Its a favorite of mine. The best hay is always in the middle!!
How did that not cause them to get heaves symptoms? My old guy - I have to have round bale nets tied up to the rafters or he about kills himself sticking his head into the middle of the bale - and it’s good hay! He can barely breathe from allergies/inhaled particulates. When he starts having issues, I go out to check for a hole in the net… more often than not… there is a hole w/ a horse head sized depression. He would be so depressed and jealous if he saw your horses eating like that and he can’t…
just wanted to say IBC totes make a great “trough” for this! we cut our totes in half and I fluff the hay in the “trough”. My old guy will still throw it on the ground but it’s nice in bad weather not all of it ends up on the ground.