Busy snackers :)

[Marty]

They look great but what advantage have they over the tiny holed haynets that I currently use?

Fizzy I think one advantage these busy snackers would have over hay nets I would assume vs the hay nets are that as the horse eats the hay out of a net, the net "deflates" basically making it hang down lower, which could possibly get a foot stuck in it should anyone like to paw at it.

Actually, that has happened to me. I only kept a couple of hay nets, small ones, for when I bathe horses and tie them up in the isleway while drying and I give them a hay net to keep them occupied. Otherwise I don't particularly care for hay nets or hay feeders of any kind. A couple of mine have a bad habit of pawing when tied, thus, they have gotten hung up in those hay net things on more than one occasion. I finally got rid of them and replaced them with a couple of hay bags from www.minitack.com the ones with the hole in it. I like these a whole lot more, especially when trailering, and besides, they come in fun PLAID colors!

http://www.minitack.com/kmhbf.htm

 

[Margo_C-T]

I really like my Busy Snackers; they do slow down the consumption rate, and there is less waste. That said, I think 'how well they work' can vary with factors such as the texture/type of hay being fed, how full you 'stuff' the bags, how the bags are mounted/hung/placed, etc. They do NOT last 'all day'; more like an hour to about three hours. I didn't wish to INCREASE the amount of hay they get, so only the bigger B gelding gets his bag 'full' of hay(and it *could* hold more, isn't 'stuffed full'.) The B horse empties his the fastest; still, he is able to waste less, and it does slow him down 'somewhat'. The other two who are using them take anywhere from two to three hours to finish their (grass portion) hay for a feeding, compared to about an hour to hour and a half before I got the Busy Snackers. I feed both alfalfa and grass in every feeding, so I put the alfalfa in their 'regular', wall-hung feeders(standard type, have a hay rack above a 'basin' portion, I made them myself YEARS ago using cut-down 30 gal. plastic barrels), and their grass in the slow-feeder bags. I either hang the bags against the stall wall(inside) or the fence (outside)so that the bottom JUST touches the mat(floor), or I lay them FLAT on the mat, securing them w/ a double-ended snap. I came home from the grocery store one day to find one of the full 2" X 8" boards that my stalls are 'sided' with outside the stall on the ground, complete w/ the LONG nails it'd been secured with, in the B horse's run! The snap was busted, the bag AND the horse completely intact! I can only think he'd managed to put a hoof into the TOP of the bag, jerked back? So now I use two STRONG clips on each end of the top of his bag.

I feed on mats both inside and outside, so the 'on-the-ground'bags aren't 'in the dirt'. I have noticed some fraying of the nylon,trimmed it, used a match to 'reseal' the edges...so far, so good.

I think that 1" openings in this kind of 'crosshatch' flat nylon strapping bag might be even better for minis...wish the maker could be convinced to create some. I don't really use hay bags, for reasons already stated...think they are more likely to be hazardous. I do think that a tiny foal might be able to put its hoof through the 1 1/2" openings in the Busy Snacker, so wouldn't use it around such a foal/foals.

I have a horse who has had ulcer episodes; I believe the Busy Snacker is especially helpful for him.

Margo