I’ve got very nice slow feed hay nets but they are attached to the ‘hay hoop’ so I’d like to come up with a way to still use them. (my installed hay hoops)
For my COPD girl, I simply hose a hay net for 30 secs or so. Super easy.
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There are some ways to mitigate the ice situation with Haygain without bringing it inside. Similar to how you’d handle any other hose in winter. At least the hoses are short! So long as you have a place you can put it where the steamer can drain a little bit, keeping it “inside” (even if not climate controlled) is best. The Haygain hay nets are great for use while steaming. Less cleanup, and they don’t have any metal bits so you can handle them right out of the steamer, and fill nets to portion for each horse.
I’ve got the smallest one. For your needs, especially if you might be moving it around regularly, the half bale would be better–better size for 2 horses and has wheels…
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I suppose I might trya large plastic trash can to put 'under’my attached hay nets on the hay hoop for now…(to hose) but I don’t want to rust the hay hoop frame…
thanks for your sharing. I had a great conversation with Ali at Haygain today covering a lot of my questions. She said its actually the boiler that is important to bring inside heated area when freezing temps. She said of course you drain the hoses but the boiler hose unhooks and boiler has a handle on it and you only carry that in. that eased my mind a lot!
now I’m just wanting to be sure I understand the outlet safe to use. She said it should be a regular 120 v but then she mentioned GFI and a ‘separate circuit’ for it so I’ll take pictures of my barn panel and outlets and she’ll review and let me know if I need an electrician or not. but, yes…I’ll be getting the mid size one.
…
biggest update: bloodwork shows normal as far as the pnuemonia concern so that is100% ruled OUT. started on steroids tonight . Poor guy…awaiting another blood work return tomorrow to know if he’s got cushings now as well. 
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Absolutely. You do have to avoid soaking too long, as that can increase microbe growth, but soaking (vs rinsing) can make a big difference in a horse with respiratory issues.
That said, we just bought a steamer from Ascot UK, and are awaiting its arrival. With three horses needing soaked or steamed hay and the price of a Haygain, this seemed like a good deal. I wanted to DIY, but nobody else seemed on board with that. Truth be told, I don’t know that I would have saved that much money doing a safe DIY.
We got this:
https://ascotuk.com/products/horse-hay-steamer-full-bale-hay-nets-ascot-hs1
ETA May 2023: I no longer have confidence in this steamer and am springing for the Haygain.
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See above on what we bought at a fraction of the cost. We were told that the unit can be outside (limited space), but the steamer part would need to be inside. The tube is long enough to accommodate that. I don’t know that it needs to be climate controlled, but I suppose I will find out shortly. That said, it’s been a warm winter… and we can’t soak hay when it’s freezing anyways… we get haycicles galore as it is when temps are borderline but not freezing the pipes.
I’ve had a Haygain for my horse for almost 3 years. I have the smallest size, which is okay for one horse, but if you can afford the half-bale size that will give you more flexibility. That size used to have an issue with the lid, but I understand the new model is much improved. The boiler and hoses disconnect easily. The boiler is not super-light, but does have a handle and can be carried. How annoying it is to deal with it will probably depend on how far you have to carry it to a heated area each day.
Mine has been great for my horse, but I have had a few issues and parts that have had to be replaced. Nothing major, but a bit frustrating considering it’s a $1000 piece of equipment.
I don’t have the boiler in front of me but there are 2 settings… there’s some sort of pre-heat setting and then STEAM. I think you can have it on the lower setting when ambient temps are low to help keep it warmer between steam cycles. There was something in my manual about it… but I’ve forgotten because I haven’t had to worry about it with where I’ve used mine.
Yes, my barn uses that pre-heat setting if we’re steaming two batches of hay in a row. Keeps the water warm while you’re waiting for the hay to cool enough to take it out and then setting up the second batch.
But can you refill the tank while its on that preheat setting?
I thought it had to go off to refill?
The ones I’ve used were full bale size, and needed the tanks refilled for each bale.
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Hmmm, good point. The smallest one uses the same size boiler as the medium and it doesn’t use a full tank for one batch. I think we do generally add a little more for the second batch, but we definitely don’t have to completely refill it. Certainly possible that the medium/half bale size would use the full tank.
I don’t think there is actually anything stopping you from opening the cap to the boiler on either setting, but you probably don’t want to open it to refill while it is steaming or you’ll get scalded. And of course you don’t want to run it on either setting if it’s empty.
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It shouldn’t be boiling on the pre-heat, so it should be ok to remove the cap and refill while on pre-heat, provided the water is not already too hot in there to pose a hazard to opening the cap.
I could get a few steams of the small size steamer out of one fill, so you may not have to do that all the time in practice. Of course, the colder the ambient temps, it might take longer than 1 hour to get the hay to temperature, which would use more steam, but I’d bet you could get a couple steams out of one steamer for the half bale machine. I think the whole bale one comes with 2 steam units IIRC?
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I have a Haygain steamer …I’ve used it for 6 plus years now …that is what helps the respiratory horses more than anything…soaking actually can inhibit mold , bacteria , spores etc …whereas steaming actually kills all that and eliminates dust as well! …my 2 asthma horses require zero medication since feeding steamed hay …it pays for itself in the long run …it also reduces sugar a bit too …not nearly as much as soaking does but it certainly does to a small certain extent.
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lost my guy. terrible experience with vets/clinc/big $$ and with all diagnostics and efforts they just don’t know why/what it was. Anyway. I’ll miss him forever. Hay Gain steamer was refunded and returned.
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So very sorry to hear.
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I’m so sorry
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I’m so sorry. And I’m sorry it was made even worse by your bad experiences.
Big ((((hugs))))) and jingles for you.
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I’m so sorry.
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