my gelding inhales his slow feeder it’s just not slow enough for him. Vet feels he needs a slower slow feeder. She says he must have hay in front of him at all times but he is also overweight. I think the one I have is at least 2 inches possibly 2.5 inches. I can order a 1 inch or a 1 1/2 inch. Is the 1 inch too frustrating for them? I want to slow him down but I don’t want to frustrate him. What are your thoughts?
thank you very much!
My fatty often gets a 1" net–the greedy feeder from shires. It’s fine for her. She does not get unduly frustrated.
Perhaps you can hang a portion of his meal in the 2" net and a portion in the smaller?
I guess that is a good idea! Do you find the shire nets are well made good quality? How much does a good slow net feeder cost. I nearly bought one this morning but I hesitated because if come to $70 with shipping. What’s a good quality slow feeder cost on average?
I would definitely go down to smaller hole nets. 2-innch holes don’t slow them down at all IME.
Both my air fern Fjords get all their hay in 1 inch nets. It frustrated them a little bit at first; just for a few days though. They figured it out pretty quickly and now just take it in stride. Even at that, if I feed according to optimal weight (1.5 to 2%) they do not have hay in front of them at all times. One of my boys is just a much faster eater than my other one; just their own habits.
At best the 1-inch nets maybe slowed their eating time by 50% (what used to take an hour now takes 1 1/2 hours or so). It’s a trade off keeping them from being too overweight. Maybe try more frequent feedings of a single flake at a time with a shorter time (hour or so) of no hay between feedings.
I have not tried the 1/2-inch holes, but am tempted. They are harder to find though and I do need to replace nets at least 2 to 3 times a year. I have tried double bagging the 1-inch nets when they get worn, but that does seem to frustrated the boys more and they get rougher/yank harder on the nets, so not sure that an even smaller hole would work well for them.
I use the $16 nets available in a number of places on line. Made by Partade, I believe. Wish there was something reasonably priced that lasted longer. Friends who have spent much more, still complain about replacing more often than they like too, so I guess it’s just the cost of keeping fat ponies healthy/IR at bay.
One other recommendation my vet had was a low dose of Thyro-L to keep weight down. You may want to ask your vet about testing your horse’s thyroid level. Both mine did, at different times fall into the borderline low level. They are looking good and keeping at an appropriate weight between the Thyro-L, hay nets, grazing muzzles, and fairly regular exercise.
Double up the larger hole nets…that should make eating a bit more of a challenge!
Thank you! I just ordered the one inch hay net. My horse has a history of ulcers and needs to nibble all the time.
I find that greedy feeder shires net to hold up very well. It’s a great option!
I tried the 1 inch for my horse… it infuriated him and he ripped the net to shreds. We’ve since moved to a 1.75 inch Hay Chix net. That’s much better for him. Slows him down a bit, keeps him from wasting much hay, and he doesn’t destroy it. They also make a 1.25in net, if the 1 inch doesn’t work out for you!
thank you! Maybe I should have gone 1.25. This horse is overweight do really want to bring his weight down without starving him. Vet wants hay in front of him 24/7 but easier said than done. I actually race home from work on my lunch break and feed hay on my 45 minute lunch break. They get hay at 7am, noon, 5pm, 8pm, 11pm but they are always starving :(. It’s good quality hay because of his ulcer history. Feeding him right is a challenge, he gets no grain just a good supplement. He looks beautiful bright shinny dapple chestnut just a bit too heavy.
If your horse is ulcer prone have you considered putting him on aloe - juice or pellets? My “fast eater” tested positive (with the Suceed test) for both front and hind gut ulcers shortly after he came to me. We did the usual course of treatment and then went to maintenance on aloe; first the juice (which I got @ the grocery store.
Then this winter I discovered Smartpak had started making aloe pellets. I’m not generally a Smartpak fan, but wanted to make it easy for my horse sitter as I was going to be gone for a month. Those pellets are wonderful! He has shown no further ulcer symptoms and some of his other issues have improved as well. Most noticeable is he is much less reactive to fly bites this summer and has hardly shown any of his usual sweet itch symptoms. I have to believe that quieting the inflammatory response in his body in general is partly attributable to the aloe pellets as I have not made other changes in his management since stating the pellets 6 months ago.
That’s crazy. You should have a hay net large enough to go 24 hours. I have a 2 inch net that holds about 20 lbs of hay, which lasts me 3 days since my horses are only inside for 5-7 hours a day. Filling hay nets is time consuming, so it’s more efficient to do it once and have it last a long time. OR - hang 2 nets!!!
2 nets might be a good idea! I care for five horses but only one is mine. It’s a family farm but I do all the feeding. It’s just that the horses are always hungry. Only my horse has a hay net the other just get hay on the ground five times a day. The horses do get turned out on our seven arches and I do not give them hay when there is grass. Right now they have eaten all the spring grass. My horses has full property turnout at night just not allot of grass. I am hoping the slower net will help with his weight. My work is very close to home and I like to do all the feeding.
I should try him on aloe. I used visceral plus for nine months and he seemed fine but I did a follow up scope in Febrary 2017 and he had glandular ulcer. We cured those and I have kept on a low dose of gastrogard daily ever since. My vets here think pretty every single horse needs to be on gastrogard. My vet complimented his dapply coat just the other day he’s just overweight I have battled his weight his entire life. In June I had tested for metabolic disorder, cushions did complete blood panel and ACTH and insulin levels were all within normal limits. I’m going to try and slow him down and maybe I’ll get him some aloe pellets.
I have the 1.5" net from www.slowfeeder.com
It’s held up beautifully to some serious abuse, and the size is a nice option to make the hay last and not drive my mare insane.
I got the hay net today but the holes are pretty tiny. He tried and he gave up he won’t touch it. I feel really bad I think the derby one I have is over 2 inch holes so I’ll order a 13/4 and reduce try and go to a slower net gradually.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
