At 10:09:11 on 14.09.11, jo b wrote:
has any one used hay hutchs b4? their ment 2 stop hay being wasted out in the field(trampled, blown away, messed on ect) they seem like a good idea and i'd like to try them but their not cheap so it would be nice to hear from people that use them so i know if their worth forking out for! i'm also a bit worried at the way some horses twist their heads/necks when eating from one, wondering what the back man/osteopath ect would think of them? they have a website and theres a clip of them being used on youtube. www.hay-hutch.co.uk. any thoughts most welcome!

At 12:20:32 on 14.09.11, Flicka wrote:
The hay hutch was recommended to me by one of my friends so we got one for our horses and are really pleased with it. I don't think it matters if a horse twists his neck a bit, as long as it isn't held in the same position all the time. I think it's much better for them than tugging hay from a net which is tied up in a less natural eating position and can exacerbate neck and back and teeth problems. Eating from the ground or near to it is much better for them.

At 23:03:10 on 14.09.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
we aren't allowed hay in our turnout fields because the herd is so big and is mixed mares and geldings fights would break out :( its really annoying cos in the winter they go out and play for about an hour then stand wanting to come in at the gate cos there is no food lol

At 06:43:53 on 15.09.11, Rahara wrote:
First time I've seen one of these, we were thinking of getting a 2nd hand silage feeder that's used for cows, but this looks better as it keeps the hay dry, I showed the video to Rob and he now thinks he can make one out of the big plastic drums we buy for jumps they have a big screw lid, the holes would have to be made and filed off so there's no rough edges, but we have to figure out how to fix them to the ground, we buy them for 10 euro's and also keep the feed in them they take 3 bags of feed so there quite large and tough wearing. I'll let you know how it works out.

At 08:28:59 on 15.09.11, Flicka wrote:
We have a small herd of 6 of mixed mares and geldings and we don't get any problems which I thought we might. Will be interested to hear about and see photos of your home made version Rahara when it's up and running :)

At 22:03:26 on 15.09.11, JessAndGrenville123 wrote:
Yeah alot of horses and they are... characters lol we have a herd of 23 mixed hehe its erm... large and thats not all the horses cos some go in paddocks which are flat because of health problems, compete lots, don't catch etc. So im pretty sure fights would be common if we put hay out with them, they would be off on one :P

At 22:59:27 on 15.09.11, ToriSilverson wrote:
anytime we give hay to the horses in the fields we just throw bunches of hay over the fence, space it out and always have an extra pile (if there are 6 horses there will be 7 piles) so no serious fights break out

At 11:32:36 on 21.09.11, Part Arab wrote:
But 23 horses? On how much land? Wow that really IS a herd lol. I bet Grenville loves it :)