Update: Porta Grazer?

[Amy3996]

My hunt for the ideal slow-feed option continues… :rolleyes: I’ve been using a HayChix half-bale net for six months or so, and it worked great, but my horse has seemed stiff and sore in his neck lately. Chiropractor and massage person both commented that it could be from pulling his hay net and causing strain on his neck. I tried moving the net to a different side of the stall, but that didn’t help. It can’t be hung any lower because he’s shod and I worry about him getting a shoe caught.

I started looking into the Porta Grazer and liked what I saw. My horse has mild heaves, so I like that the PG contains the dust somewhat and can double as a soaker if needed. He’s also prone to choke, so something that restricts the amount he’s able to take in at a time is a must. Plus the more natural head-down position seems like it would alleviate the neck issue and maybe be better than a traditional net for heaves, too?

My horse is a notorious hay waster if it’s loose on the ground, or he’ll Hoover it and be left for long periods without hay, so that’s not really an option either.

Has anyone used the PG? Thoughts/Reviews? Worth the money?

[tpup]

I have one in my dry lot and my ponies love it. I have the large size and I have 2 ponies eating from it - one is 10 hands, one is a large, 14.2 hands. I am considering getting another for one of their stalls. They do knock it over sometimes but the smart large pony knows how to put it back upright. In a stall I would definitely clip it to the wall. They figure out how to eat from it quickly. My larger horses also seem to like it too. I often come out in the morning to find that my large horses have eaten it way down (they have access to it at night, as well as 2 pastures full of grass and a round bale!) I am considering ditching ALL of my hay nets for Porta Grazers. The ponies use hay nets at night in stalls and they hate them. So I am very happy with mine.

[Amy3996]

@tpup - Thanks! That’s good to know. I have a 16.3h warmblood that can polish off 20-30lbs of hay in a night, so I’m leaning toward the corner feeder. Just trying to get past the sticker shock…

[horsepoor]

I bought one for my IR/EMS horse who was also “blessed” with cervical arthritis (so no more hay nets for him). Worked great and kept things so much neater that I bought two more for the other horses. Once they figure them out, it doesn’t really slow them down as much as the small hole nets. But so much better for their necks to eat more naturally like that IMO. Helps with dust too, as that migrates to the bottom below the tray with the holes. And no more hay strewn around. We feed on the overhang area attached to each of my stalls, so I have the Porta-Grazers attached to the wall with a rope/snap. I’ve been really happy with them.

[Trailrider60]

IMO totally worth the investment. I leave my two PGs loose and the horses roll them around to reposition the tray to get every last bit of hay.They are great if you need to wet or soak your hay too. I’ve had mine two years and one became cracked from the horses picking it up and tossing it when it was empty. But otherwise very strong and safe for the horses.

[AKB]

I am happy with my portagrazer corner feeders.

[stb]

I have two Porta Grazers and I love them. They are 3 years old and look like new. They are so much easier to fill than a hay net that I rarely use nets any more. I don’t tie mine because the horses know how to flip them back up if they knock them over.

They are are totally worth the money.

[Obsidian_Fire]

We have several at our barn and I personally don’t like them. They do work for their intended purpose, but a horse with a larger head or any kind of skittishness isn’t going to like them. My mare has an average size TB head (normal size halter/bridle) but she is skittish about putting her head into it once the hay gets past the top.

I use the High Country Plastic Slow Feeder Saver Jr model in the stall instead. I love it, the horses love it.

[arabiansrock]

We have them where I board. They work well for the intended purpose, and I have only known 1 horse who could not adapt to eating out of it (of course that was my boy, lol). Imo they are a pain to fill when you are feeding 30 horses, but less so than hay nets for sure. they last a LONG time. They have also come out with a larger size that I like better because you can make sure they have plenty of hay for overnight. We do tie ours to a bolt in the stall wall to keep from having to find them and put them back every morning. They also last longer when they are not being used as toys.

[Amy3996]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I think I’m going to bite the bullet and buy one as soon as funds allow. Definitely planning to anchor it to the stall wall so he doesn’t drive everyone insane by banging it around all the time. He’s not typically skittish, so hopefully he’ll adjust to putting his head into the container to eat. Will update once we’ve given it a try!

@Bluey - that laundry basket contraption looks pretty nifty, but I’m pretty confident that my horse would a) stomp on it and break it, or b) somehow manage to get a shoe hung up in the lattice. :lol:

[outerbanks77]

I also have the High Country Plastics Jr. for my mare and like it quite a bit. I think it slows her down a little. She’s only broken the frame (easily fixable) once in nearly a year of use. You can get them from Stateline Tack pretty reasonably, and 30# of hay should fit.

There are also some nice-looking slow feeders and kits/plans on Etsy. I would have gone that route except my girl loves to chomp on wood.

[Amy3996]

@outerbanks77 Thanks! I’ve looked at the High Country feeder - my only hesitation with it is the height. It’s listed as 18" high. My horse is 16.3hh and tends to paw when he eats. I’m worried that he might catch a shoe on the webbing since it’s fairly low to the ground.

[outerbanks77]

That could be an issue. My mare is 15.3 and doesn’t stick her feet in it, but it is lightweight, so she does shove it around, or push it out into her pen when she wants to dine al fresco. I could see my leggy 2 year old putting her feet in it unless it was elevated a bit and secured to a wall.

[Amy3996]

I went ahead and bought the corner feeder model. This is day 3 with it, and my horse LOVES it. He was spooked by it at first, but it took him all of about five minutes to figure out where his food was and start eating out of it. The first night he didn’t move it around at all, so I opted not to anchor it to anything. Got to the barn this morning and found that he’d had a grand old time dragging the PG all over the stall overnight, so it’s now tied to the wall. He came in around 4 last night and was inside until almost 11 this morning (that’s several hours longer than normal) and still had about half a flake left in the barrel. I might eventually end up downsizing to the 3.5" feeder pan to slow him down a bit more, but I think this’ll be good for now.

Too soon to tell if it’ll help with the neck soreness or coughing from the heaves, but fingers crossed!

[luvmyhackney]

Has anyone noticed any issues with teeth being worn down or damaged? I know the wholes are hard plastic. Very interesting concept.

[Amy3996]

@luvmyhackney I have not. Just from watching my horse over the last couple days, it seems like they use their lips to find the hay and then tug it through the feeder until they can bite it. So I don’t think the risk to teeth and gums is quite as high?

[horsepoor]

@luvmyhackney

Has anyone noticed any issues with teeth being worn down or damaged? I know the wholes are hard plastic. Very interesting concept.

Not at all. Not like metal grids. They don’t really bite the plastic but there can be some wear around the edges of the holes (I have noticed it a little on the very oldest of my porta-grazers).