Shires Two-Tone Deluxe Hay Net Blue/Orange

I finally broke down this year and bought a hay net for the run-in stall to feed my two horses. It was getting depressing watching them trample and waste a large portion of their hay, and not even get the amount of forage that they should have been eating. I have a couple rope, large-hole hay nets that I started with and noticed that made a positive impact on the amount they actually ate versus wasted...but they were still wasting too much. My horses are not fond of hay nets (they only ever had them on trailer rides) so I didn't want to start with a very small hole that both discouraged and slowed them down too much. I found this hay net and LOVE it! My horses happily eat from it and there is virtually NO waste. It fits 4 flakes easily (5 if they're smaller) so I'm only having to fill it 3 times a day, and not worry about them being out of hay for hours at a time. One bag lasts from final check (around 9pm) till I get up and feed before heading to work (5am). It is surprisingly easy to fill on its own, but I make it even easier on myself by stuffing the flakes into a muck tub and simply slipping the net over and flipping it. I just bought another hay net today and will be keeping these in mind for future as well.

I have been using these haynets for years. After 5/6 years I have to start replacing the ones that are finally wearing out. These get used every day and slow the eating rate down so my new horse eats longer than any of her other stall mates. Originally, I got them for my late mare who cribbed in an effort to give her something else to do besides indulging on her "drug" of choice. When the new horse arrived, Cora took to it immediately and actually prefers eating out of this than the loose hay in her feeder. Because they have enough fall out, the horses do drop their heads enough to get proper drainage. Easy to fill if you put them in a large,clean muck bucket and pull up the rope. Works best with grass hay but have used it with Alfafa as well- and our Alfalfa flakes here are DENSE. Never had any problems.