Hay net with 15 gallon rubber feeder

[scislandsprite]

Has anyone ever used one of these 15 gallon Fortex rubber feed tubs with a hay net? I’d like to do something like the Hay Burners Equine Tub Toppers somehow.

Their muck tub topper looks like there would be a little too much hay net in the 15 gallon rubber tub since it’s made for a 17.5 gallon muck tub that is 17in high and 21in across. Whereas the 15 gallon rubber tub is 14.5in high and 26.25in across. Also not sure if the rubber tub would tear if I tried to drill/cut into it to secure a tub topper?

I was thinking as alternative that I could just put a big normal hay net around the 15 gallon rubber tub but was worried about what I’d do with the excess tie string. Also don’t know if this would be a huge pain since I board so it wouldn’t always be me filling it.

Trying to stay with this kind of ground level hay feeder since my horse is barefoot so I’d like her to eat off the ground for her back/neck. I have tried the Kiwi Helix feeder which is somewhat similar to the Portagrazer but she hated it. Thoughts on either of the two ideas with the big rubber tub? Normally would use a Tub Trug but they seem to get brittle & break in the winter so it probably wouldn’t work since my horse would definitely chuck it a bit.

Edit: Currently thinking about just putting the rubber tub inside a normal hay net, replacing the pull cord with a piece of rope, and then tying the net shut with a non-jamming knot. Thinking an Alpine Butterfly Bend knot since it looks relatively easy to tie even with gloves and can still be untied after the knot is untied (ex after the hay net & tub get thrown).

[BayMoose]

We had one boarder try putting one in a net. It didn’t work for that horse as the horse either couldn’t get the hay out or else the whole tub would flip inside the net. I usually found the horse just standing looking at the contraption. It might work for a more food motivated animal though.

[Weezer]

I haven’t tried these specific things, but I would also be concerned that the horse might not figure it out if she flipped it upside down. I would also worry about the horse dragging it through dirty areas of the stall. Would the barn let you attach a ring to the stall wall at ground level and clip it to that? Or could you attach it to the water bucket? in the field I attach some hay nets to a chain around a cinder block. The horses can move that, but they don’t tend to. You could try that in the corner of the stall too.

I also don’t like the drawstrings in hay nets so I pulled them out of mine and just close the top of the hay net using a double-ended snap hook. I gather the net in a few place so it’s pretty well closed. Not even my mini gets through the small gaps at the top.

[Pico_Banana]

I do a variation of what you are describing. I use a bigger tub (a 110 gallon Tuff Stuff stock tank), attach a U shaped piece of hardware at one end towards the bottom of the tank, and then attach a stuffed hay net to the hardware. So the hay net is just clipped inside the tub, rather than covering the top.

For my hard keeper who just likes to eat from a hay net, I use a regular hole hay net, remove the drawstring, and use a carabiner to gather a few of the ends together, and then clip the carabiner to the hardware in the tub.

For my easy keeper, I use a 1 inch hole Hay Chix net, slide the hoggle down to close the net, then tie a quick release knot. I then clip a carabiner to the loop in the knot, and clip that to the hardware in the tub. She is a master at hay nets but this makes 4 lbs of hay last close to 2 hours.

I would be worried about your horse flipping over a smaller tub. Plus, the bigger tub makes it appropriate for shod horses, if you ever end up needing that. And it keeps the hay clean as they can’t flip it over.

[cnd8]

15 gallon wont be big enough for a hay bag to keep it away from feet/shoes. I use water troughs and clip the bag into the bottom of them. I have a 40 gallon trough that holds several flakes of hay in a net.

[scislandsprite]

@BayMoose

We had one boarder try putting one in a net. It didn’t work for that horse as the horse either couldn’t get the hay out or else the whole tub would flip inside the net. I usually found the horse just standing looking at the contraption. It might work for a more food motivated animal though

@Weezer

I haven’t tried these specific things, but I would also be concerned that the horse might not figure it out if she flipped it upside down. I would also worry about the horse dragging it through dirty areas of the stall. Would the barn let you attach a ring to the stall wall at ground level and clip it to that? Or could you attach it to the water bucket? in the field I attach some hay nets to a chain around a cinder block. The horses can move that, but they don’t tend to. You could try that in the corner of the stall too.

I also don’t like the drawstrings in hay nets so I pulled them out of mine and just close the top of the hay net using a double-ended snap hook. I gather the net in a few place so it’s pretty well closed. Not even my mini gets through the small gaps at the top.

Hmm this is the issue I had with the Kiwi Helix feeder, kept knocking it over constantly. She figured out which end was top vs bottom and would actually flip it between upside down and rightside up to get the hay out of it, instead of like actually just eating from it. itHowever it caused a lot of ruckus!

@Pico_Banana

I do a variation of what you are describing. I use a bigger tub (a 110 gallon Tuff Stuff stock tank), attach a U shaped piece of hardware at one end towards the bottom of the tank, and then attach a stuffed hay net to the hardware. So the hay net is just clipped inside the tub, rather than covering the top.

For my hard keeper who just likes to eat from a hay net, I use a regular hole hay net, remove the drawstring, and use a carabiner to gather a few of the ends together, and then clip the carabiner to the hardware in the tub.

For my easy keeper, I use a 1 inch hole Hay Chix net, slide the hoggle down to close the net, then tie a quick release knot. I then clip a carabiner to the loop in the knot, and clip that to the hardware in the tub. She is a master at hay nets but this makes 4 lbs of hay last close to 2 hours.

I would be worried about your horse flipping over a smaller tub. Plus, the bigger tub makes it appropriate for shod horses, if you ever end up needing that. And it keeps the hay clean as they can’t flip it over.

I have seen the feeders with the larger tanks! I’d like to do that in the future. However, this is mostly for stall use so I’m worried those ones would take up too much space in the stall. Thankfully she is barefoot which makes slow feeders slightly less stressful

[scislandsprite]

I do like the idea of using a larger trough but not sure how that would go in a stall since I don’t want to take up too much space inside

[widge]

@scislandsprite

Alpine Butterfly Bend knot

What a useful resource!

[Pico_Banana]

I understand about limited stall space …. In that case, since your horse is barefoot, why not just try what was suggested above and clip a hay net to an eye bolt low to the ground? Or, if you want it contained (which would be my preference), you could maybe try one of the 40 gallon troughs, or a diy corner manger that you could clip a net inside of like this

How to BUILD a Hay Manger II Corner Feeder For Horses

Or if you want something you could buy, there’s this

Dura-Tech® Mesh Corner Hay Feeder | Schneiders Saddlery

and then you could clip a net inside. I’ve thought this last option would be a good one to try if I had a need.

[cnd8]

Gotcha. Yeah, we do the troughs outside under their shelters.

[scislandsprite]

Ooh I really like the idea of putting a net inside that mesh corner feeder since she wouldn’t be able to throw it around her stall, thanks for linking it! I have seen those wooden DIY mangers and was curious about them but didn’t want to drill too much into the wood since it’s not my barn

[scislandsprite]

Okay I just found this ground hay feeder pillow on Schneider’s which would also do the trick. I prefer it over the original hay pillow since the zipper isn’t exposed. Unfortunately not in stock until April but good for the future

[scislandsprite]

Final edit, just made my own version of the Schneider’s ground hay feeder pillow posted above. Took the long metal pieces out of the top of my SmartPak hay net! It worked like a charm and the velcro on the hay net actually works a lot better now so a win-win since I didn’t have to buy anything

[Pico_Banana]

Can you post a photo?

[scislandsprite]

Here are the photos of my DIY hay pillow via the SmartPak hay net. Doesn’t really look much different on the ground so the second photo shows how it doesn’t have the metal pieces in the opening anymore which kept it more rigid.

[EquestrianRunner]

Do you run the risk of a shoe/foot getting caught in the webbing with this type of hay pillow? The pony clubber in me worries but I love the idea of a hay pillow!!! Does it actually help with minimizing waste?

[scislandsprite]

My net has 1.5" holes and the material isn’t super stretchy so no issues with it getting stuck to anything. However, my horse is barefoot and I wouldn’t use this with a shod horse. I don’t really have an issue with hay waste, my horse hoovers everything up, I just use the hay net to slow down the eating

[EquestrianRunner]

Thank you! My guy has shoes and loves to make a mess with his hay… hay soup, hay shavings, hay in the isle…all the mess!