haybars and hay hutches!

[papershoes]

Who has used either?

I'm thinking of getting a haybar for my boy's stable as he drags his hay everywhere, gets it covered in shavings then refuses to eat it but part of me thinks he will still take it out?

Also considering getting a hay hutch for putting hay in his field, as he is messy pup and likes to spread his hay around outside too which is killing the grass!

Thankyou x

[Deleted]

I have a hay hutch. I have the large one which was fantastic when Talin was alone as he could have proper ad-lib, he didn't waste it and it didn't get rained on etc, worked really well I only had to top it up a couple of times a week.

However since getting Henry (Welsh Section D with their native appetite!!) they can't have ad-lib because otherwsie Henry won't leave the hay hutch at all and would explode. Despite it being designed for 6 horses my two can't share it without chasing eachother around in circles, they're more relaxed when they've got a bit more distance between them. I've now got a water tank and the hay hutch and I leave the lid off the hay hutch then tie a haynet into the bottom of each. In light of that I'd be just as well off with two water tanks!

[june]

I've got both. The hay bars work for neat horses but some horses just shove the hay out onto the floor. We've got them in 12 stables and I reckon they work well in half of the stables and we've reverted to hay nets in the other half.

We use hay hutches in the fields and like them. They cut down on waste in a big way but not completely, but I'd estimate they paid for themselves in one winter. I have used one in a stable too with a horse that throws the hay out of the hay bars and destroys hay nets and that worked well for him.

[papershoes]

Thanks my gelding likes to nose through his hay so I have visions of him just pulling it out to sort through out of the haybar! and in the field, I can only get out to the field in the daylight to put hay out a few times a week, and more often than not it is rained on then gets ruined, then he wont eat it. and my hay is £6 a bale

[ladyndibs]

It doesn't sound the most elegant of feeders but my husband made one.
He made a wooden frame large enough to surround one of the very strong builders bags, with 2 opposite sides low enough for the horses to feed and the other 2 sides high so that my greedy boy actually has to leave the hay to bully the other horse he used to share with, the bag is tied inside the frame a few inches off the ground so the grass doesn't die off and as it's quite deep they can have a really good nose aroung without loads coming out over the top. It's big enough to take 2 bales at a time. The amount of waste is tiny.
We also at one stage fixed buiders bags on haynet rings in the stables, again nice and deep so very little waste and high enough that they couldn't get tangled in them, I use straw beds but mine also have straw to eat as they are generally very good doers so it was easy to mix the two in the bag.

[bertie666]

Can you get some pics up of that ladyndibs?? Sounds very interesting

I got two wooden boxes from my local farmers merchants, tis just what they get large goods delivered in. Im now experimenting with hay nets over the top to slow them down and stop the two fussy tbs iv got with me this year throwing out what they dont want to eat the tastiest bits first!

[specialized]

Haybars are useful as they are quick to fill and locate the hay in one place. Some of ours will empty it out as soon as they go into the stable, but most of them will eat from it quite tidily. Do not use a haybar if your horse likes to rub it's backside a lot as it will sit on the haybar and crush it.
There is a make that is green and has the top made stronger in a series of 3 straight bits, rather than the curve of the haybar which is weaker and easier to collapse.

[ladyndibs]

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=832712759&ref=tn_tnmn#!/video/video.php?v=10150342230887760
Not sure if this will work, if not I'll take a photo tomorrow, my boy is 15.3 which should give you an idea of size.

[irishcob]

I have an old potato box (liberated from my farming cousins!) that is a godsend to save hay wastage. As it has slats in the bottom it drains nicely if it rains, and is sturdy enough to be used as a scratchy post by the occasional cobby bottom...





Best of all it was free! Previously I used to waste loads of hay as it would get trampled into the mud, or blow away on windy days (like the current weather).

[ladyndibs]

I like that idea Irishcob, the green alternative , if you couldn't get one I suppose you could make something similar, if there was no bottom in it you could just upend it and turn it over so they weren't always stood in the same place.

[june]

The hay hutches work well for us in the field as the lids protect the hay so it doesn't get wet or snowed on. The large ones hold 3 bales so last a while with just a couple of horses.

[Deleted]

Yes I must admit when it snows I might be tempted to put the lid back on the hay hutch and use that normally again

[mandal]

I have two medium hay hutches and my experience leads me to say they are expensive containers. They do little to avoid waste in a group of horses, they still pull hay out looking for choice morsels and trample it. The waste may be slightly less than ground feeding loose but imo it's not worth the expense. They are better for one horse but I would still say a good home built design is better. One of my aims is slow feeding which hay hutches do not help with.
Have a look at paddock paradise on wet paint for ideas.

[jill]

Unless you have so many horses it is prohibitively time consumng, hay balls are by far the most economical. Fill small holed hayage nets, then tie up the drawstring as tight as you can, tieing up any loose ends into a safety knot and back on itself until there is no loop left,to avoid feet being caught in it. Deposits very little on the ground and takes them a while to eat it all as it keeps moving away from them as well - entertainment for horses and owners alike

MTA not a good iidea in mud! And as most people know I have had hayracks made in the stables by fixing two broad planks of wood across a corner, being careful about height from the floor for sweeping out and total height to make dragging hay out quite difficult.

[maislow]

I have haybars & I do love them although my exmoor does pull his hay out still