Haybar

[lck]

Hi, Has anyone used the product called Haybar in their stables. I'm thinking it may be a good idea for my horses as they mix their soaked hay in with the bedding. Someone suggested making one but i don't think wood would be as safe as the rubbery stuff the Haybar is made from.

[erarab]

I haven't had one myself but I have only heard grumbles about them.

The main one being that they are too expensive for what they are

Others comments like they get really stinky unless you clean them out every day :-/and they are not easy to clean out

[Vera]

I think the Hay bar is FANTASTIC. I have one in my very messey geldings stable and can't speak highly enough of them. They are incredibly tough and very easy to clean. I keep a rubber feed bucket in the bottom of mine so I can easily scoop out the seeds and bits. I tend to feed soaked hay so it collects all the drips too.

I don't like haynets or eyelevel mangers so I used to feed hay from the floor. The trouble was that he would spread the hay everywhere, being wet it wasn't ideal to mix with nice dry bedding and he's also a poo monster and of course would not eat hay he's pooed on.

At first he took great delight in emptying the haybar but even doing this the wastage reduced dramaticly. Now a year on he hardly ever tosses any hay out unless he's searching for a particularly tasty bit!!

So a great big thumbs up from me and ahem I really don't think £50 or thereabouts is too much t pay for one!

[Yann]

I like the idea and my mare is very fussy so rapidly went off anything that had been on the floor too long. The haybar did strike me as being rather on the dear side so I bought a couple of great big flexible plastic tubs from B&Q instead for £10 each which do the job nearly as well and wastage is vastly reduced.

[silv]

I wouldnt be without mine..........I do think its a lot of money,but then again I dont have wastage anymore

[Casper]

Yann, you did what I was thinking of doing. Glad that works, so shall spend £10 on a massive trug instead. I think it will be easier to clean out and also can steam Bobby's hay in it at the same time, killing two birds with one stone.

[lck]

Won't work for mine as they think those trugs things are toys and just lift them up. I think I'm going to try the Haybar things and leave a 2 inch gap at the bottom so that bits can be brushed out. I'm going to try lining them with a loose bit of plastic feed sack which should collect the worst of the seeds and bits. I really hope it works as damp hay in the bed makes mucking out horrible and time consuming.

[Vera]

Anything not firmly fixed down in my boys stable certainly becomes fair game to be destroyed. I don't think the tubs are high enough to prevent horses like mine from climbing in!

Ick, a rubber feed bucket in the bottom works really well at catching all the bits. I also have mine fitted just above the ground so can brush out underneath.

[lindat]

I have not seen one before does anyone have a link? Both my two are fussy messy monsters

[erarab]

Here you go

www.haybar.co.uk/

[silv]

I have a 2" gap at bottom which is enough to just get hand in and pull out any seeds etc.

[varkie]

I was never sure of these until I saw Vera's, but I would definitely consider them in the future if I moved to permanant stables. I think a gap at the bottom with a trug is a great idea, and thats how I'd use it.

[Yann]

Tiny pony sometimes climbs into ours and kicks them about when being off the grass starts to get tedious, but they're nigh on indestructible so far

[Mhairi]

:)I used to keep my horse at a yard where they had a similar thing in the stables but was a home made version.
Basically 2 strips of wood on either side of a corner of the stable which a bit of hard board slots into. You could make the bit of board the hight to suit your horse and just had to pull it up out of the two slots to sweep it out. Very simple, cheap and effective.
Not sure if that description helps you all know what I'm talking about though!!