[stockhorselady]

how do you feed your round bales?

In a metal feeder?
On a pallet?
With a tarp?

My only issue is I dont have a tractor, just some volunteers to help me roll it where it needs to go. I will only be using smaller sized bales as its just going to feed two horses.

I am looking for a good solution to an expensive heavy metal feeder. Ive herd horror stories of horses getting their legs stuck in them. Pictures would be appreciated.

[BuddyRoo]

We would have ours delivered and roll it into a shed. Then we'd feed flakes off of it.

Reduced waste.

[dbts]

I am using these. www.bigbalebuddy.com I have been pleased with the lack of waste and they are very safe; quite sturdy as well and have a guarantee. My hay gets delivered and I roll a bale to the spot I want to use it, then flip it and cover it . If you are only one person, a rope and a truck/car are all you need to handle the job alone. So far, so good.

[stockhorselady]

I saw those bale buddies. Only problem is my mare gets a little grouchy around food. She might not let my colt get to it. Its worth a try though.

The only reason I am looking into round bales is because I have to supply the hay for the barn workers to feed, so this way I know its always there for them, and so someone doesnt "accidently" use my hay.

[horsetales]

We use the O'neil plastic RB feeder. My DH put in a wood platform so the hay wasn't on the ground in the feeder. It has worked great and is light, so you could put it on its side, roll out the bale and put it back down around the bale.

Without a tractor, you could also look into 3x3 square bales. I switched this year and ours are heavier and cheaper (and nicer) than the round bales I got the past couple of years. With those they flake just like the small square bales and you can put out what you want to limit waste

[Leather]

I use a plastic feeder by AGI. I cover the round bale with netting and roll it onto a pallet and then put the feeder around it.

I love it--no waste, horses have hay at all times.

Picture of the set-up:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j1...der/Hay005.jpg

Info on the feeder: http://www.agiproducts.com/HAY%20RINGS.htm

[JB]

We would have ours delivered and roll it into a shed. Then we'd feed flakes off of it.

Reduced waste.

Ditto and Amen.

Except we go 1 mile down the road, get a bale loaded on the truck, roll it off and into the barn where it's stored while I peel hay off and wheelbarrow it out twice a day.

[Best View]

Try this.... http://duplessishorsefeeder.com/ We have 2 now and they work WONDERFUL! and they are not to expensive.

[stockhorselady]

Try this.... http://duplessishorsefeeder.com/ We have 2 now and they work WONDERFUL! and they are not to expensive.

$595 + shipping for a feeder seems expensive to me, and it still has the hay sitting on the ground. What keeps the house from blowing around?


It seems silly to pay hundreds of dollars for a hay feeder, because you're using round bales to try to save money.

[LauraKY]

Tell me more about the Big Bale Buddy. It's very reasonably priced and looks like it would solve my problems, but will it hold up to a bunch of crazy OTTBs?

[stockhorselady]

I was just thinking, what happens when the bale gets shorter from being eaten? Id worry about my little colt stepping on the slack, or trying to bite at it.

[Hampton Bay]

I roll mine into the barn and peel off a wheelbarrow load several times a day (depending on how much grass is available). Leaving it out in the pasture on the ground, even covered, seems like an invitation for mold. Unless your winters are very dry and your horses polish the bale off quickly.

Colic is the other concern with round bales. As is one horse keeping the others away from the hay.

Better to put it in a barn and peel it off, for my needs anyway.

[stockhorselady]

Leaving it out in the pasture on the ground, even covered, seems like an invitation for mold. Unless your winters are very dry and your horses polish the bale off quickly.

Colic is the other concern with round bales. As is one horse keeping the others away from the hay.

Better to put it in a barn and peel it off, for my needs anyway.

What would cause round bales to have a higher risk of colic associated with them?

Two horses can eat up a small round bale if left out in about 2 two weeks if that, so you're really not leaving it out long. It is more suseptable to mold... which is why people have invented various things to protect them.

If I was not going to feed free choice hay I would use regular small square bales. The quality of square bales seems to be better. And they are already preflaked so its alot easier/ less messy to handle.

[dbts]

I have found the big bale buddies to be very durable. As the hay gets eaten down the horses do step on the bag and nose around inside until it is gone. I have everyone using these bags from weanlings to my 18 hand guy and the bags seem well able to stand up to the abuse of biting and stomping.

[LauraKY]

I don't understand the colic either...unless you're talking about moldy hay. I'm guessing most of us wouldn't put out a moldy round bale.

Mine share fairly well, at least 4 of them that is. We had one horse that the rest of them really disliked, so they would keep him away. But he lived in front of that hay bale when they moved off. I'm estimating that he ate about 1/2 of each round bale. He's gone now, so I don't expect any problems next winter.

They seem to divvy the bale up into quarters and everyone is satisfied.

[Thomas_1]

Metal ring feeder. Purpose made for feeding stock and entirely suitable for horses and ponies.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...lotsofsnow.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/comique4.jpg

[katarine]

in a metal feeder designed for horses, there's no colic concerns, that's just internet chat room hooey. Or is there a round bale veil I don't know about??

[ttldr1]

I built a RB feeder with 4x4 posts in the corners and decking boards up the sides. Built it right into the fence line so that both sides of the fence can feed off of the same bale. In building it I could make the sides taller on the full size geldings side and lower on the mini's side. One side is a removable "gate". I open the gate, back the trailer up to the opening and roll the bale off into the feeder, replace the gate and I am done. I get two RB's on the trailer at a time, tarp the one left on the trailer. The 4x4's are tall enough that if rain is forcast I can throw a tarp over the bale in the feeder and they can still get to it. I also have 2 pallets under the bale in the feeder. Have not had much waste at all. I have gotten really good at backing the trailer up to the right spot and it only takes about 10 minutes to put a new bale out and with 1 full size and two mini's a bale last 3-4 weeks.

[CoolMeadows]

Tell me more about the Big Bale Buddy. It's very reasonably priced and looks like it would solve my problems, but will it hold up to a bunch of crazy OTTBs?

Yes, I can honestly say it does!

[stockhorselady]

I dont really like those ring feeders with the high sides. Someone on another forum had a horse get their leg stuck and struggled for a while and died before they could get him out. Id rather not risk it. Dont you need a tractor to get them in the ring? They still look like they're sitting right on the ground in those.

That bale buddy sounds like a really great idea. And the most inexpensive solution. Id love to make some contraption thats build into the barn or fence but I am boarding so its not really an option.

Still waiting for an answer on why round bales can cause colic... :-P