# Hay Bars - Thoughts please!



## luckyhorseshoe (20 November 2011)

Hi all

As title really interested in whether you rate them or not? 

My mare is stabled over night in the winter and physio doesn't want me to feed from a  haynet.

She is happy to eat off floor but it does annoy me how she flings it all around her stable, and so poo's on some of it and obviously won't eat then eat it. With the price of hay as it is, this is a bit frustrating and also wastes time as  i try to separate it from her bedding -So i thought a Haybar would be a better option.

But part of me wonders whether she would just pull it out of one of there anyway. And as they are quite pricy not money i want to waste if they aren't worth it.

So come on HHO what are your thoughts?

McCoys crisps and coffee for those who read and give an opinion!

Thanks in advance!


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## dbendell (20 November 2011)

I bought mine last year and they are amazing!! They make life much easier and I would not be without one now.

With regards to horses pulling hay out of them onto the floor, mine don't seem to but every horse is different I suppose.


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## luckyhorseshoe (20 November 2011)

dbendell - are they quite robust?? Just had a thought incase little mare, decides to scatch her bum on it?

Just realised that i am making her out to be the devil horse - she's not, she's just into everything and 5!


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## ginger76 (20 November 2011)

love mine! so much easier and a more natural feeding position for them, my last horse didnt chuck any out  but my pony does!  he roots through for the bits he likes and pushes the other stuff out, he does hoover it all up by the morning though!
mines screwed to the wall with 2 screws on each side, i have had to tighten the top screw up a couple of times due to bum scratching!  i just check them reguarly,


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## Doris68 (20 November 2011)

Brilliant - wouldn't be without it!
My mare is inclined to rub her bum but the Hay Bar is well secured to the wall and have experienced no problems whatsoever.


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## Paint Me Proud (20 November 2011)

I have on too, and Chico is another horse who doesnt pull the hay out. He will happily stand and munch right to the very bottom.

However he is a greedy bolt feeder so i put half his hay in the haybar and half in a haynet that i hang just before i leave him for the night. I found he can empty a haybar in 30 minutes, lol!!


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## wizbit (20 November 2011)

The two horses i have used them for i wish i'd saved my money! they still flung the hay out of them and dragged it around the stable  and also bent, chewed and dented them! 
They are big horses mind, so I do think the original Haybar is fairly robust (they didn't actually break), compared to cheaper copies. However i do think they are waaaaaay overpriced! 
I made my WB one out of wood in the corner of his stable, this worked well for him and was free.


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## Sprout (20 November 2011)

I bought some this year and they are worth every penny. I dont like using haynets, and two of mine drag hay into their beds if I feed from the floor, so they now have haybars, and they love them, dont pull any hay out, and easy for me too.


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## hrhmika (20 November 2011)

They are fab, all of mine have them!

One tends to pull his hay out so I put a haynet ring low in the hay bar and just put his in a haynet, so it is still at the same angle but it stays in the haybar and just stops him pulling out huge sections of haylage. He is uber destructive (i dont mind saying it he is devil horse!!) and that has stopped his wicked plans,  nor has he pulled the bar of the wall or anything, very robust.

With regards to price, they are expensive, I just bought one second hand for a fraction of the price and they do come up quite frequently, try ebay or preloved where i got mine

the one i just bought is the original one which is not rolled at the top so we glued some piping into the lip so they cant get anything caught on the top

the ones i bought new are more robust but i have seen those on preloved as well! for the £30 mark? they are built from thicker plastic and the top is rolled so no sharp edges, mind you with a bit of tubing the one I bought is fab and works brilliantly.


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## ChesnutsRoasting (20 November 2011)

I got one for my horse, really improved her topline. Don't overfill though unless you have a greedy guts, mine used to pull loads out when I overfilled.


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## luckyhorseshoe (20 November 2011)

Thanks for all comments and as suggested will look on eBay!


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## ILuvCowparsely (20 November 2011)

i have one m in my stable,  but are the moment my mare is eating out of one of these as she has  to have easy access to her hay 
3 rd picture  plasterers bath 

http://equinecare-and-control.weebly.com/useful-ideas.html


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## Ali2 (20 November 2011)

My share horse has a haybar.  I got an eezyhay (sp?) for my lad instead cos it was cheaper, came with wall fixings and the customer service was better IMO.  It is quite a bit smaller than the haybar but my big fella manages with it fine 

Mine tend not to pull the hay out.  In the summer, when they are rationed for hay, they have it double netted and tied down low in the haybar/eezyhay so they're eating from a better position but are slowed down. 

If you do get one make sure you mount it slightly off the floor.  My share lads is flush with the floor and it's a pain to clean out.  Mine is mounted about four inches off the floor so I can get a brush under it to clean it out.


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## saffytessa (21 November 2011)

My two are both really tidy with theirs. My three yr old hasn't done herself or the hay bar any damage yet and she has been using it every night since april. 

My older mare however has sat 600kg on it and rubbed her bum. It has stayed attatched to the wall and dented in a bit at the top. It means it doen't hold quite as much but that is a good thing for fatty's diet. She now has an astroturf door mat attatched to the wall to rub on and she hasn't squashed her hay bar since it went up


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## beccacromar16 (21 November 2011)

Somebody on my yard made there own that works just as well and cost 1/3rd of the price!

She bought rubber front door mats that have the circular holes in them, cable tied them together and trimmed/filed down the edges, got 2 pieces of wood and put these over the edges of the rubber mats and drilled the wood and mats onto  the corner of her stable. She puts a water bucket under neath the bottom of the "hay bar" to prevent her stable getting messy and because it is made of rubber she can push it inwards towards the wall when mucking out or not in use!

*Done in under £20! <3*


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## welshiewhiskers (21 November 2011)

Ive just had my new stables fitted with them, my horses seem to quite like using them and they are really quick and easy to fill.


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## Abbeygale (21 November 2011)

I had 2 - one is still up in the stable with the pony.  The 2nd I gave up on, after my mare sat on it several times and just pulled it straight off the wall.  The problem then was that the washer behind the screw that held it on the wall pulled straight through the plastic leaving a much larger hole.  So we made a new large square washer to go behind the screw - mare did the same again. 

The one with the pony is now being used as a very nice, but very expensive rug rack.  She didn't used to pull the hay out of it, but being a bit of a fussy eater, as soon as there was a bit of hay in there she wouldn't eat, she would leave the whole lot.   So I've gone back to haynets, where if theres some hay she doesn't like it is much easier to take it out.  

Oh and cleaning them out is fun - me swinging over the edge to get down to the bottom, with my ass sticking up in the air!


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## Miss L Toe (21 November 2011)

Flo_Bell said:



			Oh and cleaning them out is fun - me swinging over the edge to get down to the bottom, with my ass sticking up in the air! 

Click to expand...

To me this is the main drawback as it gets dirty and mouldy down at the base, but I like my horse to put his head down, so whenever I can I  feed wee piles of haylage on the floor in addition to his two official haynets.


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## Goldenstar (21 November 2011)

I think mine are great. One of our horses does rub on his and it's not broken. One nutter jumped in his several times and pulled it off the wall but it never broke ( I just screwed it back on ). Some horses do pull their hay out of them but make less mess than feeding on the floor ,it's a good way to avoid hay nets the most annoying thing is the way the seeds etc collect in the bottom so be sure to fit it with enough gap at the back to get the seeds out. You pull the bulk out the top then bang the hay bar until seeds etc drop out the back.


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## YasandCrystal (21 November 2011)

I use haybars and I have a Stubbs munch station in one stable - that is totally brilliant. I also use wheelie bin feeders I made by cutting a hole in the front of the bins for my hay/haylage and you could use those in your stable. So dual purpose - wheel it out to the paddock in the day? Very cheap to make - you can probably source a bin for £30.
You need to fix them to the wall or a post via some rope so they can't topple over - but mine love them.


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## Abbeygale (21 November 2011)

YasandCrystal said:



			I use haybars and I have a Stubbs munch station in one stable - that is totally brilliant. I also use wheelie bin feeders I made by cutting a hole in the front of the bins for my hay/haylage and you could use those in your stable. So dual purpose - wheel it out to the paddock in the day? Very cheap to make - you can probably source a bin for £30.
You need to fix them to the wall or a post via some rope so they can't topple over - but mine love them.






Click to expand...

I like that!  I'm not sure I have anything I could fix it to in the stable - but I think I could in the field


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## YasandCrystal (21 November 2011)

Could you not just screw a little eye plate to the wall? That's all I did with the field shelter fixing. I bought duo packs of stainless plates - 1 for the front of the bin to act a rope guide and 1 for the stable or post to fix it too. You need to fix down the lids too obviously. They are very versatile and back saving! Wish they were my idea, but sadly not - just copied!! The little pony below just pees on any hay left on the ground so this is essential for him


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## jokadoka (21 November 2011)

Mine has been a complete waste of money, he still pulls it all out and throws it all over his bed, wish I hadn't bothered...


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## Miss L Toe (21 November 2011)

Flo_Bell said:



			Oh and cleaning them out is fun - me swinging over the edge to get down to the bottom, with my ass sticking up in the air! 

Click to expand...

To me this is the main drawback as it gets dirty and mouldy down at the base, but I like my horse to put his head down, so whenever I can I  feed wee piles of haylage on the floor in addition to his two official haynets.


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## Abbeygale (21 November 2011)

YasandCrystal said:



			Could you not just screw a little eye plate to the wall? That's all I did with the field shelter fixing. I bought duo packs of stainless plates - 1 for the front of the bin to act a rope guide and 1 for the stable or post to fix it too. You need to fix down the lids too obviously. They are very versatile and back saving! Wish they were my idea, but sadly not - just copied!! The little pony below just pees on any hay left on the ground so this is essential for him 

[
		
Click to expand...

I was just saying to mum that would need to fix the lid down.  My mare would so work out a much easier way of getting the way out in 5 mins flat!! lol.  The stable isn't such an issue TBH - I have found now my girly and the pony will just have hay on the floor without making to much mess if I really need to - but I generally avoid this in the winter when they are in the stable for more hours.  But I think i will be looking into this a bit more for out in the field for in a few weeks time


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## Mystified (21 November 2011)

Hi, I don't have the expensive haybar installed in my stables but I have a horse that has to be fed from the ground due to an old back injury.

I just feed mine their hay in the giant size tub trugs.

They are easy to move around, you can wash them out and the horses won't injury themselves as they are pliable.

They work fab and a fraction of the cost.

On occasion I have fed him in a haylage net as well as the tub trug but I hang the net really low so that he is not pulling his head up and developing muscles under the neck rather than developling muscle along the top.


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## luckyhorseshoe (21 November 2011)

Thanks for all the reviews - the wheelie bins look great bit. Not sure i would be able to secure it strongly enough to survive madam!


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## custard (21 November 2011)

I'm not mad on them, mine would be guaranteed to sit on it or something so I got hold of a very large Tub Trug. 

To stop it being moved around I screwed a loop of velcro to the wall, right in the corner of the stable and level with the handle. I then thread it through the handle of the Trug, safe as it can be I guess plus you can just fill it and carry/barrow it to the stable


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## Liostro (22 November 2011)

Got my 3 hay bars a few weeks ago and they are great!!! Wouldn't be without them now, They save alot of time and haylage!!! They are expensive but are very strong and should last years. Plus all my horses seem to take their time grazing from them now as opposed tugging like mad at their haynets til they r empty!!!


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## maybedaisy (24 November 2011)

I have two and they are great. I have installed mine with enough space at the bottom to let me sweep out any manky hay. This is essential as one of mine gets her hay soaked. Neither of them drag it out but my friends horses both do this. Her pony doesn't though.

I think some horses will drag it out and some wont. We have had one trashed by a gelding rubbing on it though.


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## Rockchick (25 November 2011)

I have them for my two cobs and I love them - had them about 2/3 years now and they've not been damaged / broken.

My gelding has been known to empty half his - onto the floor in front of it but he always hoovers up  and then finishes eating the rest thats in the haybar my mare doesnt do this at all though>

Ive fitted mine a few inches off the floor so that i can clean out under them and i clean the inside of them with a thin, long handled sweeping brush

I'd never go back to nets now


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## StarcatcherWilliam (25 November 2011)

My mare used to take all the hay out of hers and spread it all over the floor, so it was rather pointless!  She then managed to pull the tube out of the rim of it and I was worried that she might hurt herself on it, so I sold the HayBar on eBay.  I've gone back to feeding off the floor as don't like using haynets as don't think its very natural.  Oh well, I did try!  

My horse is a cheeky monkey though, so doing this is probably not the norm!


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## Thai (26 November 2011)

our tb just used to pulll his out and it got mixed in with hos bedding. prefer haynets.


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