the 'slow feeding movement' (??)

[kbbarn]

This was sent to me by some friends who fully support barefoot only ( I have a few horses barefoot and a few that are shod so no flaming me for mentioning barefoot.)

http://swedishhoofschool.com/feeders.htm

Not sure what to think althought I do think that I am getting tired of all the new 'movements' in horse care and training. Has anyone heard of this or do this type of feeding? I agree that horses are grazing animals and in a perfect world they should be grazing all day but this seems a bit odd and possibly a bit dangerous.

Thinking I want to start a new 'movement' but not sure what!

[Nanerpus]

My guys both have nibblenets, but only for at night so they have their hay a bit longer since they are gobblers:winkgrin: During the day grass and flakes outside without the nets.

I don't understand at the bottom of that page the "Founder Trap" thing? and how with it they had horses "Eat themselves to Founder"? I've never used round bales but I am a big believer in free choice hay if appropriate for the horse.

[Petstorejunkie]

My horse would say "f" it and never eat hay if i restricted his munching to that.

[Grataan]

My horse would say "f" it and never eat hay if i restricted his munching to that.
Mine would find a way to effectively demolish this sort of aberration, eat the hay, poop inside it, and never speak to me again.

[kbbarn]

yes, mine too. One would spend all day trying to destroy the hay bag/box rather than eat!

I also do not understand the one called the founder trap ( or whatever they say about it) It looks like the other one on the site that is empty.

I wish mine would munch all day. Each horse has there own stall with large run so no need to worry about someone stealing their meal but only one is a nibbler. The rest finish up meals somewhat quickly

[Fancy That]

Not sure where the concern about a "new movement" is coming from.

Horses in stalls/confined areas get bored easily. Horses that are laid up from injury, especially. Horses tend to scarf down thier hay feedings in less than 30 minutes.

What's wrong with trying to draw it out a little longer? The horses love to "graze" and "nibble" at these haynets and it really does stimulate them, so they aren't bored.

It's also better for thier system to have hay being processed on a more continuous basis (versus a flake or two inhaled in the morning, and another batch inhaled in the evening)

We have the small hole haynets and love them. Our horses are out 24/7 together. They are fantastic when we go camping so the horses aren't as bored when stuck in small pens.

Last time we used the small-hole-haynets for our 2 mares, everyone else at the campground was asking about them. Their horses were inhaling and or peeing, pooing all over thier hay. Wasting, etc. They loved how our mares just quietly nibbled on thier hay with no waste and it lasted hours.

The BEST reference site for "Slow Down Feeding" is this one:

http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/slow+feeders

[jn4jenny]

Like any movement in horse care, it is *potentially* dangerous but also *potentially* useful for some situations. We could say the same about poorly shod/poorly barefoot trimmed horses versus well shod/well trimmed horses.

Unlike some of the whacked out movements we've seen lately in horsemanship, at least slow feeding has some logic to it. It combats horsey boredom, it is more in line with their natural metabolism (although I would LOVE to see an actual scientific study on that), and it combats hay waste at a time when hay is outrageously priced. Even if you don't buy the first two advantages, that last one is huge.

[MistyBlue]

Huh, I think it's neat that they've invented an actual trap for founder. Looks like a live trap...so I wonder what they do with the founder after they've trapped it? I certainly wouldn't want someone to come near my place and re-release a trapped founder! :eek:

[Cashela]

I have to admit that I use the small mesh hay nets for my three. I have four of them placed around the turnout. We do not have grass and my hoovers were eating their 10 pounds of hay in the morning at lightening speed. With the small hay nets the hay lasts them a lot longer which is nice because I am not available to give them more hay in the afternoon. They get another 10 pounds each at night.

[JB]

Great, and live-saving for some horses; a good way to starve others.

If I had to confine my WB gelding and feed him only hay, I'd have to do something of this nature. If I had to do that with my TB mare, she'd waste away to nothing.

Again, like many things, it's a great concept, but only wiggy fanatics will claim it's a necessity for all horses ;)

[MistyBlue]

Again, like many things, it's a great concept, but only wiggy fanatics will claim it's a necessity for all horses

:yes: :yes: :yes: Yup, totally agree!

[kookicat]

I can't open the web page- can someone clue me in?

[Auventera Two]

A great tool for some horses in some circumstances, and a heap of unnecessary propaganda for other horses in other situations. Two of my horses eat from small hole nets during the winter months when they are stalled overnight. Otherwise, they would demolish 3 flakes of hay within 45 minutes. The idea is to keep them eating slowly and steadily all night to keep their gutt moving without consuming 40 pounds of hay. ;)

As JB said, the notion that ALL horses need a slow feeder is ridiculous.

[Auventera Two]

I can't open the web page- can someone clue me in?

Certain barefoot cliques have started to design slow feeders, that come in all shapes and sizes. The page shows pictures of large boxes built with dividers inside, and tiny mesh wire, so that the hay has to be pulled through one stem at a time. Also haynets with tiny holes, like the Nibblenet.

The "founder trap" people are talking about is a square box with a lid, but the grating on it looks to be large 4" square holes. Looks more like a hoof trap to me.

[BarbB]

The feeders may be useful for some horses. I have trouble taking any company seriously that puts together such a poor website. Spell check and editing don't cost anything.

[kookicat]

Certain barefoot cliques have started to design slow feeders, that come in all shapes and sizes. The page shows pictures of large boxes built with dividers inside, and tiny mesh wire, so that the hay has to be pulled through one stem at a time. Also haynets with tiny holes, like the Nibblenet.

The "founder trap" people are talking about is a square box with a lid, but the grating on it looks to be large 4" square holes. Looks more like a hoof trap to me.

Thanks. Sounds interesting. Not for every horse though.

[ChocoMare]

A great tool for some horses in some circumstances, and a heap of unnecessary propaganda for other horses in other situations. Two of my horses eat from small hole nets during the winter months when they are stalled overnight. Otherwise, they would demolish 3 flakes of hay within 45 minutes. The idea is to keep them eating slowly and steadily all night to keep their gutt moving without consuming 40 pounds of hay. ;)

As JB said, the notion that ALL horses need a slow feeder is ridiculous.

Ditto on all counts.

My hay-vacuums (aka The Mares) would go through their hay at light speed were it not for Small Mesh Hay Nets safely hung in their stalls during the winter.

The small mesh hay nets and other Slow Feeders of all shapes, sizes and designs are meant for the Hay Vacuuming Horse or Pony. There are some fantastic ideas out there that clever people have come up with. I'm going to try the Hockey Nets this year over a round bale. Anything to make them slow down to grazing speed and avoid waste.

[Bluey]

How many horses have those people watched out to pasture 24/7?

Our pastured horses eat a little, as fast or slow as they wish and then wander around or sleep it off, some times in set places in their pastures, some times right by water.

We have pastured horses in pastures of several square miles, with all kinds of canyons and brush and draws, dams, etc., just like feral horses and have watched them many times.

Horses have patterns to their grazing, but really don't eat anywhere close to 24/7.;)

I think that restricting access to feed to a dribble for some horses may make them more anxious.
Why do that to all horses, when just a few may really need that for other reasons?

I think that the best management for any one horse and situation should not be driven by the ideology of the manager of the horse, but what the horse needs.:yes:

[Ghazzu]

The feeders may be useful for some horses. I have trouble taking any company seriously that puts together such a poor website. Spell check and editing don't cost anything.


My guess is that English is not the primary language of the purveyors.
But their English is certainly superior to my Swedish...:D

[jn4jenny]

How many horses have those people watched out to pasture 24/7?

Our pastured horses eat a little, as fast or slow as they wish and then wander around or sleep it off, some times in set places in their pastures, some times right by water.

True, but I see the same behavior from my horse in his stall IF he's given a small-hole haynet. If you just throw three flakes of hay on the ground, he hoovers it up within the hour. If you give him a small-hole haynet, he comes and goes from it as he pleases, eventually eating all of it but pausing regularly for other activities.

I think that restricting access to feed to a dribble for some horses may make them more anxious.
Why do that to all horses, when just a few may really need that for other reasons?

Nobody said anything about doing it to "all" horses. We're also not talking about handing the horse one stalk of hay at a time. It's entirely possible for them to get a mouthful of hay out of most of these machines. Observe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uou68UcYtzM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thinaircanvas.com%2Fnibblene t%2Fnibblenet2.htm&feature=player_embedded

I wouldn't call that a "dribble" of food. I'd say that horse is eating at about the same rate that my horse grazes on pasture.

I think that the best management for any one horse and situation should not be driven by the ideology of the manager of the horse, but what the horse needs.:yes:

Amen. And some of us have either air-fern easy keepers, horses that are bored in their stalls, or horses that seem to metabolize their hay better when allowed to eat it over longer periods. Others of us, thank God, have much hardier and moderate beasts that need no such thing. :lol:

[Desert Topaz]

I'm planning on building a slow feeder for my mare. She's an air-fern and especially in the winter (Colorado) I'd like her hay to last longer. My vet agrees it's an excellent idea and she okayed my plans. I'm not sure I believe slow feeding helps as many things as they claim, but for the fat "I will eat everything in front of me as fast as I possibly can" horse I can't help but think that slowing down their intake is a really good thing.

[luvs2ridewbs]

anyone have a link to where you can buy nibblenets?

[ChocoMare]

anyone have a link to where you can buy nibblenets?

Small Mesh Hay nets here: http://millerharness.com/product.aspx?p=X4-27286 :D I have two and they are very tough.

[jn4jenny]

Small Mesh Hay nets here: http://millerharness.com/product.aspx?p=X4-27286 :D I have two and they are very tough.

I have one too, and they ARE very tough. Unfortunately, they're a total PITA to fill as well. If I owned my own barn and could wrestle with it myself (as I do for the trailer/at shows), I wouldn't mind. But to facilitate positive political relations with my new BO, I bought a Nibblenet. :lol:
www.thinaircanvas.com

[ChocoMare]

To fill easily:

Get a 5-gallon or other tall/sturdy bucket and turn it over. Place 3-4 flakes of hay on the bucket. Open the net as far as you can and slide it down/over the flakes (kinda like putting on panty hose!). Once you get it as far down as you can, place your hand under the flake that's on the bucket and flip it over. Draw up the drawstring tight. :D

(I pull 4 sections of the drawstrong into the snap end of a giant Lehigh snap-bolt clip. I then hang the eyehole end over a hook at horse head level.)

[cyberbay]

Well, studies have shown (or, I read one study in Horse & Hound) that horses will eat as swiftly as they need to in order to get enough grazing accomplished in the time period they have. I hope I say this right: horses are known to graze X amount in 24 hours. In a natural environment, in which horses can graze/have free-choice grazing, they will eat that X amount over the 24 hours. For horses that have, for example, just 6 hours of grazing, these horses will graze as much as they possibly can in hopes of reaching the X amount.

So, it sounds like the Swedish product is on to something? -- that horses have a tendency to eat voraciously when they know their eating time is limited. And what Bluey has seen is accurate, as horses seem to graze about 16 out of the 24 hours.

[Androcles]

oh the nerve of those people for trying to provide and alternative for those who may want to experiment with it. They are rightfully being mocked! And even though they never said it must be used with all horses, we know that's what they really meant. !!!!!

[merrygoround]

Actually the founder trap looks more like a foot trap, Just ideal for some clever equine soul to shove a foot through. If they are lucky the only thing they would leave behind is a shoe.

I have used the nibble net, I've found that with some it just means they have to click their front teeth together more quickly to maintain the standard flow of incoming hay. :sigh:

[BEARCAT]

Yes, too bad it is presented as such propaganda.

I use small mesh hay nets and love them!!! I made mine so that they are super easy to fill, and the horses love them too. It's very interesting to watch them chose to eat out of the nets rather than eating the loose hay one the ground. Not sure why that is.
As with most things equine, it will work for some but not for all.
For me, it helps my horses have hay in front of them 24/7, and it really reduces waste.

[deltawave]

Wow, the concept of horses eating little and often qualifies as a "movement"? :lol:

To me it looks less like ideology and more of the guilt-based marketing that is 90% of the supplement and "you must have this product or you're a bad animal owner" industry. :no:

[Grataan]

Wow, the concept of horses eating little and often qualifies as a "movement"? :lol:

To me it looks less like ideology and more of the guilt-based marketing that is 90% of the supplement and "you must have this product or you're a bad animal owner" industry. :no:
This is the problem I have-I think it's a wonderful idea for horses who bolt their food, or get nervous when there isn't anything to munch on-but it is certainly not for every horse/every situation.

If I treated every patient the same, my bone pile would be huge. Instead, I treat each patient as an individual and each illness/lameness as unique-and while I do lose patients, I sure save a whole lot more than I lose.

[Bluey]

Wow, the concept of horses eating little and often qualifies as a "movement"? :lol:

To me it looks less like ideology and more of the guilt-based marketing that is 90% of the supplement and "you must have this product or you're a bad animal owner" industry. :no:

That is my point, that they are not saying "we are trying this with some horses and wonder how it will work and why and when and for which horses".

They seem to be saying "if you don't do this, you are a bad horse owner, don't know what your horse needs and you are killing it!:eek:

[starkissed]

yeah I think people definitely over analyze the horses feeding. It's a good idea if you have a super fat pig horse that can't get a lot of food- it will help them spread the eating over a longer period of time rather than 2seconds per hay flake!

Probably good for some, probably not necessary for others.

[LMH]

Horses have patterns to their grazing, but really don't eat anywhere close to 24/7.;)



Bluey, please come meet my Polo.:lol:

Left to his own, he would not eat 24/7 BUT I would met money on 24 hours and 57 minutes.:lol:

He has his own personal grazing pattern. Hoover style.

I have a creek and he spends his summer days soaking all 4 feet up to his knees and grazes all down the sides of the creek. He grazes when he drinks!

If I left Polo out 24/7 with no muzzle or food confining device he would likely not die from foundering but from sleep deprivation.

:D

[equineartworks]

Great, and live-saving for some horses; a good way to starve others.

If I had to confine my WB gelding and feed him only hay, I'd have to do something of this nature. If I had to do that with my TB mare, she'd waste away to nothing.

Again, like many things, it's a great concept, but only wiggy fanatics will claim it's a necessity for all horses ;)

I'm actually thinking about getting one for my ponies. It might keep them busy longer. But for Paco, no...he can scarf as much as wants. It might be nice for Katie since she is plump, but because she is a mule we would most likely come outside to find her "analyzing" it...which no good can come of that! Trooper might like it, I could try him with it. He's on quarantine so he's bored, might be nice for that.

I can see the pluses and minuses, but yes, everyone needs to take their own horse into consideration before jumping on the bandwagon.

[FolsomBlues]

I don't really care either way about the hay nets, but I have to say, when I read the title I pictured my barn manager walking in slow motion while she was feeding and I couldn't possibly imagine how that would help my horse at all!

[deltawave]

My Shetland also grazes (or would, if I let her) for 23 hours and 58 minutes/day--one minute to drink, thirty seconds each for walking in and out of the pasture. :D

She even grazes when she's lying down. :rolleyes:

[Nanerpus]

Great, and live-saving for some horses; a good way to starve others.

If I had to confine my WB gelding and feed him only hay, I'd have to do something of this nature. If I had to do that with my TB mare, she'd waste away to nothing.

Again, like many things, it's a great concept, but only wiggy fanatics will claim it's a necessity for all horses ;)

I Totally agree with this statement.

[mkevent]

I must admit that I love the small hole haynets. Like others have mentioned, it depends on the individual horse as whether or not they are needed, but for my situation, I've found them quite handy.

I have 5 horses here at my farm and I use the small mesh haynets for all of them. Two are easy keepers(one being a total glutton who would gorge himself if given the opportunity) one is 8 year old with sensitive stomach and 2 are retired TBs. They are on pasture between 8-16 hours/day, depending on the season. Since they are on pasture often, I use the haynets to minimize waste(and there is barely any waste with these-it is amazing!!) and to slow down hay consumption when they are not on pasture so they don't wolf down or trash their hay when they're in their stalls/paddocks. I do like to try to keep hay available for them as much as possible while not wasting any, and these nets do the trick!

All the horses have adjusted to them well- they seem to enjoy eating their hay this way. My guess is that if they have lots of hay available to eat whenever they want, maybe they don't get frustrated because they haven't gone for hours without hay(?). If they are limited in the amount of hay they recieve, then I would guess some horses would get frustrated that it would take so long to eat before they felt full.

I will say that the Schneiders hay nets are impossible to fill and I hate them! Dovers makes a nice one and so does Shires-both can fit between 3 and 5 sections of hay/bag.

[Cashela]

To fill my nets I use a muck bucket. I take the hay net, put it inside the muck bucket put the net around the edges, fill it and your done.

[Bezysmom]

I have a bunch of air ferns who can eat their 8-10 pounds of hay in 10 minutes. I made several slow down feeders last winter and I love them. It takes the boys several hours to eat so they have food moving through their guts for most of the day rather than 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes 12 hours later.

The Arabs took right to the concept, but a couple of the horses had them labeled starve them feeders :( They soon learned though, and every one spread their hay time out.

If I put hay out free choice my guys would blow up like balloons. They all think they can eat like 17H horses, not 14H ponies.

[Cindyg]

I'm on my second year feeding hay this way (I've fed grain this way for 13 years), and it's going very well.

My easy keepers used to finish a flake of hay in an hour. Now a flake of hay lasts 3-4 hours. They aren't getting any more or less hay, but they get to spend more of their day eating; and that's a good thing.

But here's something weird: My horse clearly prefers to eat out of the small-hole net. If I put one flake in a regular hay feeder, one on the ground, and one in the small-hole hay net, the flake in the small-hole net is eaten first. I swear. I can't imagine why that would be, but it's clearly my horse's preference.

Any ideas why?

[mhtokay]

I think they're a great idea. I do use some hay racks because some of them dig through the hay, eat some, poop on the rest. I'd rather they eat with their heads lower, but I hate forking it out to the manure pile. If I only give them a little, then they clean it up better but it's often still been dragged around the stall, so, filthy. In the run in sheds? forget it. They have to have hay racks. I do have one of those free standing racks with a tray which is great for feeding several yearlings grain at once. but they'll still clean up the hay fast, pull it out in big pieces... A tall horse will pull it out of the top.

I saw some cool boxes at the horse expo last winter. I didn't get any, but they were panels made out of recycled plastic with stainless hardware. You could bolt them together in a variety of designs. Like a long trough or a big box. You could use some as a floor or just open to the ground. But I knew there were always be the ones to grab the whole flake out of the box and throw it around. Not to mention what would happen if they became empty and potential toys. If I could rig them with that wire mesh to slow them down, that would be great for winter feeding in the lower pasture.

the site certainly gave me some ideas, anyway.

[lalahartma1]

Does anyone know if 'nibblenets' can be used on the ground?

[FatPalomino]

I'm cheap.

Instead of spending money on these nets and hay cages, and spending more time tinkering with them, this is what I did.

After asking my vet, I got very well put up, well grown hay that was left in the field to overmature and is stemmy. It's not very green and lost a lot of nutrients. That's what the fat horses eat. AND It's a lot cheaper than the amazing super perfect hay the not-obese horses get.

This way, I can feed them all I want, they can have a lot to eat, and my wallet is happier.

Not so say the fatties didn't complain at first. The mustang dug and dug and dug a hole under the divider of his stall- to steal some of the super good hay his old friend next door had. The nerve!

When turned out, the fatties now do an amazing job of cleaning up little tid bits of the super nice hay the other horses waste. Like vacuum cleaners, they are. Those other horses don't realize what they are leaving behind! I actually need to change my screen name. He's no longer a Fat Palomino (and my vet and farrier, and my horses legs, are very happy about that!).

[devcubber]

I was a tester for this product, which is now available to the general market at www.healthezhayfeeder.com (http://www.healthezhayfeeder.com/)

My air fern is a constant grazer who has demolished grazing muzzles in minutes and tears apart mesh and canvas bags. The Health EZ feeder is a great alternative; it's made to hang low and even though it has 4" openings on all four sides, it is not a hoof trap. The guy who invented it made it so that horses could slow down their grazing, but also eat hay from a 'head down' position that couldn't be achieved by feeding out of nets or bags due to safety reasons.

I LOVE them so much, I use them for all my horses when they are not turned out. Easier to fill than any bag, and super durable.

[FatPalomino]

I was a tester for this product, which is now available to the general market at www.healthezhayfeeder.com (http://www.healthezhayfeeder.com/)



That is really cool. But I know our horses would grab and throw them. How well do they hold up for that sort of thing?

[Tommy's Girl]

Any thoughts on using a small-mesh net to deter cribbing, and the anxious belly associated with it?

[MistyBlue]

My thoughts too FatPalomino. Looks really neat...I like the design and size. Although I can picture my younger horse using it as a hockey puck the minute it's empty...or worry that the holes are a tad too large and almost hoof sized. If the holes were a bit smaller....hmmm....it would also make the hay last longer with smaller holes.

[Cashela]

www.healthezhayfeeder.com (http://www.healthezhayfeeder.com)

Nice idea but my hoovers would have the hay out of that thing in no time. If the holes were smaller I'd be all for it.

[jn4jenny]

www.healthezhayfeeder.com (http://www.healthezhayfeeder.com)

Nice idea but my hoovers would have the hay out of that thing in no time. If the holes were smaller I'd be all for it.

I agree! My horse manages to hoover 3 flakes of grass hay out of his Nibblenet in 2 or 3 hours flat, so I'm sure that Health EZ Hay Feeder wouldn't stand a chance.

OTOH, I must give kudos to the workmanship on the Nibblenet. My BO decided it was easiest to screw the whole thing to the wall--top strap and bottom dee rings. It's been up for a week now and it still looks like new! My horse went through an "aggressive" stage the two days that he had it and yanked on the net/hay a lot; he would pull a huge wad through one 2" hole and then insistently yank on that wad until he got a big mouthful. But if you watch him now, he clearly enjoys the "grazingness" of the experience; he takes a little mouthful here and there, moving all over the net, alternating between getting the easy bites and having to dig/lip for other bites.

If I had it to do over again, I would have gone with the 1.5" holes. For a loose grass hay like what my BO feeds, 2-inch holes slow my horse down but not by much.

[devcubber]

My mare certainly plays tether ball with it! She whacks that sucker all around, and it acts as a boredom buster. The holes are actually not that big; they are smaller than a 00 foot/shoe, and I have one of those curious mares that sticks her feet on/in anything to test it out. It's super sturdy and flexible, made from some kind of food grade polystyrene that is flexible but not breaky. I love it. I was truly at my wit's end with feeding her hay - she's restricted from free grazing as she gets tooooo fat too quickly - and this was the ticket. Because it opens up to a 90 deg angle, I can put whole, untorn flakes in (rather than the stuffing I used to have to do in a bag or net) and she has to work pretty hard to tear out the hay. She gets more little mouthfuls than she does "big gulps". The guy who designed it breeds and trains racehorses and was adamant that the hay feeder didn't compromise their respiratory systems and would NOT be a hoof trap. So far, so good...I think for me it was mostly a perception shift; I was so used to putting up with the hideousness of nets and bags, that I couldn't imagine using anything else...the hay feeder totally changed my mind once I gave it a chance. I would never ever ever use a bag or net again (except maybe for dirty saddle pads and wraps!!).

[BEARCAT]

I think that EZ hay feeder is on the right track, but there is still room for improvement.
Looks like a pain to fill up, the holes are really big, and it looks like you can only put a couple of flakes in there. (And no, I have not seen it in person, but have been doing a lot of research on slow feeders.)

[MediaMD]

Another shout out for Nibble Nets...Tried making my own slow hay feeder but accidentally created a dangerous hoof hazard instead. We watched while the 3 equine kiddlets tried out the wood and wire creation we made for them and in less than a minute rushed out there to take it out of the pasture as they pawed it, flipped it over, bent the wire and virtually destroyed it.

Forked over the $$ for the patented Nibble Nets (2 of the larger size holes, 1 of the smaller holes) and we could NOT be happier. When given a choice, the 25 yr old OTTB, 2 yr old GRP/OLD, and 16 yr old ASB/Arabian PREFER to eat out of the nets than off the ground. I think the mental challenge stimulates them. We use them in the stalls and out in the pasture hooked over the fence posts at the top with their existing snaps, and attached around the bottom with the butt straps temporarily stolen from blankets.They have no difficulty at all pulling the hay through the holes so definitely no starvation or frustration here...

Fatty fatty two-by-four 2 yr old who would eat her weight if given the chance has slimmed down, aging TB has gained some weight and ASB/Arab aka "Mr Nervous Anxiety" is much happier having a puzzle to play with instead of pacing around constantly, stirring up the hay and pooping on it. Zero waste so I can afford to buy nicer hay instead of seeing my hard earned cash dumped in the manure pile every day.

[BEARCAT]

www.healthezhayfeeder.com (http://www.healthezhayfeeder.com)

Nice idea but my hoovers would have the hay out of that thing in no time. If the holes were smaller I'd be all for it.

Agreed - holes are too large to be considered a slow feeder IMO, although it probably helps with horses that trample their hay.

[SpottedTApps]

I have 7 horses on slow feeders that I built. I only fill them once a day and they have hay in front of them for 20-24 hours. No ulcers, no fatties, no one starved, no one bored, they don't stand at them non stop, they travel from one to the other and to the water. So far I'm thrilled with them. I've been using them for 4 months. I am NOT a NH person. I have horses with shoes (including sliders gasp!) and I use shanked bits when called for. I simply was looking for the easiest way to do chores, save money and keep healthy horses.

http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx345/SpottedTPP/feeder2.jpg
http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx345/SpottedTPP/feeder3.jpg
http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx345/SpottedTPP/feeder1.jpg

[matryoshka]

I like that design, SpottedApps. I wonder if I could get my husband to help me make a few?

[DMK]

I liked the idea, and wasn't thrilled with the design of some of those slow feeding contraptions. But my young horse is a hoover, not a picker, and i want him to have access to high quality hay pretty much the entire time he is in his stall, so like spottedapps, it was time to drag out the powertools:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24594726@N04/sets/72157612148066145/show/

(the slideshow is mostly slow feeder pics, but hang in there for Best Bottle of Wine Evah)

ETA - the "other" reason to have these is the same as apps as well. I fill that feeder up 1Xday and i don't waste any bedding due to hay strewage. Don't call me a NH type, call me cheap, practical and resourceful.

[SpottedTApps]

That looks GREAT DMK!

[DMK]

thanks, i've got your design tucked away for an outside feeder as well!

[matryoshka]

Just out of curiosity, since the horses have to tilt their heads sideways to get the hay from these feeders, are any of the horses fed this way having dental or chiro problems?