I just switched Rowan onto this after my new batch of hay (same supplier, same type, new year's crop I guess) caused him to develop a cresty neck in a matter of a few days. It's a struggle to eliminate all the grass from his area without making it tiny but I did reduce the size of his paddock earlier this year and that got rid of most of the grass, he still gets some along the fencelines that I can't do anything about.
Currently I'm experimenting with slow feeding methods for the chopped forage - he normally eats hay out of 3/4" hole Hayburners (woven) nets and those do not slow him down in the least with the chopped hay. I tried doubling them but then he couldn't get any out at all! So far the best hanging net setup I have found is two 1" hole Haychix knotted nets, that slows him down to almost a reasonable amount for a pony his size to consume each day but the knots wear his nose off so I don't want to use those long-term. I have ordered muck bucket topper nets from Hayburners in the 3/4" size; supposedly they can't get the hay out as easily when there is no gravity pushing it against the net so I am hoping the 3/4" will slow him down enough in the tubs, if not, then I'll add a second topper in a larger hole size. The tubs have the added effect with chopped hay of the horse not getting "bonus rain" every time they take a bite - when the net is hanging, a little falls out every time they touch the net and so overall it just comes out a lot faster.
This product is expensive, however, it does have all the supplementation they need contained in it - minerals, vitamins, etc. so the only other thing you have to feed is salt. It will work out to be a bit more expensive for me but not too bad once I subtract supplement costs and what I pay the barn to feed him the supplements. There is zero waste and the sugar is guaranteed to be extremely low. Hopefully the remaining additional cost will be made up for in peace of mind and better feet! He has not been frankly laminitic but does get white line disease every summer that I feel is due to his sugar intake.
Currently I'm experimenting with slow feeding methods for the chopped forage - he normally eats hay out of 3/4" hole Hayburners (woven) nets and those do not slow him down in the least with the chopped hay. I tried doubling them but then he couldn't get any out at all! So far the best hanging net setup I have found is two 1" hole Haychix knotted nets, that slows him down to almost a reasonable amount for a pony his size to consume each day but the knots wear his nose off so I don't want to use those long-term. I have ordered muck bucket topper nets from Hayburners in the 3/4" size; supposedly they can't get the hay out as easily when there is no gravity pushing it against the net so I am hoping the 3/4" will slow him down enough in the tubs, if not, then I'll add a second topper in a larger hole size. The tubs have the added effect with chopped hay of the horse not getting "bonus rain" every time they take a bite - when the net is hanging, a little falls out every time they touch the net and so overall it just comes out a lot faster.
This product is expensive, however, it does have all the supplementation they need contained in it - minerals, vitamins, etc. so the only other thing you have to feed is salt. It will work out to be a bit more expensive for me but not too bad once I subtract supplement costs and what I pay the barn to feed him the supplements. There is zero waste and the sugar is guaranteed to be extremely low. Hopefully the remaining additional cost will be made up for in peace of mind and better feet! He has not been frankly laminitic but does get white line disease every summer that I feel is due to his sugar intake.
