Hay waster issues

[PrincessPonies]

I have two horses that have recently become hay wasters. Hay is too expensive where we are for them to use half it as bedding. The one has a slow feeder hay net that I got at the local tack store, this is the third after she destroyed the first two. Problem is it’s a pain in the butt to fill and hang. I’m looking at getting a nibble net for her and want to know if it’s worth the money or if the little demon pony will just destroy it too?
My horse has recently developed some breathing issue, we’ve talked to vet and she’s been perfectly fine. One of the things we do is create as little dust as possible. Vet doesn’t think it’s a good idea for her to have a haynet. Right now I’m thinking of getting a large tub and putting hay in that. Would that work? Any other suggestions?

thanks

[cnd8]

I ordered a Hay Chix net a couple months ago to try to help my chronic colic horse and the difference in waste is unbelievable! There is no hay mixed in with his stall shavings, and outside at the roundbale, there is ZERO hay around the ring like there was before. The hay chix nets are much more durable and they have a hoggle that makes them very easy to load because they open so big. Heres a discount code that they gave me once I became a customer to share with others: (in my sig)

[Alpha_Mare]

for your horse with the breathing issues, soak the hay, or at least wet it down for a few minutes. put it in the tub you suggested, drain the tub when done and you can feed either in the tub or loose in the stall. For my mares I put in the slow feed net, put it all in the tub and soak, drain and put up the haynet However, my horses are comfortable eating from the net…

[Angela_Freda]

For the horse needing wet/rinsed hay, we used one of these the last place I was a WS and it worked well for the stallion who had it. It was easy to fill, and the hay could be rinsed right in it, or put in there after soaking.

https://www.orschelnfarmhome.com/low-hanging-plastic-hay-feeder-107328906.html

[Amy3996]

I’ve tried regular hay nets, NibbleNet, HayChix, PortaGrazer… you name it. For the net-destroying mare, you could go with either a NibbleNet or a heavy duty HayChix net. In my experience both of those are very durable. My horse hated the NibbleNet so I ended up selling mine, but he did great with the HayChix net until his heaves diagnosis meant no more hay nets for him. I bit the bullet and bought a PortaGrazer corner feeder. Super expensive but absolutely, without a doubt, the best money I ever spent on a hay feeder. There’s literally zero wasted hay, and his coughing from the heaves has almost completely gone away because the dust is contained in the solid barrel of the PortaGrazer. It also comes with a drain built in so you have the option to soak/drain/feed all in one container.

[ChocoMare]

Another vote for Hay Chix. Super tough. You can easily fill a net and dunk it in a muck-tub full of water to soak or wet it down, then hang.

[Scribbler]

Honestly if your horses are wasting hay, they are getting too much hay, or too much at one time.

I would start weighing my full hay nets with a fish scale to see how much total hay I was feeding pet day. Ballpark average figure is 20 lbs. I try to keep my easy keeper mare on 15 lbs fed 4 times a day. Some folks with warmbloods or OTTB go through 35 lbs a day. But if your horse can’t eat that he will waste it.

Anyhow weigh your hay and if you are a devotee of free choice all you can eat hay, then feed just a smidgen more than horse can eat in 24 hours. And feed several times a day. Won’t hurt horse to have a chance to vacuum up all the scraps for an hour or two.

[Cbonadeo]

I use a Hay Pillow for my pony, it seems to keep the hay contained well and is easy to fill (one end unzips and you slide the flakes in). She did eventually tear a hole in the netting though (she paws at it and flings it around), so it might not be as durable as you want (I bought a Version 2 so I can replace the netting panel in the future, but still not cheap!).

​https://www.thehaypillow.com​​​​​​

[ERG]

I have a nibble net but I really use it just to slow my guy down. When I feed him his grain I open the hay net up because it has a bunch of snaps. It would be extremely difficult to fill it up one handed. It is very easy to actually stuff the hay ito because it opens super wide

[Mk2002]

I used to weigh my horses hay. It helped to keep waste down, you knew exactly how much hay your horse was eating, and had the plus side of being easily adjustable for the horses weight and activity levels.

[AKB]

Another vote for a Portagrazer. We have the Portagrazer corner feeders, and they work well.

[Pennywell_Bay]

My nibble nets are about 6 years old. They have lasted through huge WBs and some evil ponies. Only thing that destroyed one was my goats. sigh.

Agree w/ Scribbler. If they are wasting hay they are getting too much or too much at once OR have teeth issues.

[EventerAJ]

Use a clean muck tub to fill haynets. Open the empty net and drape it in/over the tub like a trash bag in a trash can. Fill with hay, pull the string, done.
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[Rae89]

I used to just feed my horse on the ground and he would waste quite a bit of it. Giving him less wasn’t an option as he needs to be eating more hay.

So I got him a big hay net at the local ag centre. I put a clip on the strings, its easy to fill and I just through it over the stall and clip it back to itself. Hardly any waste and he is getting to eat hay all night. I don’t find it much of pain, but maybe that’s just me.

You could get a couple hay nets and fill them all at once then it’s not such a pain to do through out the week,

[2DogsFarm]

While I am interested in conserving hay - hay = $ - I like to feed off the ground.
Right now that means tossing flakes into the stalls.
Can any of these nets be hung low enough to do that?
Not so the net part is on the ground, but low enough so they lower their heads to pull hay out & not paw & get a hoof caught.

Agree with @Scribbler about weighing/wastage, but right now it’s kind of a balancing act.
I want to have more forage available in bitter cold as pasture grass is all but nonexistent.
So if temps are colder I feed some extra and gauge how much becomes bedding, adjust for next cold spell.
Wash, rinse, repeat.

If I could hang one of those sized to hold a small square bale low enough that might be my ideal solution.
But then, mini might spend his day eating & then not so great :no:

[cnd8]

@2DogsFarm the Hay Chix nets can be tossed onto the ground for horses that do not have shoes, absolutely.

[NotoriousDesign]

I too would recommend HayChix. As fas as dust a quick dunk or rinse would help with that. They even have an upsize for holes if you want something that isn’t slow feed but contains the hay so they can’t trash it.

[PrincessPonies]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. They are not getting too much, or free choice hay. The horse I think is just getting picky, wants alfalfa instead of the Bermuda. Pony’s always been on and off hay waster it’s just gotten worse recently. My horse is picky and won’t eat any food wet, hay included. She’s perfectly fine at the moment but our vet doesn’t want her pulling hay out and making dust, that’s why I’m thinking just a big container. Pony does fine with net, always eats everything from the same amount as when on the ground wasting stuff. Nibble net looks a lot easier to fill so I think I’ll order that for her. Thanks for the replies.

[2DogsFarm]

@cnd8

@2DogsFarm the Hay Chix nets can be tossed onto the ground for horses that do not have shoes, absolutely.

That’s good to know, & mine are all barefoot.

But I would like to keep feeding hay in the stalls.
For my convenience mostly, since hay is stored on pallets inside the barn, across from stalls so feeding means all I need to do is tote flakes across 12’ of aisle.
If not attached to stall, any net will become a soccer ball.
Proven by my feed pans migrating all over stalls & sometimes into the paddock, as stall doors to that are open 24/7/365.

[cnd8]

You can clip the bags to a ring, or tie or clip to a stall bar, etc. Mine has a roundbale net in the pasture and a stall half bale net clipped to the bars of his stall.