I love to buy stuff for my horses AND I love to support small businesses. My newest Equinet purchase fits both of these so I am happy as can be. Bre and Romeo are out all day but they have pretty much zero grass so the BO throws them plenty of local hay. She feeds them in the arena which has turned into a swamp were we feed. Anyone who lives in the Pac NWst knows the only way to avoid mud is to keep your horse in a stall 24/7. Even if you have a big pasture high traffic areas turn to soup. My mare also wolfs hay down faster than any horse alive then ends up irritable and hungry. Enter Equinets.....
Equinets are slow feed hay bags handmade by a woman in Washington. I first heard about this product when they were donated to a Pony Up Rescue fundraiser. Pretty soon everyone was raving about them. I checked out the website and they seemed pretty snazzy. She hand makes them in a variety if sizes (mini size, one feeding size, full bale size, you name it she can do it). They are super easy to fill (most hay nets make me homicidal by the end of the filling process), and they are very safe. She was inspired to make them after her horse was injured by a normal hay net. They support healthy digestion because it takes all day just to finish a few flakes of hay. They also keep that easily bored horse busy. Not to mention the time saving factor. You can give a full days worth of hay in one feeding.
Another plus is the fact that they don't seem to fight when they are eating from these nets. Romeo always wants to eat off the same pile as Bre (Even if there are five piles) and she gets really pissed off about it in the winter.
Our horses just love them. Yesterday I put a few flakes of hay in their corner feeders and let them in to eat while I was dinking around. In my dinkage I hung a hay net in the aisle because I was planning on a long pre-show grooming session. Both Bre and Romeo left their hay and started trying to get at the Equinet.
Here is a pic of Romeo munching hay during beauty parlor time. Notice Bre has left her hay pile and is begging to get a chance at the net:
I gave in and let her share in the fun:
Did I mention she donates a portion of the proceeds to rescues? She lists which rescue you will be supporting each month on her website. If you are in the market for a hay net you HAVE to get one. I plan on getting more!! I need some for shows and some for the stalls too.
Please please check out the website and spread the word on this great product!!
We use them too but we made up our own and don't sell them. It does make the herd eat slower and there are less fights etc. My daughter thought of this and put it up on her blog. Check it out if you're interested: http://glenshee.blogspot.com/2011/01/hay-net-helpers.html
ReplyDeleteI loved her blog post!! You should tell her to take a look at the equinet site, she might get some ideas. She makes them from recycled fish nets. The top closes with a stiff rope so they stay open for filling. They hang with a carabiner to make things extra easy.
DeleteI have purchased this net before when I was working out feeding issues for my princess and her breathing problems... I had bought it due to the ease in filling and the smaller holes. I wanted to try soaking Josey's hay (definite no go! she hated it wet) and keeping it off the ground. It was easier to fill than other hay nets and the material was less plasticy and softer than other nets. It held up pretty well too. It did not seem to slow her consumption time down though... she is skilled at vacuuming up food I guess. I ended up moving to an EZ feeder for her though as it was even easier to fill and I didn't wear as much hay when feeding her while she was in self care.
ReplyDeleteIf you still have it I want to steal it from you. You probably gave it away though to someone who didn't deserve it.
DeleteNice! I love to support local businesses as much as I can, too!
ReplyDeleteShy used to get so mad at her hay net. When I first got it, she actually refused to eat from it. Now, being in a herd situation, I don't fill it for her, but strangely enough, they all eat slow.
I just came across your blog post about Shy going on a food strike. That was so funny. Bre will attempt to eat out of anything. I can't imagine her protesting food. She is such a pig.
DeleteI'm definitely going to be getting some slow feed hay nets! It works great for the paddock paradise track system I'm going to be putting up. :D
ReplyDeleteIF you don't already have a fav brand you should check these out. I really llike them. And she will make them inpretty much any size or shap you can think of.
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