WM75Guy
Elite Member
Less chance of getting hurt as they don't have to reach their head through an opening. If they have their head through it and spook look out. Also it does not pull their mane out.
Round Bale Hay Feeders for Horses
- Thread starter RichZ
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Thanks, Randy. That makes sense. My horses are experts at figuring out ways to get more food, and sometimes they don't consider where they stick their heads. My haflinger cut her face the other day trying to stick her head through a small opening in the barn. It took me a while to figure out how she cut her face, until I found some of her fur stuck in the hole.
Walkin Horse
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A cow feeder will rub their manes off. I used one for awhile until someone gave me some horse feeders. I have seen horses get up in a horse feeder and get tangled up.
You may want to think about building some wooden ones. I built 2 into my fence line and made my corner posts tall where I could put a roof on it. I have them where in bad weather they are easy to get to and someone could even push a bale into it if the tractor or I is sick. I have found 1 bale a month per horse is pretty close to what I feed. I have bought 157 bales since May.
You may want to think about building some wooden ones. I built 2 into my fence line and made my corner posts tall where I could put a roof on it. I have them where in bad weather they are easy to get to and someone could even push a bale into it if the tractor or I is sick. I have found 1 bale a month per horse is pretty close to what I feed. I have bought 157 bales since May.
Ken45101
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We used to use round bales when we had 23 horses. That worked fine in winter when they went through a bale in 3-4 days. But when that tapered off and it rained or snowed, the hay went bad (moldy) pretty quickly (5-6 days.)
With the waste involved, I'm not sure that round bales are any more efficient than square bales where I can better control how much is out and they eat it all.
Another alternative would be the big square bales where you can tear off a big flake or two as needed and keep the rest of the bale under cover.
With the waste involved, I'm not sure that round bales are any more efficient than square bales where I can better control how much is out and they eat it all.
Another alternative would be the big square bales where you can tear off a big flake or two as needed and keep the rest of the bale under cover.
I've gone to round bales because I'm now making my own hay, and it's a lot easier and cheaper to make round bales than square bales. I don't need all the help that I needed with small square bales. I can stack them in one of my barns with a loader tractor. So I'm sticking with round bales, at least for this year. But, I guess I'll be buying a few tombstone feeders soon.
