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wilecat |
confused
Feb 14 2011, 9:13 PM EST
I am just starting my Paddock Paradise and am confused at all these slow feeding techniques. All I read in the book was the recommendation to spread the hay directly on the ground at whatever intervals works for you .As far as quantity it is whatever you feel works for your horses and basically there should be no left overs the next day. It appears to me that horses are just going to hang around the hockey net or the tub with the grate on it filled with hay and camp out since they won't have to actually "forage" for the hay. Again I am brand new to this. I would appreciate input thank you.
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DutchHollow |
1. RE: confused
Feb 15 2011, 3:15 PM EST
That's why we keep hay, water, shelter, salt all in different locations. Yes my guys do hang out around the slow feed round bale but when they are thirsty or cold they have to leave it and walk all the way back to the barn. If you are using smaller hay pillows and put out several off them they will shuffle between them all and not just hang out in one spot. Personally I like round bales, I'm a chores minimalist and just love the idea of 1 bale a week and not several trips out 2-3 times a day. All I'd need now is auto waterers and a farm hand to scoop up the poop for me and I'd be all set :) Do you find this valuable? |
Paintedspheres |
2. RE: confused
Feb 15 2011, 7:17 PM EST
Yes that's right, spread things out. My round bale was in the paddock by the barn and water so I took it out and now I fill several slow feed nets. I have one in the run in, one at the far side of the paddock and three to four along the track. They like moving from one to the next. You could have several different kinds of slow feeders around your track. There are several good videos in here of peoples tracks and you can see the different slow feeders they have.Mr Jackson does tell you to spread hay along the track but for some the hay can blow away, it can get wasted (expensive) and for some horses like mine they will gobble it up too fast and are fat already. The slow feeders solve all of those problems. They just need to also be spread out to encourage movement. Good luck and have fun! Do you find this valuable? |
tangledmanes |
3. RE: confused
Feb 16 2011, 10:37 AM EST
You're not confused! Personally, I think that Jaime Jackson's direction to spread the hay several times a day throughout the track is a good starting point. But that at the time he wrote the book, I don't think he had given any thought to streamlining the hay feeding process to achieve the same result; horses continually traveling around the track. Using multiple slow feeders prevents the horses from eating their hay all at once upon their first encounter with it as well as giving them many "grazing spots" to keep checking as they move around. As another alternative, the large hay feeders can be used, but need to be restricted -- by way of netting or other slow feeding device, and for best results place the large feeder at the farthest point on your track. See Florida's page for an example: http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/Spotted+T+Apps We would love to hear about what you decide to do -- Seems to me that we have the clearest vision when we first see a concept! ~JoAnn~ Do you find this valuable? |
