken]

Thank you for the feedback @lorilu and @EssexFells. lorilu, your set up sounds ideal.

I should have mentioned the common fence line is four strand poly coated electric wire. The wood fencing is only perimeter fencing. There is one gate that might work, not in an ideal location and the opening is larger than the hut by ~4 feet so I’d have to consider how to make that safe as well as consider if I want to block tractor access to that field for the winter or as long as the hut is there. Something to think about.

Thanks again

[Christa_P]

For the winter you could replace the regular gate with a 4’ gate to close the opening.

[RanchyHunter]

I don’t think it’s unreasonable, but you have to remember how you’re going to get hay INTO the hut. If you’re not using round rolls, it doesn’t really matter - you’ll shove hay into the holes anyway. But if you’re using round rolls, you wouldn’t be able to use half the hut (unless you unroll and distribute - lots of work) or gave yourself plenty of wiggle room on the fenceline to tip the hut over and slide the roll in, then tip the hut back over. Hay huts are really great and a money saver (especially when combined with round roll nets!), but they are not always the easiest to maneuver, and the horses can move and push them around when the hay is low. Just things to keep in mind!

[EssexFells]

This is a good point. You really do need lots of working space (assuming you’re working with rounds) When I swap out a bale:

1. tip the hay hut off to the side, generally it ends up about 5ft away (so, now my ‘working space’ is more than doubled the orig footprint of the hay hut)
2. the new bale is placed to the other side. So, more than triple the original footprint.
3. I scrap the waste hay up (even with these hay huts, there’s still loose, trodden, pooped in hay to clean up). That gets pushed forward into a big pile so it’s out of my way,and I’ll circle back and scoop it up later. So now I’m taking up quite more than four times the original footprint of the round bale.
4. pull the new bale to where I want it and replace the hay hut.

Sure, I could be more efficient with space, but it’d be frustrating as heck.

[usernameTaken]

Thank you for the responses.

I do not feed round bales anymore though I have been tempted to try to find a new supplier. My current hay suppliers only provide either small or large squares. For the past couple years, I have been putting flakes through the hay hut windows and was able to keep the area clean enough that I haven’t had to move the hut during the winter months.

As for over the fence or in the gate. I don’t think over the fence is an option due to the four-strand poly - I couldn’t break that up like a board fence easily.

I looked into where the gate is too. I considered adding a 4 foot gate, I even have the gate, but the opening is larger than I thought and I’m not sure it is a viable solution. The one mare is a bit more accident prone than the average horse and I already try to discourage over the fence contact due to her drama. Overall, I am not sure feeding them hay in close proximity is such a great idea in general. If they all got along, I’d be thrilled to have them in the same pasture for winter but unfortunately, the one mare has made it clear she will not get along and I prefer keeping them separate at this point.

With regard to splitting the hay hut in two and attaching a half side to a building, I had imagined if the huts could be attached to a building (there’s both an ‘IF it can be done’ and an ‘IF I can do it’ in there), they would stay attached through the winter season at least and only hay flakes put through windows to fill. Being that they wouldn’t be able to move, I’d have to keep the area clean. I was thinking of prepping the area with stone screenings and mats on top for example. Not sure how cleaning the inside of it out would go, if it could be done without detaching from the building I mean.

If someone had done it before and had advice, I’d feel better about attempting it. I also don’t want to damage the hay hut. When they push them around, the huts probably move and give, but not sure what kind of flexibility a half hut would have attached to a building. Not that they move them around a whole lot, but they rub or bump into them as horses do. It’s an unknown to consider. Could be a non-issue. I’m not sure.

Thanks again for thoughts and suggestions. I appreciate the feedback.