Making a Slow Feeder - Need Help

[alabamachick]

I need to make some sort of net to go around a round bale of hay for my horses. My greedy National show horse has impaction coliced on round bales 3 times. So now we are stuck with either paying $9 a bale for square bales that will last me literally ONE DAY, or pulling apart the round bales and hand feeding (which is what we have been doing, MUCH cheaper!!)

So, I need to make something (again, WAY cheaper than buying the same thing) that can be put over the round bales that makes the horses work harder to get the hay. And helps with waste.

Here's an example.

This netting sells for $177. I am VERY tempted just to buy this one, since it would save me having to make it too...but if I CAN make it cheaper I want to go that route.

Where can I BUY that netting?? I've found big nylon fishing nets online, but NONE have a prices, and NONE have a place to buy them at.

Also I was considering using that orange plastic construction safety fencing material you can get at home depot or Lowes. I could bind them together with nylon pieces and slip it over the top of the bale? Whats the likely hood it would hold up to horse teeth??

Any other ideas??

 

[shadowpaints]

if it was me i would worry that one of my 'not so intelligent horses' would get a foot stuck in the netting... my friend uses the fencing that has 5x5 inch squares, wraps it around it.. of course thats for mini horses


i think you could prolly buy the netting at a sportsman ware house ? not sure tho! we dont feed big bales..good luck!

 

[featherfooted]

You can get deep sea netting on eBay. I bought some to cover my duck pens. You can get different size holes. Just search eBay for fish netting or here a link to a store on eBay where I bought some http://stores.ebay.com/FLORIDA-NETS . Make sure you check the gauge of the netting and don't get it too fine.

 

[alabamachick]

With the netting this small, unless the horse had a shoe that could get caught in it, I dont think they could get a foot through the holes. We barefoot trim, so I dont have that to worry about.

I tried Bass Pro Shop, Sportsman Outfitter... Got Nothing...

 

[alabamachick]

Awesome! I never thought of looking on ebay!

 

[TMNTCkins]

Don't use the orange plactic stuff. The plastic is sharp and will cut there gums. My daughter's trainer has done this with all of her feeders I will ask her tomorrow where she got her netting. These work great.

 

[maple]

plus i've seen the orange stuff get brittle after time....I say try the net.

 

[chickenzoo]

Those holes look too little, and if your horses are anything like mine they would just chew through them after a time. i would worry about them getting caught up in it some how, like around there nose etc.... You may want to make a hay manger... We made ours permanent, but I've seen them on skids. Decide the neck reach of your horses, and the average chest height. Use these measurements to make a tall box out of wood etc.. with a roof, that is big enough for the hay roll in the center, with just enough reach for the horses to grab about a ft all the way around the roll. Make a chest wall on 3 sides of the box out of sturdy posts & beams, leave the one side removable to roll in hay. Then rake off what you want them to have... I have also just used corral panels around the hay, and raked off what they needed for the day. i have found hay rings useless.