I’m looking for a way to keep hay in front of my horse all the time. I was using a small hole freedom feeder that hung up high enough so that her feet do not get in it but I’m concerned about arthritis in her neck so that’s no longer an option. I’m looking for something where she can eat at a level or lower angle than her neck set that will slow her down and not get her feet/shoes caught in. I’ve looked at the Haygain, but yikes! $349! Any suggestions?
I use the High Country Plastics Slow Feeder Saver JR model. It fits nicely in a stall, I can pack it pretty full, and the nylon ‘grate’ that goes over it is smaller than their full size version.
I don’t know how slow you want to feed, I would not call this a slow feeder, just a good feeder for those who need hay in front of their faces all the time, without it becoming bedding!
There are many slow grazers on the market. You might want to take a look at the port a grazer.
If you’re handy, it wouldn’t be that difficult to build a box with a net or mesh lid that drops down over the hay. You can even use an old water trough and a piece of net over the top, secured with conduit. Or, just clip your existing nets into a trough, and secure the trough so your horse can’t flip it.
If you’re not handy, the portagrazer is a cool option, but still spendy.
I hang my hay bag from the bars in front of the stall, so fairly low. They almost touch the floor. One uses a Nibblenet with the 1.5" holes and the other uses the Kensington 4-Flake net.
Take a large water trough. Install an eye bolt in the lower middle of what you decide is the back side. Take a small hole hay net (a really big one) and remove the closing string. Replace with a locking carabiner with double ended snap added.
Fill hay net, run carabiner through empty string loops and clip to back wall of water trough.
done.
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Thanks everyone. I can’t use anything with a net or grid because my horse will get her foot in it and catch the heel of her shoe. Don’t ask me how I know. I’ll check out the High Country. Just got off the phone with someone from Porta Grazer and that looks like my best option even though it is still expensive. A little bit less than the Haygain and I actually like it better. The corner or extra large model would do me and I’m looking at $370 or $290 that includes shipping. I still need to check out the High Country
I feel your pain. I’ve cut a Dutch horse’s foot out of a high tied hay net. Let us know how you like the Porta Grazer.
Lol. My horse is also Dutch. I’ve cut her foot out of a hay net also. If I get the porta grazer I’ll let you all know how I like it
I use a large rubber water trough with a full bale bag tied down into it. Just drilled a few holes and used baling twine to make small tie loops. It holds up with 3 large destructive warmbloods and is deep enough that the bag stay secure in the trough and away from shoes. Whatever you go with be very careful of any wire mesh as it can cause teeth to wear down weirdly.
To this day I still kick myself for all the money I wasted on slow feed gadgets before I bit the bullet and shelled out for a PortaGrazer corner feeder. I tried Hay Chix, Nibble Net, Health EZ, Handy Hay Nets… you name it. My horse loves the PortaGrazer, it’s more comfortable to use because he doesn’t have to contort his neck/head to eat out of something hanging on the wall. No risk of getting shoes or blanket buckles hung up in netting. I’m happy with it because he has hay in front of him constantly, and the BM loves it because there’s no waste. Worth every last penny!
Yeah, I’ll ditto two thumbs up for the Portagrazer corner feeder. After the second time one of my idiots somehow got the top of his hay net wedged under the heel of his shoe it was clear I needed to do something different.
I did discover that the four bumps on the edge of the pan each seem to correspond to a specific cutout on the barrel. So I marked the pan and the barrel to make it easy to tell which bump went with which slot when refilling. This will make sense when you actually see the Portagrazer 😊.
The circular hole on the inside of the pan is supposed to match up with the arrow on the handle of the barrel. Then everything else lines up - takes the guesswork out of it 😊
Not all horses like the narrowness of the Porta Grazer. Mine refused to put her head in it once it got past the top 4 inches or so.
Just keep that in mind.
I am actually thinking of getting the porta grazer for my horse. Would he be able to nock it over?
I have three port-a-grazers. They are heavy duty, and I have never had a horse get hurt or hung up in them. I chain them up by the handles when I want to keep them stationary in the turnout sheds, let the horses roll them around when I don’t. The smaller ones occasionally roll under the paddock fence but are easier to manage. They can also be used in the stalls but I use slow feed bags there. A corner port-a-grazer is probably a better option if you always feed inside.
I don’t have any experience with these, but saw them at a local expo this weekend so thought I’d pass it along.
I just saw this - a webbing (not mesh) cover for a hay box - looks a lot nicer than the metal grids or the plastic grids the boxes come with. Seems to me you could build a simple box that this cover would float in… https://www.derbyoriginals.com/collections/derby-originals/products/derby-patent-pending-slow-feed-hay-box-covers
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I’ve had three PortaGrazers for three years now. Tough, easy to clean, safe. Worth the money.
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