Hay Update – Please Help!

[taylorelaine]

I haven’t hung up a hay net yet—I’ve been trying to avoid doing so because I really want them to be able to eat from the ground naturally. However, my one horse’s stall is just littered with hay. I’ve tried giving him one flake at a time, and he still walks through it. He loves his hay and happily eats it, but he’s just really messy and careless and walks all over it.

My other horse is very mindful of where her hay is, but they both prefer to eat their hay in the back corner next to their windows. They keep their heads out the window all day, and if the hay isn’t by the window, they don’t really touch it. When the hay is near the window, they’ll graze on it all day, which I love.

That’s where the problem is—if I put the hay in the front under the water buckets, they don’t walk through it, but then they won’t walk back and forth to eat. They just stay by the window and hardly touch their hay. I really like their current setup. They’re both very content, and they’re eating from the ground and grazing all day, which is healthy. But when it comes to cleaning out the stalls, there’s just too much mess and waste.

I don’t want to change what’s working for them, but I have to.

I’ve tried a hay net on the floor. He ate out of it for a little while, but when I came back a few hours later, it was shoved practically into a pee spot, and he had given up trying to get the hay out. That’s not like him—he loves his hay and loves to graze 24/7—so seeing him just standing in the corner not eating made me sad.

So far, I’ve tried the hay net on the floor, putting hay under the water buckets, and other arrangements, but each one ends with him not eating and just staring out the window looking defeated.

I’m really trying to avoid hanging a hay net because I’m worried about him catching himself on it. I’m also concerned about back and neck problems and how unnatural the position can be. He has a history of ulcers and colic, so I like him eating throughout the day to keep his stomach moving. I don’t want him getting frustrated and stressed from not being able to access his hay.

I just don’t know what to do.

Someone mentioned using a water trough filled with hay in the stall. I’m thinking of getting one today. Does something like this (picture at bottom) look okay? How do I attach it so he doesn’t tip it over? Because he will try I think.

I grabbed a muck bucket, cleaned it out, and put hay in it just to test it while I supervised. I wanted to see if that could potentially work, but he kept kicking it and knocking it over. He seems to like his hay free and unrestrained and gets upset when it’s confined.

I really need to find a solution because my dad is getting frustrated with the waste—and so am I—but I don’t want to disrupt what’s natural and working for them either.

Do I put the hay back under the water buckets and give it more time? I just hate seeing them standing by their windows doing nothing when they’re normally happily eating their hay.

Do I try the water trough idea, even though he likes to flip things over?

Do I try the hay net, even though he’ll probably be frustrated with it and it’s not natural for him?

I can’t leave it on the ground by the window anymore, unfortunately, even though that’s what he likes and what allows him to graze naturally all day.

[taylorelaine]

I’ve even thought about maybe putting his water buckets on the back wall next to his window and tucking his hay under them there? That way he won’t pee or poop around his hay and won’t be able to walk through it as easily maybe?

[Annie10]

I tried the water trough thing for awhile. Mine didn’t flip it but one made a habit of pooping in it.
Can you use the muck bucket but secure it to the wall maybe at chest level somehow?

I gave up and just hay nets now

I think they don’t like having their heads down in the stalls bc they can’t see so it prob doesn’t matter where you put it on the ground.

[Simkie]

You might like porta grazer:

Home

I would hang a net and be done with it. If there’s a reason you’re finding that not to work for whatever reason you can always switch gears. Hanging a net now doesn’t mean at all that you can’t decide to do something else later. Most horses do just fine with a net. I have one horse who ignores lose hay for his net, even.

When I used a net in a trough, I strapped the trough to the fence to keep that horse from moving it around.

[RhythmNCruise]

Pick a board on that wall next to his window that is about chest height (on the horse), put a tie ring on it, then snap a hay net. I like the SmartPak slow feed nets. The big ones hold a lot, they’re easy to fill, very durable, and the horses seem cool with them. My gelding snatches his around like a maniac and it withstands his antics. His neck and back are just fine too.

Hay is way to expensive to be wasting. Put up a net. It’ll be fine.

[LCDR]

High Country Hay Saver might meet your desire to feed from ground level. They make two sizes. The larger size in the video, and a smaller size that I found to be perfect for my messy hay waster in his stall.

Slow Feeder Saver - Lou eating

[SinMiedo]

My friend’s horse had a similar issue. We tried the bucket option but he still managed to pull the hay out and decorate his stall with it, so she decided to try a wall mounted net. She mounted it low on the wall where he liked to stand and left the top open so he could easily pull out small amounts and it did the trick. Might be worth a shot!
This is the one she got, it’s cheap enough that if it doesn’t work out you’re not out too much $$
https://a.co/d/8L6MxnL

[LCDR]

Might want to combine threads since you started another one, same subject, same forum, recently.

[NaturallyHappy]

Hmmmm…I may try this one. Thx!

[taylorelaine]

Thanks for the advice and recommendation! Do you mean put the tie ring at chest height or the bottom of the hay bag at chest height? I really like the idea of the hay net being lower since it’s more closer to a natural ground position, but is too low safe? I always see hay nets high and hear about them being not safe if they’re too low. My horse doesn’t have shoes, so I guess I don’t need to worry about it being too low then. So, I should be okay putting the tie ring at chest height, which I think for him is about 40 inches, and attaching the hat net from there? And, is the smartpak hay net that you mentioned?

[taylorelaine]

Thanks for the suggestion! I’m really interested in the porta grazer—I don’t know if you have any experience with them or have hear anything, but I’m just wondering if they tip easily? They seem strong and sturdy, but my horse will probably try to tip it. That might be the only down side is if they can get knocked over fairly easy. Other than that they look great. They’re really expensive, but I think in my situation they might be worth a try and maybe they’re heavier than they look. I’m most likely going to have to resort to hay nets though. My horse doesn’t have shoes, so I think I should be able to hang the hay net as low as I want? I thought I heard someone say once that there was a study that said hay nets too low can be worse than high hay nets because it actually puts more stress when they grab and pull, but then I saw someone else say that there was a study saying that a hay net hung low compared to a hay net hung high was more comparable in body position to a natural ground feeding position.

[luvmyhackney]

This thread had some good options. Wall/Corner Hay Feeders

[Calvincrowe]

I love the Porta Grazer feeders-- the whole barn I board at is equipped with them, 30 stalls. They can be annoying to get the ‘plug piece’ out at times, but once you sort it out, it is quick and easy to remove, fill, put back in place. It definitely slows them down, but isn’t hard on teeth. You can also use them without the slow grazer portion just fine.

At my home barn, I use High Country corner hay feeders by the back door of the stalls. They are pretty good at containing hay.

[Simkie]

I don’t use porta grazers because I’m very happy with my nets, but sure, they tip over. Horses stand em back up. If you don’t want your horse to tip it and bounce it around the stall, get the corner model, which can be secured.

I hang my nets so they’re just off the ground. Picture a full small bale, on end, just off the ground. Horses can choose to eat anywhere along the length of the bale. The usually choose to eat toward the bottom, near the ground. I have had zero issues feeding my horses like this for…man, it’s been a decade.

I use nets outside over the winter, too. They’re hung a little higher, from the top rail of the fence. Those nets hold a half bale each. Also no problems with that.

Nets are overall cheap to try, and they absolutely kibosh the whole bedding in the hay thing you’re seeing now. It’s a very reasonable place to start. See how it goes. If you don’t like it, try something else.

I feel like you put a lot of pressure on yourself to find the one true BEST answer right off the bat, and that’s just not often how farm stuff works. It’s okay to try something, decide it’s not quite right, and try something else. Nets are cheap. Start there

[NaturallyHappy]

I’m just going to chime in and add PortaGrazers are heavy. I have neck problems which they exacerbate. So do the square things someone mentioned above. Hay nets are my friends.

[Simkie]

Ah that’s great feedback on the porta grazers.

I will add that my vet dentists aren’t fans of the Hay Saver dealie linked above, because the grate is metal (unless they’ve changed it?) They’ve said they didn’t like the teeth wear eating through a metal grate. As always, though, ymmv! Haha.

[outside_leg]

I have hay nets for similar reasons (and to keep hay out of the mud when they’re turned out on dry lots). I keep them at or below chest height, so their eating position is still largely natural. Most of mine will pull hay from the net, dump it in the ground, and eat what they pull out in small clumps at a time. No waste, still a natural position, and makes cleaning and monitoring their hay consumption significantly easier.

[RhythmNCruise]

I have that exact net and I have the top of it at maybe a little higher than chest height (think halfway between chest and eye-level if horse’s neck is relaxed). The bottom of the hay bag is maybe 10 inches or less off the ground? I’m not really sure. I just know I hung it lower than his previous hay net (just got the SmartPak one) because he’s eating in the stall more and more with the heat and bugs starting up and I don’t want him eating from a higher position…mostly because he has some respiratory stuff, but also, as you point out, for neck and back health. Mine has 24/7 access to an acre of closely grazed grass with his bestie, and I feed their hay outside or under their “porches” in front of their stalls most of the time, but summer here is brutal and I want them in under their fans as much as possible without closing them up. They don’t trash their hay too bad, but the nets slow them down and keep them in the shade under the fans longer. Also gives the grass a break.

Anyway. Best of luck to you with it. I understand how particular horses can be about their set-ups and habits.

[Annie10]

Another idea a friend had just occurred to me.
She got a large wheeled garbage can, like a big toter kind.
At the bottom front she cut a rectangle probably 10”or so high and across the front. Then she dropped in a whole bale. Rolled it in the stall and tada. He could put his head low, she could put the can wherever she wanted and no mess.
I haven’t done it but she says it’s worked great.

She put pipe insulation around the cut edges for safety.

ETA I saw this kind at Lowe’s today. It was$75 but there was a less heavy one that was $50

Uploading: IMG_1724.jpeg…

[taylorelaine]

Thank you! Did you get the 1.5” or 2” holes?