Sign in or 
Share this
Slow Feeders
Horses are designed to process roughage 24 hours a day. As Jessica Jahiel says, horses are grazers, nibblers, trickle-feeders.
Jaime Jackson points out that wild horses expend time and energy finding their food. He calls unlimited lush grass a "founder trap."
Slow feeder designs permit horses to eat a controlled amount of feed, constantly. The hay never runs out. Mealtime
anxiety disappears. (Note: this concept works best with grass hay)
Some choke-prone horses can eat dry hay cubes or concentrates from feeder toys in place of requiring soaked feed.
Horses seem to enjoy the puzzle! Some prefer to eat from a restricted free-choice hay feeder even when loose hay is available.
Horse owners can save up to 50% on hay cost, compared to feeding loose hay. (Or about a 25% savings over feeding in a hay rack or open bin.) Horses eat the same amount of hay from slow feeders but with no waste, which also means less work to clean up!
SLOW FEEDER HAY BAGS:
Jaime Jackson points out that wild horses expend time and energy finding their food. He calls unlimited lush grass a "founder trap."
Slow feeder designs permit horses to eat a controlled amount of feed, constantly. The hay never runs out. Mealtime
anxiety disappears. (Note: this concept works best with grass hay)
Some choke-prone horses can eat dry hay cubes or concentrates from feeder toys in place of requiring soaked feed.
Horses seem to enjoy the puzzle! Some prefer to eat from a restricted free-choice hay feeder even when loose hay is available.
| This page features an overview of several types of slow feeders. Be sure to look at Small-Mesh Hay Nets (smhn) -- low-cost and versatile slow hay feeders with many more examples in the Small-Mesh Hay Nets section of the wiki. Check out all the options -- see menu at LEFT! |
 By popular demand ~ DIY Kit available now!! SlowGrazer.com | |
 | |
 Bearcat's barrel/net feeder |  |
| | |
| | Destiny and Maggie trying out their small mesh hay net. |
| | |
| Pasture Pal feeders in NY. Ally in foreground. |  Tangledmanes Hay Well with TX Hay Net |
 Joanne's Corner Hay Feeder |  Angela's net doesn't swing around and can't be flipped over the gate. |
 | |
| | Cinderella's weighted hay pillow |
 Jewel and Stella paw through the snow -- Mother Nature's slow grass feeder? | |
| Stella with JoAnn's Amazing Graze feeding toy. Dispensing hole is sized for alfalfa cubes, but also dispenses the smaller ODTB timothy hay cubes | |
 Available at freedomfeeder.com |  Maria Siebrand's fence-mounted hay feeder |
 Cassie enjoys her Grazing Box, available at www.grazingbox.com | |
 Russian SMHN |
SLOW FEEDER HAY BAGS:
 |  Hanging Hay Pillow™ Slow Feeder Hay Bag TheHayPillow.com |
| Hay Net Comparison Chart | slowfeeding.com - Even more information on slow feeding |
| Convinced? Then be sure to avoid these mistakes when building your own slow feeder. |
Slow Feeder Accessories
 Bag Buddy Holds open any slow feed bag for easy filling, just slip it over any fence or wall or I just put mine on the back of my golf cart to easily fill my bags. Then you take the full bag of hay off and hang it up for the horses to enjoy! This is not meant for the horse to eat from, just holds the bag for filling. | Stall Bag Buddy Mounts on any solid wall and opens 90 degrees for easy and fast filling then just snap it closed for horse to enjoy the hay...Click on Photo to go to website: Pat. Pending tntcustommetalworks.com  |
Horsemama |
Latest page update: made by Horsemama
, May 5 2012, 3:40 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Changed photo Stall Bag Buddy
- Horsemama
2 words added 1 image added 1 image deleted view changes - complete history) |
|
More Info: links to this page
|
| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| crowleysridgegirl | slow feeders in pasture | 4 | Mar 28 2012, 12:28 PM EDT by SpottedTApps | ||
|
Thread started: Jan 25 2012, 6:48 AM EST
Watch
Most of these featured seem impractical to be left out year-round in a pasture.We have 4 horses out the majority of the time in pasture,and,the nets on the ground would definately be a no no.So,are any designed for year-round outdoor use that are NOT wood?
|
|||||
| Takelababy | feeding novelty | 0 | Feb 21 2012, 2:18 PM EST by Takelababy | ||
|
Thread started: Feb 21 2012, 2:18 PM EST
Watch
Drilled about 10 nickle sized holes in a gallon bleach bottle, but not the bottom 3". They were just random. I added pellets almost to the bottom holes, capped tightly and threw it into the paddock in the snow. Curiosity got the better of the horses and they checked it out. They could smell the pellets then began to bunt the bottle around. Each movement resulted in a tasty morsel. An hour later they were still at it until one tired of it. The other, at one point got so frustrated that he decided to murder the bottle, throwing it around and kicking and pawing at it. Altho the plastic dented, I was surprised at how well it held up. So now you know what to do with those bottles (well rinsed, of course) before they go to the landfull.
|
|||||
| Sparrow01 | slow feeder works great! | 10 | Nov 27 2011, 6:29 PM EST by choochoowho | ||
|
Thread started: Apr 28 2010, 11:06 AM EDT
Watch
Okay, so my husband had some cargo nets (leftover from his work) they are bright orange and have holes about 1 1/2 - 2 " big. I folded them and sewed the sides (with baling twine) leaving a flap to go over the top after I put the hay in. It holds about 1 bale of hay. I used two t-posts that my husband drilled holes in the top of - so the D-rings (Carabiners) that came with the nets could be slipped through them. I have rubber toppers on the t-posts for safety. I hung the net across the two posts and filled it with hay. I thought for sure the horses would give it a try, get frustrated and walk quickly to the other three corners where the hay is simply out in huge tires and they can (and do) eat it up lickity slit. BUT NO! They LOVED this slow feeder. In fact, I am having trouble getting them to LEAVE it and go around the track for the easy hay! The three horses I have, 2 yr old gelding, 3 yr old mare and 25 yr old draft cross are in love. The draft got it right away (maybe he had used them before?), he was slow and patient, my mare was next, finally figuring out that slow worked better and she got more, and last but not least, the 2 yr old (after picking the ENTIRE BAG UP HAY AND ALL) a number of times, finally got it too. I love this. The hay has lased twice as long, no wasting or blowing away (like the rest of it is today b/c it is really windy here). I hope the cargo netting holds up, but it it doesn't - at least I know that it works. Goal: get one up in all four corners and add some smaller ones on the long sides of the track. We are going to build a roof over at least two of the feeding stations so the horses have some sheltered areas to eat in. If I could figure out how to get photos/videos on here, I would share this in pictures with you all. I will work on that.
Happy in UPstate NY - where all my MUD IS FINALLY GONE!! |
||||
Showing 3 of 15 threads for this page
- view all
|
brumbyslowfeeder1thumb.png (PNG Image - 255k)
posted by ThoughtfulHorseman Sep 13 2010, 11:40 PM EDT
Brumby Slow Feeder Fence Mount Net Feeder
|
|
|
hay net 2.jpg (JPEG Image - 78k)
posted by Sparrow01 Apr 28 2010, 11:16 AM EDT
new hay net in UPsate NY - Horses LOVE it!
|
|
|
|
T w Goats outside.JPG (JPEG Image - 1,265k)
posted by horsesofcourse Sep 1 2009, 3:04 AM EDT
Friends sharing a Freedom Feeder small mesh hay net
|
|
|
|
new slowfeeder version 1.JPG (JPEG Image - 77k)
posted by Camille'sMom Apr 5 2009, 7:01 PM EDT
homemade slowfeeder haybag
|
