I manage a large, mixed-use boarding barn. The barn owner has decided to purchase slow-feed hay nets for the entire barn, to cut down on hay waste and work for the barn staff.
A few boarders with hard keepers are concerned that their horses will lose weight with the slow feed nets. Both my personal experience and what I’ve read are that the opposite is true, that although fat horses do tend to lose weight, thin horses will often gain weight.
My understanding is that with the slow feeder nets they get more out of their hay because they eat more slowly, so get more nutrients out of it, maintain more even glucose levels, and don’t pull their hay out of the net, dump it on the floor, and then trample it into the shavings, thus spending the rest of their stall time hayless.
However, I would like to find actual scientific studies or articles that address the issue, not just manufacturer claims or anecdotal stories, so that I can reassure these boarders. Anyone have any recommendations?
Our horses are currently stalled during the day for about 7 or 8 hours, then out on decent pasture for the night. That situation will reverse when it cools down, and they will be in at night. The nets are only in their stalls. Thanks in advance for your help!
I think its all down to hole size. You’d use slow feeder nets with larger holes for harder keepers and smaller holes for the easy keepers.
Personally, I prefer a slow feeder design that lets them eat in the head down, normal grazing position. Mine developed some neck/shoulder issues when I used hanging nets. Not 100% sure how that’d work in a stall, though. My slow feeder boxes are in a huge run-in.
My little herd lives together and has mixed needs. My senior pony and one mini are easy keepers. The other mini is a hard keeper during the winter. They all share 4 slow feeders with 2" and 1.5" hole nets. Everyone stays at a healthy weight year round, even when its <10F (down to -30F) for weeks/months during winter.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/nutrition/using-slow-feed-hay-nets/
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/37000/finally-a-slow-feeder-option-that-works-for-me
I think its easy to connect the dots from here that slow feeder= consistent hay supply= less stress/ulcers/wood chewing/cribbing, etc.
You might be able to find more on The Horse. I just did a quick google search.
[QUOTE=Spydersmom;8811729]
I manage a large, mixed-use boarding barn. The barn owner has decided to purchase slow-feed hay nets for the entire barn, to cut down on hay waste and work for the barn staff.
A few boarders with hard keepers are concerned that their horses will lose weight with the slow feed nets. Both my personal experience and what I’ve read are that the opposite is true, that although fat horses do tend to lose weight, thin horses will often gain weight.
Links to what you read?
My understanding is that with the slow feeder nets they get more out of their hay because they eat more slowly, so get more nutrients out of it,…and don’t pull their hay out of the net, dump it on the floor, and then trample it into the shavings, thus spending the rest of their stall time hayless. [/QUOTE]
If a horse is given 12 lbs of hay and makes a mess with 4 lbs of it, he only eats 8 lbs. So yeah, if you put the 12 lbs in a slow feed net and he eats 11.5 lbs, he is getting more hay, more calories, more nutrition. BUT, a horse that cleans up 12 lbs of hay in a slow feed net might eat even more during the same period of time if he had better access that did not result in wastage. Thereby gaining more weight and possibly needing less hard feed/supps. I frequently feed ottbs that are total hatracks when they come to me and they do just fine with the medium hole bags. And believe me, no one hates to throw expensive hay into the muck heap as much as I do.
You can get nets and bags that have slightly bigger holes than the slow feed nets, but still control the mess that some horses love to make. I use those.
Anecdote: my older horse with poor teeth, who tended to choke on hay, did well for a couple years with soft hay in a net (happened to be small holes because that’s what I had). It forced him to eat a piece at a time and seemed to increase his chewing efficiency, seemed to lead to fewer quids (I never counted, just an overall impression). Also led to a LOT less waste; hung over a big feed tub, he’d shake the little pieces into the tub and eat them with his mush.
I doubt you’ll find actual studies on this, but good observation and record keeping counts for a lot.
there are no studies that i have seen, and i’ve looked as i’ve been curious myself.
IME, hay-nets significantly reduce wastage and help plump a picky/messy eater up. however, they are a HUGE PITA for workers, and a huge PITA for most horses.
one thing my vet (who is a chiropractor as well) has said in passing many times is that her clients with horses that eat primarily out of slow-feeders/haynets almost always have TMJ & neck issues, tight jaws & tight trapezius.
and i believe her; the barn i managed, the BO wanted to switch the wasters over to hay nets. they gained weight, but i did see that the constant ‘ripping’ from the haynet caused some soreness/neck issues in a few of them, especially the geriatrics. i ended up looking for bigger holes and trying nibble nets on the ground, but i don’t think it helped them much.
so there is a drawback, as with all things.
i would be more interested personally to see what the physiological/physical side effect of hay-nets is vs non-hay net eaters. i’d hedge a sum that the haynet fed horses as a group would have more soreness in their necks.
then there is also the dental aspect; horses who live off of hay nets DO need frequent dental attention… if you have to have one, i prefer the large holed cotton hay bags over any sort of nibble-net.
I also don’t know about studies but have experience with the slow feeder nets. We have Hay hoops in the stalls and have cut down on waste in the winter which is when they are stalled the most.
Weh avea mixed herd with two very easy keepers, and 3 that are a a little harder to keep weight on. But they do great on the slow feeders. I will say that we had to play around with the types of slow feeder nets. We originally had ones that were a very thick almost plastic/nylon type material they horses hated that and our biggest easy keeper just resorted to chewing thru it to make a bigger hole and then just yanked out hay. ( gotta give her props for figuring out how to make it easier) but when I switched to a more cottony type material they all seemed happier and ate better and don’t try and make the holes better. I even have extra ones to take to shows. I would suggest staying away from the “true” slow feeder bags… usually the 1in holes… as in my experience they are just too frustrating to the horses.
I highly suggest if the BO hasn’t looked into that she should invest in the hay hoops… they mount in the stalls and the hay bags hang down and its more natural feeding position, and they are so much easier to load.
I have two geldings that get sore necks from the slow feeder nets. I have tried different ones with different size holes, but it doesn’t matter to them. Instead of eating as they should out of them, a few strands of hay at a time, they grab the biggest chunk they can and yank and pull until it comes out. If the hay is completely shaken out before getting put in the net, they do a little bit better. Still, it only seems to add 30 mins or so to the time it takes them to clean up.
My mare and pony are more civilized and don’t have that issue.
i’ve found that my hard keepers have done better with slow feeders than without. they eat for a longer period of time and therefore seem to process the feed better through their system. i highly recommend them.
ETA: i use the full three string bale size nets in my stalls which means i only have to fill them once every 10 days or so for each horse.
I use slow feeder nets for about a week just made for sore necked horses,and frustrated horses. It’s unnatural for horses to be reaching up to eat hay,they are meant to eat at ground level,not from a hanging net.
I feed hay in an empty water trough no slow feeder net and don’t have waste,what they don’t eat still in trough. Nature didn’t intend for horses to eat from hay nets,hanging from a fence or stall wall.
We have a few nets in to do a test run, before we set up the whole barn. We’re hoping to avoid any sore neck or back problems by hanging the nets fairly low. They’re knock-offs of the Nibble Nets, so seem like a minimal risk for hanging a hoof, and we’ve rigged the nets with super-thin ties, so they’ll break away if anyone does get hung up. The holes are just under 2" square, so not the super-tiny holes. Our barn staff actually requested the nets; the stalls where the owners had hung their own nets are far easier to clean, because they don’t have to sift shavings from trampled hay. The only things I’ve found to read have been the claims made by hay bag manufacturers, and I’ve had trouble finding any independent studies. I’m off to search The Horse; that was a good suggestion. Thank you, everyone!
Can you post a link to the knock off nibble nets?
[QUOTE=tazycat;8813023]
I feed hay in an empty water trough no slow feeder net and don’t have waste,what they don’t eat still in trough. [/QUOTE]
WOW! You’re lucky! 
I feed hay in those big (black heavy duty) plastic water troughs, and my horses fling the hay out of them like crazy! Tons of waste.
I just ordered Freedom Feeder hay nets (2 inch holes) that hold an entire three string bale. I’m going to put one of those netted bales in each trough and plan (somehow) to secure it to the trough at each end.
Hopefully this will work - obviously to end waste AND to slow them down!
Shouldn’t have any sore neck issues since the bales are basically sitting at ground level. Added benefit: one of these bales should last each horse quite a while. Won’t have to lug hay out two to three times a day!
[QUOTE=tazycat;8813023]
I use slow feeder nets for about a week just made for sore necked horses,and frustrated horses. It’s unnatural for horses to be reaching up to eat hay,they are meant to eat at ground level,not from a hanging net.
I feed hay in an empty water trough no slow feeder net and don’t have waste,what they don’t eat still in trough. Nature didn’t intend for horses to eat from hay nets,hanging from a fence or stall wall.[/QUOTE]
I actually have mine in the water troughs in the stalls so they’re not eating up they’re still eating down (mostly - unless i just put a new bale in).
ETA: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9b2vaOIVxYwcXRPdW5KLWFDVmc
[QUOTE=crimsonsky;8814960]
I actually have mine in the water troughs in the stalls so they’re not eating up they’re still eating down (mostly - unless i just put a new bale in).
ETA: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9b2vaOIVxYwcXRPdW5KLWFDVmc[/QUOTE]
I don’t even use a hay net just put hay in trough,horses don’t flip it out all over,so no waste. But your way of doing net is good idea at least their not having to reach up to eat.
i tried without the nets first - i had hay everywhere. at $17+ bale i didn’t want to waste it! lol silly horses.
This is not scientific, but should help answer your question. Horse should get the same amount of hay (lets say 2 flakes per feeding) whether in a net or not. If horse is not a stall pig, the only difference is that it takes longer to eat the two flakes from the feeder than from the floor.
If the horse is a stall pig, spreading hay around, peeing on it, etc, the horse will actually end up eating more hay from the feeder.
They work for fat horses because you can feed them less hay while still having them eat for the same general amount of time.
I used nibble net for my (fat) mare, hung it fairly low and it helped slow her down. She also figured out that when full it was useful for scratching her head. She also figured out that when it was full, she could just reach in the top and take big bites!
I’m a techno-idiot, so I’m going to try to post the link to the ones we’re using. http://www.doversaddlery.com/slow-feed-hay-feeder/p/X1-27748/ Hopefully, this works!
I use these for my boy’s and pony. I was a massive fan of hay nets but also wanted my boys to be able to lower their heads in a more natural position so moved to the ground pockets.
http://www.thecitybarn.com/hay-pick-pocket/
I have nets that are big enough to cover a three string bale- the kind we have in CA. I put the netted bales in big plastic water troughs (they fit in perfectly). Then tie them in with baling twine. My two TBs eat 24/7 and seem perfectly happy with this arrangement (also great for me as I only have to refill the feeders every 2 or 3 days). It’s a win win as far as I am concerned. One of them is a “hard keeper” and he looks great (They each get a bucket of extra stuff most days including sunflower seeds, whole flax, hay pellets, beet pulp (only for the hard keeper), and platinum performance). Oh and they get some apples every morning- very spoiled.
The slow nets make my life so much easier because I don’t have to deal with meal times for the horses.
OP, I had one of the ones that you linked to - it’s OK, but the back is pretty soft fabric, and started to wear through fairly quickly on the side that rubbed against the wall/fence.
I replaced it with these: http://www.chicksaddlery.com/page/CDS/PROD/HN1767
They’re a little cheaper, the holes are a little bit bigger, but the material on the back is a more like a vinyl or coated fabric. They’ve held up much better than the one from Dover. I wish the holes were a bit smaller (a 1.5" would be great), but otherwise, they’re very good. (Mine hang outside on a fence post 24/7 - the oldest has held up for at least a year of daily use.)
