Use of Small Mesh Hay Nets?

I have and use a few different systems.

I have and love my BusySnackers, but although after a few years of use, they do have some fraying, but nothing near as bad as Margo described. Maybe mine are an older model? Horses are kinder? I do not use mine every day, but regularly, (especially several times a day in the spring and summer months). I rarely use them outsides, but will put them out side on the ground sometimes and the horses do like the change of grazing style (especially the young ones). I'd love to have more, but can't afford them at this time.

I am using the "cheap" (and commonly considered dangerous) type too, and although I do not like them 1/2 as much as the BusySnacker, they do their "job". Like Leanna, I give them as a "lunch" for the horses when I bring them in each day. They are hung at the horse's eye level. Horses are fed hay loose on the the ground in the morning (in the field) and in the night (in the stalls), so they do get a fair amount of "grazing" time. The lunch haybags just give my horses something to "play" with and enjoy when they come inside, as well as slowing their feeding times. If I could afford more BusySnackers though, I would use them instead ~ much more convienient and offers a "safer" feeling to me as an owner. That said, I have never had any issues with the "cheaper" ones (knock on wood).

I LOVE some of the slow feeders some here have shared! Thank you to those who posted "new" brands.

I have 4 Busy Snackers brand hay bags.. I use them alternately with putting hay on the ground. I either put their morning hay shares in these bags and the rest of the day on the ground (a mid-day or early afternoon drop and a evening drop) or I do the morning/afternoon drops on the ground and the night share in the bags. This resolves the issue of "natural grazing position" dilemma for me. <BR><BR>I secured them to the stall walls by screwing in a large ring eye-ring screw into the wall (pre-drilling a hole first). Then I used a dual-end clip to hang the bag from. This keeps the bag securely UP and not allowing it to be pulled to the ground where it can be pawed to death. <IMG class=bbc_emoticon alt= src="http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif"> At the heights I've hung them and with the holes being way too small to worry about a hoof getting caught in, I'm comfortable using these bags. Even a foal hoof would be hard pressed to work its way into these holes. <BR><BR>All the horses but the hard keeper quickly figured out how to use them. I have 3 of the 4 hanging now and you can find two to three horses around any given bag. The hard keeper is usually fed separately in the am/pm time when I use the bags and is given her own flake of alfalfa hay. I'm not concern about her and her lack of interest in these bags as result.<BR><BR>I like that it slows them down and keeps them "busy" for a decent amount of time. They don't seem frustrated in any way.

I have one Busy Snacker snack size with 1 1/2 holes and the largest with 2 inch holes. I also have 4 of the cotton Freedom Nets that have one inch spaced holes and tough durable cotton like material. All are indestructible.

I have a lot of the small metal cattle mineral barrels which are something like 24 inches high and my husband drilled a hole on each side and put a large full ring bolt type of thing. That way I can use snaps and attach the nets to the bottom so they can eat slow, no waste, head down position, and most of all they aren't eating in dirt or sand. This has worked perfectly for my little herd.

When the weather is really bad I hang the bags in the shelters and run ins on tie rings, with small narrow mats under neath so my mat peeing mare won't use them. I have saved a lot of hay, they eat clean, and they munch all day. They seem much more content and the nets I use will last forever it seems. The smaller holes work better.

I have used the Busy Snackers with the 1.5" holes for close to 3 years now; each horse gets his own net. I still use my original ones but as I've added horses I've bought more nets. I don't hang them as I prefer to have the horses eat with their heads in a natural grazing position. I use them like "pillows" and don't attach them to the walls or floors (due to safety concerns). My horses move them around on the ground and are clever enough to hold the nets down with their feet. They like to toss them around, too. Yeah, sometimes they get pee or mud on them, but I wash them off regularly as recommended by the manufacturer. I have not had much fraying but some of the webs have come undone at the places where they join. A quick run through the sewing machine fixes those.

With a mini and a pony who are insulin resistant, the slower feeding helps keep their insulin levels from swinging to extremes. All my horses are fed with hay nets (full-size horses, too) and I wouldn't go back to feeding without slow feeders. It's just so much better for the horses.

I've also tried the Nibble Nets but the vinyl back wears much more quickly than the Busy Snackers. I am always on the lookout for alternative slow feeders, but haven't found any yet that are as economical long-term as the small-mesh webbed hay nets. Some of the bins look promising but they are SUPER expensive (like $200+) and with 8 horses, that's just too much.