Porta-Grazer opinions? Ground hay pillow? I am hay-bagged/hay-netted out....

[tpup]

I have 2 ponies on a dry lot. One is a 10h Shetland, one is a 14.3 Connemara. I have been through so many hay nets and have a hay allergy…filling them has become a major pain for me. When they need more hay mid day and I’m in a hurry, I get lazy and throw them a flake on their outdoor mat and they eat some, and then pee in it! They get mad at the nets, spin them, hay dust flies in their eyes. After a year and a half of this system, I am looking for alternatives. The mini WILL put his foot in the nets so I am using small hole and have to hang higher since they are turned out together.

A slow feed option is best for these 2. Both are laminitis prone. They need to eat the hay slowly so a round bale or hay ring is out of the question.

A neighbor has Porta Grazers in her pasture and loves them. My issue is I can’t size for the Connemara because my little Shetland could get his foot caught in the holes. So I would have to get the mini one for both. I am willing to try one but they are expensive so would love more opinions.

The only forage my 2 get is hay-netted hay. In Dec-Feb they can go in my top pasture with muzzles, but the rest of the year they are confined to their dry lot.

I would like them to be able to eat more off the ground with their heads and necks down. They are stalled at night so I am filling bags for night too. For night time, they can each have their own sized porta grazer in their stalls.

A ground hay pillow is another option. Here is a photo of our current setup. Ignore pile of stone…photo taken when we had the “mud lot” bluestoned which has been a Godsend!!

[Obsidian_Fire]

No help here but I love your kitty!

[joiedevie99]

The Nibble Net hay pillows are pretty cool - but imho, they only work for barefoot horses who have reasonable size feet. I’d worry about your tiny one getting his foot stuck. Maybe you could get the size of the openings from them and measure him?

[IPEsq]

@joiedevie99

The Nibble Net hay pillows are pretty cool - but imho, they only work for barefoot horses who have reasonable size feet. I’d worry about your tiny one getting his foot stuck. Maybe you could get the size of the openings from them and measure him?

I think Nibble Net pillow ones are 1.5" openings. I’d hope that’s small enough for the mini. I don’t think they hold much, though… like a flake. Definitely not as big as their hanging bags.

[tpup]

Thanks all! The ponies are barefoot and always will be. 1.5 should be ok for the shetland. I don’t mind having a few hay pillows out at a time. Maybe that would at least solve the mid-day supplementing…

[Texarkana]

I made my own hay pillows using Shires small-hole nets. I got the idea from another COTHer (I forget who!). The Shires nets are very durable and have thick, rope cords. I would tie a series of knots into the rope cord to take up the slack, then stuff the knotted cord inside the net. I would throw the nets on the ground and the horses did great with them. They would stand on them, paw at them, throw them around… I never had a cord come unknotted or a net tear in several years of use.

The holes were too small for my 12h donkey to get a hoof through. Not sure about a 10h shetland…

Currently, the horses are boarded, but once we buy another place, I’ll be using the nets again!

[Frog_Pond]

I love my two Portagrazers but I no longer consider them slow feeders for my two minis unless I put a 1" hole hay bag in their, which they eat through the porta grazer holes. They can really power eat through even the smallest pan size. I have the largest and the smallest pans, and oddly, my horse loves the mini size. They’re durable, entertaining —

[Mallard]

You should be able to find some nets with 1" holes if you think that 1.5" is too big.

I take the draw cords right out of my nets and use a large (3"?) caribiner to close the loop holes. No worries the cord will come loose/undone.
Yes…it is more time consuming to do this, but I then just toss the nets on the ground.
If it is too muddy I use the caribiner to clip the nets to the side of the shelter. My shelter/stall/side of the barn has a gazillion screw eyes. I also just toss the nets on the stall floor.
I have been doing this for a few years now and have never had any problems.

Of course this does not solve the issue of how long it takes to stuff the nets, nor does it address your allergy…

[SharonA]

I have to soak hay, and the Hay Pillows quickly got pretty moldy-smelling, even if allowed to dry out well between feedings.

I have mixed feelings about the PortaGrazer. It is expensive and heavy, and I think I lost the first drain plug within 24 hours (easy to replace, as it turns out). It gets moldy-smelling too, after a couple rounds of soaked hay. I have to rinse it out very well between feedings and let it dry. I’m not crazy about its design that allows water to collect in the bottom rim, vs. having it all drain out easily. But, horse seems to like it, and if nothing else, it’s different from his hay nets, so maybe that provides some mental stimulation to make up for not being able to be out on pasture 24/7. (Sorry, little man!)

[maunder]

I use the Nibble Net Picnic for my minis. I really like that the top is strapped tight. They can’t get them open and they’ve lasted three years with zero damage. I use both the Picnic on the ground and one hung up.

I can fit a good-sized flake into one.

[saultgirl]

I have both 1.5" and 1" hay nets from www.slowfeeder.com and www.purelyponies.com. I can hang them or toss them on the ground. I don’t worry about the cords when they are on the ground, because they are separate (i.e. not a “loop” to get stuck in). I’ve been very impressed with the quality of these nets.

[tpup]

@saultgirl

I have both 1.5" and 1" hay nets from www.slowfeeder.com and www.purelyponies.com. I can hang them or toss them on the ground. I don’t worry about the cords when they are on the ground, because they are separate (i.e. not a “loop” to get stuck in). I’ve been very impressed with the quality of these nets.

Thanks for these suggestions! I love the bale net I can just keep on the ground! I can put a full bale in there for them!

[saultgirl]

@tpup

Thanks for these suggestions! I love the bale net I can just keep on the ground! I can put a full bale in there for them!

As far as filling the nets, for a full bale I find it easiest to leave the bale strings on, stand the bale on end, then put the bag on from the top down. Edit: Once I have the bale fully in the net, I carefully cut the twine and pull it out. If I have to carry the bale a long distance, I leave the strings on to carry it and then remove them when I get there.

For smaller hay nets, I have two hooks I screwed into the wall and I hook the bag across the two hooks, then put the hay in. I will try to find a video of that method.

[saultgirl]

LOL OMG a search of youtube has found that, people have weird ways of filling hay nets. Anyways, below is an agonizingly long video of the method I use. But I just have two little hooks screwed into the wall - got them at the dollar store, something like this https://www.amazon.com/Yueton-50pcs-…509472&sr=1-28.

And here is the video that shows the general idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=womp7lYcroo

I used to fill with a muck bucket but I find it less awkward to fill them on the wall.

[stb]

I love my Porta Grazers. They are much faster and easier to fill than a hay net - any hay net. I do use hay nets if rain is in the forecast, otherwise I use the porta Grazers.

[tpup]

@saultgirl

LOL OMG a search of youtube has found that, people have weird ways of filling hay nets. Anyways, below is an agonizingly long video of the method I use. But I just have two little hooks screwed into the wall - got them at the dollar store, something like this https://www.amazon.com/Yueton-50pcs-…509472&sr=1-28.

And here is the video that shows the general idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=womp7lYcroo

I used to fill with a muck bucket but I find it less awkward to fill them on the wall.

:lol::lol: Omg that video had me laughing. Can they fill it any slower?? I was seriously dying laughing esp when the caption at the end said “see how quick that was” or something to that effect. If it took me that long to fill my 2 bags I would never get to work LOL. But thank you - that is a much better way.

[tazycat]

Be aware plastic & metal grates ruins teeth. Will wear the enamel right off teeth. Better staying with hay nets. I personally won’t use any kind of slow feed nets.

[AKB]

I like my large Portagrazer corner feeders. The only issue is that my Irish Draughts need the big holes, which means the Connemara’s dainty muzzle is not slowed at all by the holes.

[suzyq]

Maybe one of those nets with the metal hoop at the top that you flip up after filling? They look easy to fill.

[CatPS]

I’ve used the freedom feeders very successfully. They aren’t as robust as the nibble nets (I wouldn’t put one on the ground) but they are super duper easy to fill and our horses loved them. We used the extended day feeder at my co-op… you attach it permanently to the wall (as in you don’t take it down unless something is wrong with it), unhook several carabiners along the top, throw in the hay, reattach the carabiners, and you’re all done! I could usually get 30-40 lbs of our particular grass hay in mine.