OP is short for “original poster.” The OP here is luckycricket123.
And I know that thought it was pretty obvious who I was talking about being I quoted them. No one even acknowledged the great idea for hay feeders. Made by brain that would be easy to use. Easy fill no hanging up required.
But carry on with hay bags filling and hanging them up.
Actually the probable damage to swinging hay net is a good secondary reason anchor the net. I am not kidding when I say the horse with tempting hay he can’t eat, is going to take other action to get the hay!! They do think and reason out solutions to their problem in getting the food. Probably ripping net down by wherever part he can get hold of! Seen that happen, net wrecked at $15 each. Hungry horses get quite creative/destructive, when trying to get food.
Horses will settle for constant small bites out of anchored small hole nets. Ours have not been able to hurry eating time with anchored nets. Still takes them several hours or more to empty the net. A full net lasts all day at a show, with time out for classes. No need to refill at any outings we take horses to. I am a big fan of small hole nets used properly.
I use these for my 2 horses. http://www.hayburnersequine.com/index.html
My 2 live outside and I feed hay twice a day in the nets. I have 4 nets. I hang 2 in the AM and 2 in the PM. I fill the nets in the afternoon, so that in the AM I can just hang the nets up and get to work.
They have various sizes in net and hole sizes. They hold up really well.
In the winter, they get a bit stiff from the horse spit but other than that, I am a big fan.
Thanks Brian for the pasture feeder ideas. Very clever! Nice photos allowed me to understand what you were explaining. We may give this a try for next winter.
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I don’t know about you, but I can’t fit a trough feeder and my 17.2h horse comfortably together in his 12 x 20 stall…
I like Brian’s stall feeder - a “hay hoop” type of set up and I described what I use. I think we were assuming the OP needs something in the stall.
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If I move my horse to a bigger/differently configured stall, I’ll get him one of the new Haygain feeders. It’s not all that big (seems smaller than the Porta Grazers) but his current stall is a bit on the small size for his huge self, and he needs his hay near his water, and the doors and beams are in awkward places.
@Brian I love your in-stall and trough feeders. You should consider patents or even just marketing these.
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Thanks…I do have a Facebook page and have sold some DIY kits for the stalls as well as kits to convert water tanks to slow feeders. I even hosted a few DIY Hay Feeder Workshops at our farm this past winter. Horse owners brought over their water tanks or bunk feeders and I instructed them on how to make their own net feeders.
Other than the netting, all of my feeders are made from items that can be purchased from any home improvement store, so I’m not sure a patent could even be issued.
To the OP, here’s a couple of links to videos of two different types of stall feeders we use in our barn…
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I’m pretty sure a patent can be issued for the idea and basic design - I do believe your designs would be new to the market. As handy as we horse people are, many would still rather just “buy and install” rather than build.
I think you can add your link to to your signature line (above or below your mark Twain quote) and still be within the rules. Or send it to me in a PM. I board out and don’t have a personal need for one, but I wouldn’t mind recommending it to friends! :yes:
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If the design has been sold and also the subject of any public presentation, you can’t get a patent…need to apply for a patent before you do those types of things or use the design in a public barn, etc. Doesn’t mean people wouldn’t still want to “buy and install” from Brian.
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Thanks for the clarification, IPEsq. Good to know!
Thanks, but I thought you had up to 1 yr after public use or sale to apply for a patent. Either way, this is a hay net thread, so in the effort to stay on topic…
On our farm we have 18 stalls, 7 paddocks, 2 pastures, and 2 arenas where we may keep horses. We feed small squares inside and large squares outside. The time required to stuff hay nets/bags would be far too excessive. We’re also not “fluffing” any hay for the horses…they need to do that themselves. I looked at commercially produced slow feeders that ranged in price from as low as $4-$5 for a cheaper net to as much as $350 or more.
In addition to cost, I also looked at hay capacity, ease of use, how many horses it could service, quality, longevity, and over all safety for the horse. I just couldn’t justify (let alone afford) spending $200-$350 on a feeder that held less than one bale of hay and was designed to service one horse. Not being overly excited about anything on the market, l started making my own. Even after adding in the cost of all of my “failed ideas”, we’ve still saved a substantial amount of money and now have slow feeders that provide exactly what we were looking for. The 300 gallon water tank I converted to a slow feeder cost less than $80 excluding the tank, holds about 500 lbs of hay, and has had as many as 6 horses feeding simultaneously.
@luckycricket123…If you need a net feeder for just one horse and have the time to stuff a hay net/bag, what Simkie uses might be a good option for you. If your horse is a hard keeper and has a hard time getting the hay out of a net, you may also want to find some better hay…something softer and less mature.
Brian’s hay feeders are awesome, and I’d love to set those up in the long term, but I definitely don’t have time right now to build and install them. And FYI @Brian, I totally agree with @Cheap Trick. If you sold them pre-made, I’d absolutely pay the mark up to save a little time, energy and frustration.
Thanks everyone for the many great recommendations and the tips for easy hay net filling!
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I’ve been using these from Schneiders for the past year or so:
http://www.sstack.com/barn-supplies-hay-bags/dura-tech-everlast-slow-feed-hay-net/
They have 3" holes, which is great for my hard keeper over the fall, winter and early spring. In summer we switch to 2" holes because she can get chubby in summer.
The barn staff prefers these because they’re easier to fill and hold plenty of hay (25-30 lbs. or so). They’re more expensive than I’d had in the past, but they are guaranteed to last a year. I had a couple replaced last month and Schneider’s customer service was excellent.
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Yes, there is a one year grace period still though it’s a little trickier than it used to be. I was oversimplifying it. Not all countries allow the grace period.
Brian, thank you for posting these photos!
After years of filling small hole hay nets, I’m tired of it, and also dislike burdening our neighbor - who is kind enough to occasionally feed our horses - with that particular chore, so we’ve been discussing putting an old Rubbermaid trough into service, too. Your photos will guide us in finally getting this done.
Thanks…be sure to have enough extra netting that allows the horses to easily reach the bottom of the trough.
I’ve been really impressed with the Nag Bags I bought last year. I have two of the “day bags” which hold 1/2 square bale each, and two of the full bale bags. Most of the time I don’t hang the bags but just tie them closed and put them on the ground, but in bad weather/mud, I can clip them and hang them in the shelter.
My gelding is HARD on the bags and they are hardly showing any wear.
I also bought two smaller “freedom feeder” bags which are supposed to hold up to 12-15 pounds of hay (or something like that), but I find them very small and a struggle to fill. The strings also got “fuzzy” on those ones pretty quickly, and I think they would wear right out with regular use. I rarely use them now.
These are the full bale ones I use: http://store.slowfeeder.com/small-bale-bags/ and the “day bags” are from the same company.
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I prefer hay bags for my hard keepers. They are super easy to load and don’t slow them down. The strap-fronted ones seem to keep the hay inside a bit better than the type with one large hole. There a D ring on the bottom of these to keep them from spinning. I can load about 10-12 lbs of hay in these bags. So you might need two for all day use. There are lots of slow feed types out there, too, but I don’t want to slow down my hard keepers.
https://www.tackwholesale.com/nylon-load-bags-derby-originals-p-3143.html
