Going into this fall the hay situation looked bleak. The drought in Texas, and the rising gas prices were both a clue that the price of hay would skyrocket, and at best it would be very difficult to get. Here in Colorado I was able to buy small bales (about 65lbs.) from a local grower for $7 a bale. That was picking it up and loading it myself. I was happy to get it and stock piled as much as a could. Just after Christmas my pile was looking more like a mole hill ,and I knew I needed to secure more hay, and I knew I would pay much more. Small bales are near impossible to find and if you do, you are paying anywhere from $12 to $15 a bale. Solution: Big Bales. Big square bales come in two sizes 850lbs and 1100lbs. I have several friends who had started buying the big bales and their stories of loading and unloading these monsters helped reassure me. Unloading was my biggest concern. One day I watched in amazement as one gal I know arrived at her barn with two 850lb bales straddling her truck bed. With out as much as a warning she started backing up very fast slammed on her brakes and the two bales tumbled off the back and landed perfectly side by side on the pallets at my feet! I knew I would not be doing that as my barn is on a hill and to back my truck into it requires one to be slow and careful. But as the post in my barn are set in concrete I was pretty sure I could rig a pulley to drag the bale off as I pulled forward. I was able to find the largest bales at the local feed store for $174 per bale , not a great price but fare for the cost in our area. This is equivalent to 17 to 20 small bales. Also it is a very nice Timothy hay. I have to admit it is a bit nerve racking to watch as the fellow loads it in the back of my truck with a front loader. No problem driving it home and the unloading worked like a charm! I was able to put 3 of these big boys in the aile way of my barn. The next challenge was to figure out what a flake of this weighed. It flakes off nice but way to heavy to hold the whole thing. I pulled it apart and stepped on the scale, but had to have someone else read it for me as I could not read the scale over the pile in my arms. One flake appears to be anywhere from 40lbs. to 45lbs. I was not looking forward to tackling this unruly stuff everyday! I decided I would try the hockey net. I have seen info on using nets to hold hay and get horses to slow down their eating. So off to the local hockey store, you can also order them on-line. A 72inch heavy duty net cost me $26. I wove the tie strings that came with the net to tie together the sides and made a big bag. Ran a rope around the top as a draw string and filled it with one whole flake of hay. First I hung it in the stall and watched . They seemed to be eating it soooo slow. They would take turns going in and out of the stall all day. I was worried because the volume of hay in the bag did not seem to be diminishing ,so the first day I threw a bit of loose hay out to them, and it didn't seem like they where starving. Here is a link to a site that shows several different methods : http://www.naturalhorseworldstore.com /slowfeed-hay-saver-net/ Today I dragged the bag out and tied it to a tree.They seem to like this better as they both eat at the same time now. So far so good, and I think it will be far healthier for them to eat this way. Let me know if you have tried this and how it is working for you. I'll keep you posted.
I took the tail gate off my truck so then bale would fit down in the bed.
Could fit up to 6 bale in my barn .
I like that I can look out my window and see them eating.
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