Hay Nets - Slow Feeders Versions 1.0 through 1.3

I decided, for a couple of reasons, that I wanted to use hay nets for my horses. Hay nets slow them down when eating. It's good for their digestion since it's more like grazing. It takes them longer to eat, so it gives them something to do. Plus, hay nets help keep the hay from getting scattered around and wasted.

You can buy hay nets (also called "slow feeders") at most equine supply places. But when I priced it out, I realized it was cheaper to buy some net and make my own.

For about $100 (including shipping) I got 15 feet of 60" wide hockey goal netting from Arizona Sports Equipment. It's enough to make four hay nets.

 

Why four nets when we only have three horses? So that when the horses jostle and push each other around from net to net, there are always open nets available for the low guy in the pecking order.

 

 

The net is fairly substantial with 1 1/2" mesh.

 

 

I cut it into four pieces, which left raw edges.

 





It's simple to melt the ends with a lighter. Don't touch the recently melted ends...it's hot as molten lava. (Not that I have any personal experience getting burned by it or anything.....Ow, ow, ow!!)

 

It seemed like bailing twine would be the perfect material for sewing up the open ends and attaching the nets to the rail fence. But in reality, it wasn't.

 

This is Kipp trying out Hay Net Ver. 1.0. There's a serious design flaw that he noticed about a minute into the experiment. Instead of using a running stitch with the twine down the vertical sides, for reasons I cannot explain I made individual knots. I know, I know! It seemed like a good idea at the time. Kipp had the side ripped open in about 3 minutes flat.

 

 

I fixed it with a running stitch and it seemed to be OK. The net is folded in half. The back half is tied to the rail. The front side is attached to a length of 1" PVC pipe. Having the pipe woven through the top edge of the net provides some structure. I can just open up the top of the net and slip a few flakes of hay in there.

 

 

 

 

It takes horses a little while to figure out how to pull hay out through the net. To reduce their frustration at being hungry and having to figure out how to eat from these contraptions Mom has built, I put a few flakes of hay on the ground in addition to what was in the nets.

 

Overnight, they managed to flip one of the nets over the top of the fence. Another was dismantled and the PVC pipe was pulled out and on the ground, which left the top of the net wide open. 

 

Here is Hay Net Ver. 1.2. I've used zip ties to attach the net to the top of the rail fence.

 

I've also used a zip tie loop to hold the PVC pipe more securely.

 

While I was changing over to the zip ties, I watched our paint horse Jesse working patiently on the blue twine that stitched the side seams. Although he hasn't gotten it apart yet, no doubt he will figure it out eventually. He's the Harry Houdini of horses and can figure out how to get into or out of just about anything.

 

So here is Hay Net Ver. 1.3 with small zip ties (instead of bailing twine) holding the sides of the net together.

 

 

 

Kipp was supervising all of my efforts today. He would helpfully try out each version. He developed a technique for eating from the net. He picks up the net with his teeth and shakes it hard. Hay sifts out through the holes. He drops the net, eats the hay that fell onto the ground, then shakes the net again. It's an effective technique and he's pretty smart for figuring it out. However, it's defeating the purpose of the net.

 

I may have to secure the back of the net to the fence so he can't lift it up to shake it.

 

 

Here are the nets as they stand now...waiting for another night of abuse from The Boys. I have three of them installed. Should have the fourth done tomorrow. They hold three, maybe four, flakes of hay each. Including the zip ties and PVC, they cost $115 total.