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SapphireSky
SapphireSky
Hay Net
May 15 2009, 4:33 PM EDT | Post edited: May 15 2009, 4:33 PM EDT
Hi I bought 3 smith brothers nets (1.5 inches holes)for my draft cross who lives for eating. It took her a while to get used to the net and at first it really slowed her down. But now they are not working at all. I try to limit her grass hay intake to about 25 to 30 lbs a day since she is overweight. I split the feedings 3 times a day. 10 lbs in the morning, 5 pounds in the afternoon and 10 to 15 pounds (depending on weather) overnight. She now gets really good with the net that she blasts through 10 pounds hay in 2 hours. Then she gets bored and starts to chew on wood. I hang the net from the ceiling with the net hanging close to the ground as possible and it swings to make it harder for her but it didnt faze her. I tried to adjust to higher placement of the net but it didnt work. Help? Any suggestions to slow her down? Do you find this valuable?    
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pawsplus
pawsplus
1. RE: Hay Net
May 15 2009, 4:38 PM EDT | Post edited: May 15 2009, 4:38 PM EDT
"She now gets really good with the net that she blasts through 10 pounds hay in 2 hours. Then she gets bored and starts to chew on wood. I hang the net from the ceiling with the net hanging close to the ground as possible and it swings to make it harder for her but it didnt faze her. I tried to adjust to higher placement of the net but it didnt work. Help? Any suggestions to slow her down?"
OK - what is her living situation like? Is she on a PP track 24/7? By "ceiling" that seems to imply a stall or a run-in shed. Is she confined there?

You need to get the hay out on the track, splitting up her ration between all 3 haynets, so she has to move to get to them. Does she have companions, etc.? It sounds as if she's just standing in one place eating her head off for lack of anything else to do?

Elizabeth Do you find this valuable?    
Walowa
Walowa
2. RE: Hay Net
May 15 2009, 5:45 PM EDT | Post edited: May 15 2009, 5:45 PM EDT
Hi, Welcome to this wiki. We have been discussing plenty of ideas to make our horses lives better. You can find a lot of info looking back through older discussions. It sounds like you are dealing with a small area. Do you have just one horse? Before you get to the pea gravel stage, you might want to look at the diagram of a Paddock Paradise dry lot. You can find it in the Photo section on the second page. Click on the picture to enlarge it. There is also another picture of a PP on a small lot right next to it. Terrie Do you find this valuable?    
SapphireSky
SapphireSky
3. RE: Hay Net
May 16 2009, 11:35 AM EDT | Post edited: May 16 2009, 11:35 AM EDT
Thanks for your replies. Unfortunately I will not be able to do paddock paradise even though I would LOVE to offer that to my horses. We live in the Denver Metro suburban area and my property is a tiny 1/3 acre of land. My mare was alone in 44ft by 22ft pen and this is when she started to chew on wood. We are in process of expanding this area into 100ft by 28 feet of corral. We plan to put hay and water on the opposite ends. After thinking about it some more, we may try adding a string in the middle to perhaps make a U shape so the horses would have to walk 200 feet between water and hay even though these are next to each other. I will play around with the string and see what we can come up with. Sapphire was alone in the smaller pen because of the space. As soon as we expand the area we ll bring the other horse home from a nearby boarding place. I know it is not an ideal place for horses but it is all we can afford. Do you think with another horse around she will not blow through the hay net like before? Thanks. Do you find this valuable?    
Walowa
Walowa
4. RE: Hay Net
May 16 2009, 3:27 PM EDT | Post edited: May 16 2009, 3:27 PM EDT
We all have to do the best we can with what we have. I think your idea of dividing the area so the horses have to walk further is a good one. I don't know if adding the other horse will solve the eating problem. There may be some competition over the food. Good Luck! :) Terrie Do you find this valuable?    
SpottedTApps
SpottedTApps
5. RE: Hay Net
May 17 2009, 6:56 AM EDT | Post edited: May 17 2009, 6:56 AM EDT
I like the idea of creating a U with your new pen. If it were me, I would still split the hay into 2 locations, maybe one on either side of the U and the water at the other end in the middle.

With my experience they do go through hay faster in the nets than in a hard feeder with a wire mesh. The nets will form around the hay, almost "hugging" it and allowing easier access. The hard mesh feeder, only allows for a strand or two of hay at a time, taking longer to eat.

I would search for some other boredom relievers in a small pen too. Possibly one of the "nose its" or a jolly ball.

Good luck! Do you find this valuable?    
tangledmanes
tangledmanes
6. RE: Hay Net
May 18 2009, 5:18 PM EDT | Post edited: May 18 2009, 5:18 PM EDT
I've heard of someone using a second Smith Brothers-style small-mesh hay net inside the first one to further reduce the rate of hay consumption. Like Sapphire, their warmblood is a master at removing hay quickly even from these best of smhns.

Another point to consider is where the hay net is placed. If possible, try moving it to a spot that is less comfortable for her to stand and eat. For example, instead of hanging my nets in the run-in shed, I put them out by part of the fence where they would not normally hang out. I'm not talking about making eating physically uncomfortable, just moving the meal enough to keep them thinking.
And, for what it's worth, I highly recommend the Nose-It feeder toy, but it won't dispense hay stems. :-(
I'd love to see a video of your horse speed-eating through the smhn... but I'd never show it to my herd. ;-)
~JoAnn Do you find this valuable?    
SapphireSky
SapphireSky
7. RE: Hay Net
May 18 2009, 10:16 PM EDT | Post edited: May 18 2009, 10:16 PM EDT
Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I really appreciate it. I will have to try the double hay nets with Sapphire but unfortunately it may mean I need to separate the two horses. My other horse is a saddlebred and he has not really mastered the smaller hay net. He would eat from it grudgingly but very slowly and not enough to keep weight on him. I cant imagine him liking the 2 nets. I will have to look into the permanent 2x2 metal grid (if there is such one? or is 2x4 the smallest?). Ill look into the nose-it feeder toy. It sounds like a great idea. Would I need to get two since Sapphire is the dominant horse? How many cubes does it hold and how long does it take to dispense all of the cubes from the nose it? I read some of other discussion topics and I saw that some people feed straw. I did feed that for about 3 weeks to Sapphire and she did eat 2 bales worth of straw. I thought it was a good idea as it gave her something to do. I told the hoof trimmer and she thought it was a bad idea as it could cause colic. Is this true? Thanks all again. This is a great website by the way, loved all the ideas to slow down the eating monsters. :) I will definitely try and capture how fast Sapphire eats her hay. Funny you mentioned putting it in her unfavorable place, that's exactly what I did. She doesn't like the shelter I built for her so she would grab a few bites and go outside and eat...it did slow her down but not enough! Grrr. :) 1  out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?    
tangledmanes
tangledmanes
8. RE: Hay Net
May 24 2009, 6:15 PM EDT | Post edited: May 24 2009, 6:15 PM EDT
Check out this new design: http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/Joanne%27s+Shrimp+Netting+Hay+Feeder
~JoAnn Do you find this valuable?    
SapphireSky
SapphireSky
9. RE: Hay Net
May 26 2009, 10:14 AM EDT | Post edited: May 26 2009, 10:14 AM EDT
Thanks for the link to the new slow feeder idea. Ill look into that. No one commented on feeding straw or should I start a new topic on that? Do you find this valuable?    
tangledmanes
tangledmanes
10. RE: Hay Net
May 26 2009, 10:28 AM EDT | Post edited: May 26 2009, 10:28 AM EDT
It might be a good idea to start a new topic -- all I know about feeding straw is that some straw is also surprisingly high in sugars, so you don't know without testing it. Equi-Analytical will test for NSC only for about $18 last time I looked.
~JoAnn Do you find this valuable?