Safest Slow Feeders

[Pico_Banana]

How do you get the hay in the hay ball? Do you have to put it in by the handful?

To the OP, I have a Savvy Feeder, which is the same basic idea as a porta grazer but a different design. It’s very stable on the ground, easy to load, and the horses readily eat from it. It was great when I was boarding because it was way easier for staff than stuffing a hay net.

Now that my horses are at home, I clip a hay net inside a 110 gallon stock tank and put that in my big stalls. The sides are high enough a horse would have to be really determined to get a foot in there, but I understand your reservation. For me though, it’s easier to use this method when I’m weighing my hay and feeding specific rations.

[George_T_Mule]

Hi Rel6!
We use the “Savvy Feeders”, and also the “HayPlay” balls.
Both are durable, and popular with the Equines. About my only comment is that the SavvyFeeder doesn’t hold as much hay as claimed; I can get 8 or 10lb of uncompressed Timothy in one, but more than that and it’s too packed for the critters to get an easy bite and they complain. A HayPlay ball holds 1.5 - 2 lb; same hay, same caveat.
We have also used a “HayHut”, which works well, but the Savvy Feeders are more flexible for animals with different feeding needs.

[theresak]

FYI I wouldn’t tether a porta grazer at least at first if you suspect your horse might use their feet. I didn’t want my horse to slip and get a leg stuck between the porta grazer and wall if it was tethered to the wall.

[Rel6]

Hi all! Thanks for the suggestions. I do like the idea of the Porta Grazer and Savvy Feeder. I think the shape of the openings on the Savvy Feeder would probably be a bit safer for him (just based on photos).

I really like the mesh corner hay feeder and am going to send that to the BO to get her thoughts. It seems like it would be the easiest to fill, but it would have to go in a back corner so I’m not sure if that would end with him pooping in it.

Has anyone used a Helix Feeder? One popped up for sale used, and I’d prefer to try something under the $100 price range before shelling out for something like a Savvy Feeder.

[Pico_Banana]

@Rel6

Has anyone used a Helix Feeder? One popped up for sale used, and I’d prefer to try something under the $100 price range before shelling out for something like a Savvy Feeder.

I know there’s a thread where someone tried it and reported back, so I’d try a search.

[scislandsprite]

@Rel6

Has anyone used a Helix Feeder? One popped up for sale used, and I’d prefer to try something under the $100 price range before shelling out for something like a Savvy Feeder.

I had the adjustable Helix feeder and made a couple comments on threads about it: Reply 1, Reply 2, Reply 3. My horse eventually cracked it a bit at the bottom since she was so rough at it from throwing and flipping it constantly. Thankfully she’s barefoot so I wasn’t super worried about her getting caught on the bottom of the feeder but I would be a tad concerned if she was shod. Granted, I boarded with someone with a horse that used it while being shod and didn’t seem to have too many problems.

[Tee]

I really love the PortaGrazers (I have three) and feel they are super safe. I have mine tethered on one handle, and even with the young horse regularly sticking a leg in it (seriously - why???), I’ve never had an issue in the two years I’ve had them. I left the young horse’s untethered for a while, but when he figured out how to flip it and use it as a stepstool to play over the wall with his neighbor, it got tethered.

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[clanter]

@Cowgirl

I also use the Hay Balls at night check. They hold about a flake of a small bale. The horses LOVE them so much! I find the quality varies so I like the ones from Burlingham Sports.

same for our horses, they will most often go for their hay ball first then it sounds like some kid bouncing a baseball off the side of the building

we have one mare whose hay net is suspended from the ceiling mid stall, even so she is not hindered just slowed down Some.

[FjordBCRF]

We were Portagrazer failures. In spite of there being multiple portagrazers in the barn that were being properly loaded, my hay enthusiast fjord managed to crack two separate pans. The company also insisted it wasn’t their product, it must be improperly loaded which wasn’t the case. That left a bad taste in my mouth. They are too expensive to be replacing pans every year and it didn’t slow him down much, if at all once he figured it out.

[DMK]

I use the Helix feeder when I’m at shows/away from home. It’s great for that because it’s easy to pack and bring along and I like not wasting hay or dealing with hanging hay nets in stalls that may or may not make that an easy task!

I have a hay hut with a slow feeder net that they have 24/7 access to so I don’t need to worry about it as a daily feeder. Friends that do use it as a daily feeder like it though

[blue_heron]

I’m not really suggesting but asking for myself: what about a hay pillow? The holes are similar size to a nibble net but the nylon webbing seems less likely to get stuck in a shoe. Anyone have thoughts/experience?

I have a horse with ulcery symptoms and an older mare both of which I would like to have hay 24/7. They’re both hoovers and often have a few hours overnight or while I’m at work where they don’t have hay in front of them. I don’t like hay bags because I’d like them to eat with their head low.

[FjordBCRF]

If I recall, the Hay Pillow brand hay pillows state they aren’t intended for horses with shoes. The ones I am thinking of still have the same type of netting as a hay net, but just on the top of the pillow.

During the times they may run out of hay, are they in stalls or turned out? I have an iFeed auto feeder for my guy when he’s in his stall overnight in the winter time that dispenses forage pellets every hour from about 11PM to 6AM to hold him over. He will get through his PM hay bag before midnight. It wasn’t cheap, but boy has it helped give me peace of mind that he won’t be on an empty stomach.

[blue_heron]

Sorry, I meant something like this: https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/smartpak-slow-feed-hay-bag-13939

They have in and outs, so they’re very very rarely closed in overnight, but there’s no grass.

[FjordBCRF]

I think I’d still be hesitant with those and shoes; where there is a will there is a way

I’d think if the goal was to have the head down and to minimize shoes getting caught, a portagrazer or helix might fit the bill the best.

[Rel6]

He has this now, but it still needs to be hung high because he has gotten his feet into it. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with it on the ground.

It does sound like something like a Portagrazer is my best bet if the corner feeder posted above doesn’t pan out. I board, so when it comes to installing things into walls I have to defer to BO. She’s the one who has shown up to find my horse with one leg through his water bucket, so she is sympathetic.

[Bluey]

Found the old internet picture of a safer looking holey rubber mat corner feeder someone posted long ago, that said it was safe for shod horses, not sure it is a slow feeder type, may be worth trying something like that, with a less deep front cut:

[Junebuggie]

I use a Helix feeder and LOVE it! I tether it to wall otherwise my mare will fling it willy-nilly and make a mess of her stall, but if you don’t mind, you can leave it free. In fact I sold my porta grazer in favor of this.

[Jarpur]

I bought a few of these a while back, when they had some on sale. That gator mouth they describe was actually difficult for me to open once it got used a few times – takes a lot of hand strength to pull it apart and then shove the hay in. I have small, hyperflexible hands, so stuff like this is tough.

Can’t easily slide a flake in, either, at least with the coastal bermuda hay we feed. Have to break the flakes up and jam handfuls in the bag. Rarely use them anymore – mainly just when I need extra hay bags filled before leaving my neighbor to feed while I’m gone.

I bought this style quite a while back:

Hay Pillow® - Slow Feed Hay Bags & Nets - Best for Ground Feeding

My horses were un-shod, but the issue with this type is that the zipper was problematic. It didn’t like the constant dust from both hay and the sacrifice paddock, and the bag became difficult to fill. But that problem may be resolved by now.

[equinelibrium]

Can you talk more about the forage pellets you feed your guy? Do they provide the same anti-ulcer-y benefits as hay? I always thought they wouldn’t because there aren’t any long stems, and the long stemmy nature of hay is what provides a mat over the stomach acid to prevent it from splashing around. But buying a automatic feeder for pellets would be a helluva lot cheaper than a special automatic hay feeder.

[Cowgirl]

It is easy to stuff a hay ball, but you do have to rip chunks off the flake to stuff it in there. I have muck type buckets that are designated just for hay (where I put overflow from the bales, or prepare for morning feed for my morning helper). I put the ball in a muck type bucket and then stuff away and any excess is caught in the bucket. It takes less than a minute to do. My morning help will stuff the hay balls from the night before for me and he has never complained about it.