Round bale or square w/hay racks for 3 horses?

[tpup]

We love on a r Our barn will be done in Oct. - horses will be in stalls overnight when it gets very cold, or in terribly bad weather but I hope to keep them out 24/7 as long as possible. Pic of run in below. I can easily do 2 corner racks and one longer rack in middle left side. There is a removable divider wall in our 12x28 run-in (I once thought I might need a stall on the right temporarily) The little windows do close securely to keep rain/wind out. Round bales would be convenient and last longer of course but would one last TOO long and get yucky? We also don’t have an implement to move them right now. I would of course vaccinate for botulism if we decided on rounds.

[IMG]http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/tpup12/Fence2_zps9b5d77c7.jpg)

[Bluey]

I would also consider how you will get there to fill the hay racks in mud and snow.

That may make a difference between feeding more often with small bales or less with big rounds.

We have never fed big bales to horses, so can’t say, but seems that everyone around here does except horses in stalls in show barns.
Even they feed big bales to the outside horses.
If nothing else, hay is considerably cheaper in big bales.

We prefer hand feeding twice a day flakes of hay to all.
We are set for that and works well for our horses.

If we had many horses and in hard to get to places or where we were not there to feed twice a day, a big bale is better and always cheaper, even figuring the wasted hay.

The problem with big bales free choice all day, horses tend to overeat, especially those that are very easy keepers.

You have to figure where all that comes in with your situation, your horses and your management.
There is really not a one size fits all when feeding horses.

[rockymouse]

We feed round bales, but we pitch it over the fence. Very little waste that way and we can make separate piles so that everyone of our four has a pile to go to. Less bullying that way. Also easy to pitch more when the weather gets really cold or if the wind blows some away.
Don’t know if that would work with your set up, but we’ve made it work for us in the two places we’ve lived. For us, it’s cheaper than small squares and easier to store.
We have fed small squares in odd moments when we’re at a clinic or we had a hay shortage and round bales were temporarily unavailable. There is convenience to picking up a half bale, tossing it and you’re done, but for us the round bale is the best long-term answer.

[RedmondDressage]

For an idea, I have 3 horses and one round bale (600 - 700lb) lasts just under 2 weeks. I have mine in a covered feeder that I built with a cargo net over to to prevent wastage. As long as you keep the it up off the ground and dry I don’t think it will go bad in the time it takes 3 horses to finish it. I think the bigger issue will be, how are you going to get it out there without dragging it in the muck.

[trubandloki]

We feed round bales in the winter, three horses on dry lot. The round bales are put in a Cinch Chix small hole hay net and then put into our home made round bale feeder.
Here is a Photo of the round bale feeder in use.

We use a tractor to get the round bale in there but it could be rolled in since it was built with one of the side panels as being removable.

I saw this small square feeder and this round bale feeder at a farm show recently and was impressed with the construction.

[cloudy18]

I have only a run in shed, no barn. It’s divided in half and there are the hay racks inside, two on one side, one on the other side. I hang my stuffed hay nets from them. When I did use the hay racks like one is supposed to, the horses pulled out a lot of hay and wasted it. And I couldn’t stuff them as full as I wanted. My run in isn’t far from my house or hay storage though, and I clean it twice a day and feed 2-3 times/day.

[Horseychick87]

By hay rack, I’m assuming you mean the over head ones?
If so, those are considered a big no-no nowadays. They allow debris to fall into the horses faces, not to mention the dust factor. Also they don’t allow the horse to graze in a head down position which is best for the horse, it allows their jaw to drop forward and the teeth wear down more evenly.

I’d personally go with a slow feeder of some kind, a bale net wrapped around a round bale works well. If you put the bale under cover it should last longer than you’d think, but if it’s in the winter and it gets damp you’d probably be better off breaking any sized bale up into smaller meals. This way it prevents too much moisture building up and causing mold.

If you want to save money you could do what I like to do.
Buy the round bales and pull the amount of hay off the bale you want to use that day and put it in a slow feed net, one that hangs, or a Hay Pillow (I do like those things, LOL). This keeps the round bale from being exposed to the elements as much and prevents a ton of waste, saving you money, and heavy labor as all you’d need to do is put the RB up under shelter and portion it out by hand.

[flypony74]

If you have access to horse quality round bales, that is a great way to be sure they have hay in front of them in the cold winter months. When I had my farm in TN, I always fed rounds in the winter, and in a horse feeder, they lasted about 8 days +/-. I never had one get funky. I did supplement with squares in the run-in on cold/wet/windy nights so they could eat under shelter, but they primarily ate rounds through the winter.

So, if you have a source for good rounds, get a good horse feeder and save yourself some daily labor and ensure that your horses have hay in front of them 24/7 during the cold months. But also mount the feeders in the run-in for those days when you want to toss some squares in there to get them out of the weather.