Hay nets give my horse a sore neck so I’m trying to find a slow feeder that puts his head in a more natural position. I was trying to go the budget route, but at this point I just want it to be safe for my horse (not likely to damage teeth/gums, shoe safe) and as easy and fast for barn staff to fill. Any recommendations?
I have heard nothing but good things about Porta-Grazers:
http://porta-grazer.com/porta-grazer-2/
But the price! :disgust:
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High Country Plastics, Slow Feeder Saver Jr.
Portagrazer corner feeder
Love my Porta Grazer!
I have a High COuntry Plastics corner feeder. My horse pulls hay out of it and spreads it around. I’d like something similar with bars across the top similar to a foal feeder - noses can go in but can’t :scoop" the hay out…
Is that just a trough though? I was looking on the website but it doesn’t appear to have anything to slow the horse down. Waste is not an issue with my horse. Slowing him down and making his hay last, on the other hand, is a challenge.
Posts 9 and 14 here, with pictures:
https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/f…-vs-hay-basket
You can get ideas about something like that, a net in some container.
That would keep hay in there and if the net is for slow feeding, could be your solution.
Find a small container and net for a stall, can use bigger ones outside, in place of hanging the nets up.
I bit the bullet and bought a Porta Grazer corner feeder. Best money I’ve spent… I wish I’d done it sooner. It would have paid for itself in all the money I’ve wasted on hay nets and other slow feeders over the years. My horse loves it, there’s no hay waste, and he easily has enough hay to last him 12+ hours.
Their slow feeder saver jr, has a net that goes across the top. It’s square, and small enough for a stall, which is why I bought it.
I don’t like the Porta-Grazer as it’s basically a “drum” and not all horses are comfortable putting their heads down in there. It’s a bit claustrophobic.
I totally agree about the Porta-Grazer. A barnmate has one and I tried it with mine when I was exploring options – my horse did not trust the claustrophobic barrel design.
The nylon net in the HCP Slow Feeder Jr. is an improvement over the regular HCP Slow Feeder Saver – a barn I was formerly at and farmsat for regularly had the original SFS, and horses damaged their teeth on them, got shoes stuck in the metal grate by pawing, and often ate in such a way that there were high spots that the grate would get stuck on and “holes” where they’d eaten, such that the majority of the hay became inaccessible. Horses would sometimes push the feeders up so they blocked the doors of their in-and-outs, and rarely a horse would turn one over (presumably when those high spots caused frustration and creativity in trying to get to the lower-down hay). I hated those things and thought the hazards weren’t outweighed by the benefits (didn’t slow them down that much), but a net instead of grate would solve many of the safety problems and might enhance the slow-feed properties (though I’d still be wary about catching shoes unless the horse were barefoot).
Has anybody noticed their horses less willing/able to eat out of nets that are draped over the hay (like Jexa’s, a whole bale net, or a round bale net) vs hanging from the wall?
A month ago I got a round bale net to put inside my Hay Hut and the horses are eating way too little hay now and losing some weight. I’ve had the same issue when I put whole-bale nets inside my Slow Grazer boxes. I feel like it must be harder for them to get to the hay because the net is sitting loosely over it, as opposed to the hay bulging through the holes when the net is hung…don’t know if that makes sense. Does anyone else have this issue? Any solutions? I’ve tried pulling the net taut and clipping the excess up with snaps in case that is part of the problem.
I recently put hockey goal netting over my Tarter equine hay basket. I purchased a large enough piece to drape completely down into the basket (so my small horses could reach all the way down into the basket, even with the net in place) and lap over the outside rim a bit.
My “professional eater” gelding caught on instantly and attacked the hay with his usual fervor, while my slow and steady eater came and got me while I filled stall bags, talking the entire time. I led the way out to the hay basket, and demonstrated – as though I was a horse – how to grab the net, fluff the flake, and pick up a mouthful of hay. He observed closely and went right to eating the hay through the net, no problem. It was a hoot!
To be helpful, I now try to loosen the flakes a bit when loading the basket – just a few shakes does the job – so the horses are not trying to eat a tightly compressed flake through the netting. So far, this is working for us.
My frame with net is quite heavy, so there is just as much “pressure” of hay against net as there is with a hanging hay net. Are you sure it’s not the size of the holes that’s causing the problem? When I changed out the netting in my frame to something with just slightly smaller openings it slowed them down considerably.
I love my Porta Grazers. My horses do too. They are expensive, but you only have to buy them once. Mine are 3 years old and show no signs of wear at all.
How about a Rubbermaid-type water tank with a small hole hay net set/anchored inside? Or a plastic, corner hay manger with net?
I just got a hay pillow and I’m really pleased with it. They have a hanging one too that allows a horse to eat in a more natural, head down position. If your horse is barefoot then the pillow might be a good option.
I’ve had the High Country Jr. slow feeder for about a year now. It seems to work pretty well, but the side with the slot for the grate has sort of bulged inwards, which makes it a little tricky to get the grate out (not hard with two hands, but doesn’t really work if you have a flake of hay in one hand and are trying to open it.
I would have gone with a homemade option like one of the previous posters, but my mare is part beaver, so I didn’t want to supply her with any extra wood-gnawing opportunities.
