Need suggestions on reasonably priced round bale holders that are safe for horses.
Thanks!
AGI feeders
Tombstone style: http://www.agiproducts.com/products/hay-rings/8-horse-hay-ring
Plain ring: http://www.agiproducts.com/products/hay-rings/adjustable-hay-ring
If you can put the bale under cover, the Big Bale Buddy feeder is nice.
http://www.bigbalebuddy.com/balebuddyhome.html
However, based on my experience with it, it absolutely must be kept under cover if you live where it rains. It also requires more handling than just putting the bale in a hay ring, since you have put it over the bale (removing the wrap as you do it) and then flip the bale over to stand on the other end.
The advantage is that I have a lot less waste than I get with a regular hay ring.
We built our own. I’m not really sure of the cost, but I don’t think it was very expensive to build (we already had a lot of the material).
There is a roof on it (doesn’t show in the photos), and we keep the hay in a Cinch Chix hay net. No injuries on it, keeps the hay dry and has very little waste.
We have the Big Bale Buddy and LOVE it. We do not have it under cover at all. If I know it’s going to be pouring rain at night (when my horses are in), I do try to cover it with a tarp. But mine is out in rain/snow if the horses are out, just as a regular round bale feeder would be. We have no waste using it. Love it!
We have the AGI hay rings located inside our large run-ins. Easy to place the round bales of hay in with our tractor and protects the hay from being rained on and trampled by the horses (the horses love to bed down in nice expensive hay if you let them). We are super pleased with this product…and durable! A tornado last year picked up one of our hay rings…and completely destroyed the run-in in the process 
…and we found it approximately 3/4 miles down the road. Perfectly intact! Amazing.
HayHut - Round Bale horse hay feeders
[QUOTE=dressurrider;8370821]
Need suggestions on reasonably priced round bale holders that are safe for horses.
Thanks![/QUOTE]
You should consider Return on Investment (ROI) and warranty when thinking about your purchase. This is a link to the world’s most comprehensive study of round bale horse hay feeders to -
http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/nutrition/selecting-a-round-bale-feeder/
We were told that the HayHut loss rate would have been down to no more than 2% had they not placed the roll on a damp patch of ground at the start or had they used a wooden pallet as recommended by the HayHut company.
More than 8000 HayHuts have been sold so far and many big equine establishments have bought them. University of Kentucky has purchased 60 of them.
Here is a link to some of the testimonials. -http://hayhuts.com/testimonials.htm
We have used then for many years and totally love them and the savings in hay costs and labor time reduction that they produce; halved our hay costs! And our horses are so much more contented with these covered feeders and we think very much healthier as a result of that.
The HayHuts ROI was less than 4 months just on hay costs alone!
[QUOTE=Leather;8371033]
AGI feeders
Tombstone style: http://www.agiproducts.com/products/hay-rings/8-horse-hay-ring
Plain ring: http://www.agiproducts.com/products/hay-rings/adjustable-hay-ring[/QUOTE]
that tombstone one is gorgeous… do you know how much it is?
[QUOTE=beowulf;8373736]
that tombstone one is gorgeous… do you know how much it is?[/QUOTE]
This place has them for $500.
http://victoriafeedsthehorseandhound.com/product/agi-plastic-round-bale-feeder/
Red River Arenas’ “Hay Cradle” - no tractor needed. Just watch the video.
It ships in a flat box and goes together in about 20 minutes with a wrench.
I have a home made round bale feeder that works great. The bale is in a small hole hay net inside the feeder.
I have also seen this Diller Hay Saver feeder and found it to be well built. If I did not already have the home made feeder I would get one of these. I also like their smaller feeder that fits a square bale.
[QUOTE=tpup;8372113]
We have the Big Bale Buddy … But mine is out in rain/snow if the horses are out, just as a regular round bale feeder would be. [/QUOTE]
When I first started using the Big Bale Buddy, I didn’t put it under cover. We don’t get much rain here in the winter, usually. But we had a rainstorm and the bale got soaked, then the hay at the bottom turned into a soggy, rotting, moldy mess that was a real b**** to clean up.
That’s why now I always keep it under cover in one of the run in sheds.
