Re: hay feeders

["owens" <owensall@sierranet.net>]

Barbara's idea of the horse feeding box is good, and I have one, BUT they
are not always good as feeders in a pasture situation.  Several years ago my
mare, feeling nasty, kicked at a gelding that was eating, and he moved..but
she got the box.  Her hind foot got wedged IN BETWEEN the upper and lower
side boards, causing a compression injury to her pastern.  She has nerve
damage there, and some proud flesh that simply will not heal completely.
She is still sensitive to the touch there.  The vets have shaken their heads
when asked if there is anything else to be done.  I moved the feeder to a
paddock, so a lone horse can eat out of it.
The only other problem I had with it was, tho heavy enough that I couldn't
lift it and could only move it around by balancing it on my thighs and
pulling it around,. I did  have one gelding that LOVED to toss the thing
around as if it was a cardboard box.  He was the only one that did that,
heckuva strong topline on that horse.
Katee
-----Original Message-----
From: BMcCrary27@aol.com <BMcCrary27@aol.com>
To: pam-john@ma.ultranet.com <pam-john@ma.ultranet.com>
Cc: ridecamp@endurance.net <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Date: Sunday, January 23, 2000 11:54 AM
Subject: RC: hay feeders


>In a message dated 01/23/2000 5:20:44 AM Pacific Standard Time,
>pam-john@ma.ultranet.com writes:
>
><< But I have discovered that my horse eats much better when I
> can put his hay on the ground rather than in a hay net hung in his stall.
> My question to ridecampers is this: what types of hay feeders are
available
> and which are worth using? Do any of you use a feeder? I have seen those
> round, metal feeders used for cattle but can't find a source for them. Any
> suggestions or information would be much appreciated!
>  >>
>
>My husband builds a wooden box, much like an apple box you see in the
>orchards.  It's about 3' wide by 4' long, has 4 X 4s or 4 X 6s under it,
like
>skids or runners.  These elevate the box off the ground so the bottom does
>not rot.  The floor is solid, but it has to have holes drilled into it to
>allow water runout. (Obviously these are not in a stall).  They have two 2
X
>6s or 2 X 8s for walls on the bottom portion, then a space of about 8",
then
>a top rail of a 2 X 6, which I have capped with light weight angle iron
like
>flashing (to keep the equine beavers from chewing on it).  The corners are
>reinforced with 2 X 6s as uprights on the outside and also one midway along
>each long side of the box.  These boxes are very heavy and keep the hay off
>the ground.  There is virtually no waste, since the horses can't easily
fling
>the hay out (they're about 3' deep).  As far as horses preferring to eat
off
>the ground, that's their natural way of eating.  Ours much prefer eating
with
>their heads down rather than horizontal.  The reason my dimensions are so
>unsure at this moment is that it is raining cats and dogs and I don't fancy
>going out into the rain to measure.  If you need more explicit dimensions,
>ask me sometime when it isn't raining!!  As for the livestock feeders,
there
>are several livestock supply companies that have catalogs, or (don't know
>where you live) go to your nearest feed store or livstock supply company
and
>ask.  Nasco has a big thick catalog that has just about anything
utilitarian
>you could want for cattle and horses.  Their phone # is 1-800-558-9595 and
>they have branches in Fort Atkinson, WI and Modesto, CA.  Also, their
website
>is http://www.nascofa.com.
>Hope this helps.
>
>Barbara
>
>
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