I currently feed out of hay nets overnight in order to slow down my horses’ eating. During the day they are out in a dry lot for most of the time, and grazing on pasture for a few hours also. I would like to slow down their eating while they are in the dry lot. I worry about all the shaking they do of the hay nets (for their poll and neck - their favorite hay-removal move is a big shake) and so am wondering about boxes for slow feeding.
Any experiences or recommendations?
No experience, but I have seen vets & dentists post photos of incisor damage due to the metal grates used on the boxes.
Something to look into…
Because of the concerns over metal grates (as posted above), I went with Porta-Grazer and I’ve been really happy with them. I bought one originally for my IR/EMS horse just to slow him down and keep him busy while in his dry lot, but ended up buying them for my others as well. I had previously used small hole hay nets, but did not like how they twisted their necks when using them, no matter how low I hung them. The Porta-Grazers are spendy but in the end, they were worth it for me as they make clean up easy, slow down consumption, and resulted in less waste.
For your IR/EMS horse, horsepoor, do you feed free choice in the porta-grazer, or do you weight out your hay and feed multiple times per day in the PG?
I have them all out together for most of the day, so I’d need multiple PGs ($igh…).
Their website says bigger holes in the pans for ration feeding . . . I’d think smaller holes would be better for that?
I built wooden boxes, affixed 2 rings to the bottom on opposite sides and use double ended snaps to hold hay nets in the bottom of the box. So they can eat in the normal, head down position. They can spin the bag with just 2 snaps, so I probably should put in one or 2 more. It seems to work out best to have 1 more than the number of horses, so I have 4.
I also put wheels and a handle on mine, thinking it’d make it easier to move them in/out of the huge run-in I have. It kinda works. Need bigger wheels or lighter boxes. Still trying to figure out that.
I really like the Nag Bag hay nets. I have 2 sets of 4…half have 2" holes and half have 1.5" holes. Works very well for my pony and 2 minis. 1" was too small with the hay I have. Two of mine have EMS and one is a winter hard keeper. They’re all at healthy weights. Putting out 2-2.5% of hay every day works well, and mine absolutely do self regulate.
Biggest plus…for most of the year, putting hay out is a once a day chore. During winter, that changes.
I cut a hole in the side of a 55-gallon drum, stuck it on a tree trunk, and throw the hay net in the drum. Works like a champ and was…free.
I’m sure I probably could put an eye bolt in the bottom of the drum to clip the hay net in, but I don’t bother.
I weigh it out and he is fed 4x a day.
I’m not sure why they say the 4" holes are for ration feeding… I ended up with the 3.5" holes on the first one I got and it worked well, so I did that for my others.
Haven’t done it yet, but thinking of purchasing one of these Nibble Net sheets and installing it in a home-made box: http://www.thinaircanvas.com/nibblenet/pages/nibblenet-sheet-frame.htm
I bought one of the Derby Originals: http://www.derbyoriginals.com/product_info.php/cPath/1_43/products_id/1286 (for much less from Jeffers), thinking I could use this as a ground feeder, but our “professional eater” hoovered the hay out of it in no time flat (I’d put it inside an empty water trough). I may try to use it installed inside a box of some sort.
I have been using Slow Grazer boxes with metal grates for two years. My horses are seen by an excellent dentist twice a year and I always ask him about damage, and there hasn’t been any. One guy definitely uses his teeth more than the others. I have also secured nets to the bottom of the boxes as one person described.
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