Hay-Feeding Solutions

[jyuukai]

This winter we are in the position to be likely the only caretakers of our mini and her companion (also a mini). The owner of the second mini, who also is the one who cares for them, is going through a very tough time in regards to his wife's health and we suspect he will have little time this winter to coddle the two of those fuzzy beasts.

We are a good distance away and there is no electricity there, so in winter we usually limit our visits to a couple of times a week. We plan to increase the frequency of our visits but we simply cannot go every day due to the distance. So we're brainstorming.

We know from experience that their 15gal bucket of water will last them 2-3 days in winter, provided it does not freeze. I'm not worried about that. What I am worried about it hay! Last year we gave them a round bale and the two of them (35" and 36") ate the entire bale in a matter of two weeks. Obviously that is far too much hay for a couple of stinkers who would need, at most, 8lbs of hay a day in winter per pony, if I estimate them both to be about 300lbs.

My thought for this winter would be to get two of those slow-feeding hay nets. If I filled each one up with two days worth per pony (say 14-16lbs) do you think they would last so that they could be filled every-other day? I've never used a slow-feeding net so I have no idea how slow-feeding they actually are. Do you think the minis could manage to eat all 14+lbs in a single day?

TIA for any answers/ideas/advice! I'm trying to get this plan banged out now before the cold weather hits so that we can be prepared if this is the route we have to take!

 

[shelia]

You re only talking about 2 minis here. Can't you put them in your back yard tilll you can find somewhere to get them closer to you? I hate to say this, but this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. You ask for advise and my advise is to get them somewhere they will be looked after, fed and watered everyday.

 

[Minimor]

You would do better to get one of the big slow feeder nets--the kind that fits over a round bale--put the bale out for them & then put the net on it. That way they have hay to last for an extended period of time, even if something happens and you can't get there every second day.

I am a firm believer in checking horses daily--very bad things can happen to a little horse and if one is in trouble and no one finds him for 2 or 3 days, well, that is a very bad thing on its own.

 

[jyuukai]

Sheila - (that's my name too!) I live in an apartment. I do not have a yard. Trust me, if I could have her in my back yard she'd have been there years ago.

Minimor - I am a firm believer in checking every day, too, but that just won't be feasible this winter for us. During the summer the two are left in their pasture the same, somebody comes to check on them every other day whether it is us or their caretaker. They have been there like that for two years no trouble. The man who watches them lives across the road from them, and his neighbors do watch the ponies for signs of trouble! Trust me, when one of them walked under the fence (which has been fixed!!) and about 3ft away from the fenceline the man was notified within minutes!

 

[HGFarm]

I too would find some place to put them where they can be watched daily. I agree with Shelia completely- this is a disaster waiting to happen. Isnt there someone with some property that could take them in?

 

[jyuukai]

I have not been able to find another place to put her since I moved her there in the first place, and I do not own the second pony so he would be stuck there alone in the same situation, only without me to take care of him.

 

[maggiemae]

First I agree with the other posters - horses, especially mini- really need to be taken care of and checked over for cuts bumps, scrapes and wounds daily. Having said that - if you are still determined to leave them in that situation -

1. Get 2 black rubbermaid tubs (one slightly bigger than the other) and nestle one inside the other. In the bottom one put horse crap and hay mixture and put the second one down inside the first and fill the top one with clean water. There is a lip on the tubs that will keep the crap and hay out of the water - the decomposing hay and crap will keep the water from freezing. The bigger issue is not just the running out of hay but the water - they can and will colic without enough water. So, you are making an insulated tub of water that is insulated with decomposing hay and crap. Does that make sense? I know it sounds crazy but I've seen it work for the last 4 winters at the boarding barn that I board at. It kept the water unfrozen down to the the mid twenties.

2. Hay - If they are eating that much hay - then SMHN will slow them down some - but not down slow enough to keep 16 lbs of hay for them for two to three days. They will eat slower - but they can and will empty any SMHN with 16lbs of hay within 24 hours. IF you get the holes small enough to last for two days - then they won't be able to get the hay out at all. It is next to impossible to find a hole size small enough to keep hay in front of them for 24 hours but still be big enough for them to get the hay out. Essentially - what you end up with - is a huge SMHN with way too much hay that will slow them down - but they will still be getting more hay than you probably want them to have.

 

[disneyhorse]

I would pay board somewhere, since its just two little horses. Haul them over somewhere that can take proper care of their feed and water.

 

[paintponylvr]

Well,if it's any consolation - I just live "down the road" and can fit in going to check on your babies as well. I regularly (right now - subject to change as job hunting sooner than expected) go up to the TSC in Fuquay-Varina, one of our daughters is going to school, working and living in Apex, and my hubby drives thru FQ-V to get to work in Cary - 5 days/week. Depending on where "in the country" your minis actually are (well, yours and the other guys'), they are between 20 & 40 miles away - I'd be willing to bet closer to 20 miles...

Depending on where you have them, there may be other folk in your area that can check on them for you - at a reasonable fee (I know that's hard to find here!!). Have you checked w/ your vet's office to see if anyone like that exists in your area? Where do you currently purchase your feed and hay?

It sounds like your basic situation with neighbors also keeping an eye on them - works.

As to the hay - I'd try what MiniMor stated. IN FACT - I'd love to know where these nets can be found (that can go around the round bales - I've searched the net and not found them - but I often have trouble finding some things, LOL)... I'd be willing to try them myself in each of my pastures to reduce waste. Currently having a lot - even with round, cattle rings around the bales. Of course some of where I have the waste is in the pastures with larger horses/ponies that I don't use the hay rings with.

Also, I find that during the winter here in NC (especially when it gets cold/icy) - that our ponies (some of which are the same size as yours) eat more hay since there's little to no grass growth. Each time it warms up and the grass sprouts thruout the winter, they eat less hay. What size round bale did you put out for your two? It also seems that bales are getting smaller and smaller around here - none are the same size in my truck or trailer as they were 2 years ago and prices have gone up. I've not officially weighed any that I've purchased and ? the weights I've been told by at least one of the suppliers ive gotten hay from...

The two ponies (38 and 40 at the withers) I currently have in a small paddock together - have a round bale last a little longer than a month right now (will change when it gets cold).

 

[maggiemae]

Also - SMHN have strings that can be dangerous for a horse left alone for a couple of days. If you are going to use SMHN you really need someone there that can check on them a couple of times thru the day.

Please google paradise paddock small mesh hay net comparison chart. It will bring most of the available SMHN and rates the difficulty level. I would introduce them now to slowed feeding because it takes time for them to adjust without tearing holes in the net from frustration. I'd give them loose hay in addition to the nets for several days and gradually decrease the amount of loose hay and increase the amount of hay in the net, then gradually decrease the hole size in the SMHN, but what I have found is that in dialing down the hole size- they reached a point of tearing up the nets from not being able to get any hay out before I could cut them down to the actual amount of hay they should have been getting in 24 hours. Mine get more hay than they really should but they do have hay in front of them 24/7. But, the barn owner puts out a very difficult SMHN in the AM and I put out a very difficult one in the evening and still they eat too much and run out each time.

 

[maggiemae]

Google Freedom Feeder Hay net, Google, Cinch Chix hay net also, the Hay Pillow.

 

[maggiemae]

Google Freedom Feeder Hay net, and Cinch Chix hay net.

Sorry double post.

 

[paintponylvr]

Thanx!! I'd never seen these before and I'd seen others that were somewhat similar.

The Chinch Chix will work and I will order 2 later today. If they work like I hope, then will order up to 4 more (one for each paddock and pasture). Need to go check on some of mine again now before I go to the PO and Dr.

How have you found that they've held up? Do they tear it? I know that our round hay bales are "wrapped" in plastic mesh - and the ponies can tear it up quickly and get into trouble when the mesh is left on the bales (like I did with the hay string). Even in the bale holders, if you remove the mesh completely - what a mess and even more waste! Personally, I think that's why I'm having so much more waste this year. In the past, I've left the string on the bales - no real problems and if the string came off or paritally off the bales, I'd pick it up, wind it and tuck it under the string on the rest of the bale. That worked. It doesn't with the plastic mesh...

 

[paintponylvr]

jyuukai - I've sent you a PM. When you get the chance, I'd love to speak with you via phone and maybe get together when you have a chance. You are SO CLOSE by!! I really enjoy meeting other small equine owners!

 

[Minimor]

Paula--I have used the mesh wrapped bales too, and I do leave the mesh on. Initially the horses didn't know what to SK with it and I was afraid they would eat it. Once they learned about it, no problem, they would tear it open and push it aside. I went around 2x a day and cut off all the loose/trailing parts and that worked very well for me.

 

[jyuukai]

Alright guys. I really, seriously, promise that I am NOT a newbie horse owner! My wife and I have had horses since we were little. I understand that they need to be checked on. I am NOT throwing my horses out in to a forest to fend against wolves!

The kind of nets that i'm thinking of are similar to the ones that go on round bales. Something that could fit, say, a half a square bale or a full square bale and have holes too small for little feet to get caught in. I want to have enough in there to last them both 2 days max, as I would not leave them for over 48 hours without knowing that somebody was personally going to go check on them.

if I estimate them both to be about 300lbs that's 600lbs of flesh to feed per day. At the rate of 2.2lbs of hay per 100 lbs body weight thats 13.2lbs. My estimate would be to be able to leave them 20lbs of hay minimum that they would NOT eat all in one night! Hence the idea that maybe one of these slow-feeding nets would help.

I have never used a slow-feeding net. In fact, it's been years since i used any sort of hay net! So I wanted to reach out to MINI owners who have used them to help me get an idea of how long that would last them.

As for catching hooves the net I am looking at has squares that are 1.5". I have drawn this out and there is no way for my horse or the other horse to get their foot caught in it, even if I were to stretch it. I have also heard that the net will shrink with hot water and a hot drying which I plan to do to further maximize the safety.

As for the size of round bale they went through it was a pretty standard ~600lb bale. With two minis on it that meant that each mini was eating around 20lbs(!!!!) of hay a day, which is excessive even for a full sized horse. I could buy a net for a round bale for sure, but I would then have to build another shelter for the round bale to keep it out of the weather. Would it not be easier, then, to put out a half a bale or a full square bale instead in the shelter they already have? What about if I anchor it down in to a much bucket as well to keep it even drier/cleaner?

ETA that I calculated wrong. It would be 10lbs per day per horse or so that I would want to leave so like 20lbs per bag (wanting to use 2 bags to keep them from chasing each other off)

 

[chandab]

While not a slow feeder, what about a square bale feeder like this? http://www.squarebalehayfeeder.com/ I don't know if something like this could be safely modified to slow down feeding, or not.

Here's slow feeder box: http://www.grazingbox.com/howitworks.htm

Another variation: http://www.slowdownhayfeeder.com/content/view/12/26/

Another: http://thenaturalfeeder.com/

This one looks interesting: http://www.healthyhorsefeeders.com/

I know nothing about any of these feeders, just did a google search on square bale feeders and slow hay feeders for horses.

 

[mydaddysjag]

I do use slow feeders, have for over a year. While they DO slow my horses down, my horses will eat an entire net until its gone, no matter how much you put in it they dont go and just graze on it. Im sure that my horses would eat it all the first day, then be hungry the next. 600lbs isnt the size of an average round bale, that a "mini bale" so Im not suprised they went through it so quick. The average round bale is around 1000-1200lbs. When horses first go on round bales, they do eat them like crazy, but by the third round bale they realize that its always going to be available, so slow down on it.

Also, 20lbs a day isnt excess for a big horse, thats the minimum amount suggested. The minimum reccomended amount of hay for a horse is 2% of their body weight. The average big horse is around 1000lbs 2% of 1000 is 20lbs, so 20lbs is the least you should feed, defiantly not excess.

 

[happy appy]

I only feed with slow feeders for big and small horses. If i put the days worth of hay out it would be gone in the mornings. I have tested this out repeatly. The slow feeders only slow down the eating. What would take 10 minutes to finish now takes 2 hours instead, just guessing here as I have never timed them eating. The days when I put the full days hay out for them at 8am they were done by noon. I always had to give extra hay for the night feed so now I just break it up into 2 feedings.

 

[Minimor]

I personally wouldn't worry about 2 horses that size eating a 600 lb round bale in 2 weeks--not unless those two horses are becoming obese on that amount.

I have 10 horses in one group--a 1200 lb round bale lasts them 7 days. So--a 600 lb bale would last my 10 horses for 4 days. If I had only 2 of those horses on that 600 lb bale I would get 14 days out of that bale--which is pretty much what you were getting. My horses are not fat on that amount.

I don't go by weight percentages, I go by the amount of hay the horse needs to be comfortable and to maintain weight.