automatic hay dispensers

[stigofthedump]

Hi. Has anyone worked out a way to allow ponies/horses to be given hay automatically so that a person doesn't have to be there to just give hay e.g late evening or when the owner is at work? I have a lengthy journey to my ponies' field. I do have helpers who are willing to visit my ponies during the day but not late at night! I have been thinking about an idea which uses weights attached to the lid of a container. Hay would be put into the container & a weight is attached to the lid. A bag of sand would be attached to his weight. Both would be draped over a fence behind the hay container. The sand bag would have a small hole in it so that the sand comes out of the bag at a specified rate e.g. a 3 kg bag of sand might lose sand at the rate of half a kilo per hour so taking 6 hours to empty. The reduction in the weight of the sand bag would eventually allow the weight to drop thus opening the lid of the hay container. I have found examples of automatic gate openers but these seem to be really expensive & complicated to install. I think I need to get in touch with an amateur inventor LOL.

 

[carthorse]

That sounds like hard work! I'm also a bit wary of having sand anywhere near where horses are fed as if it's windy it could blow onto the feed and over a period of time risk sand colic. Would it not work to just put their last net in as late as possible and make it a tiny holed one?

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Having had a pony who spent a lot of time on box rest I have often wondered about this, searched on the Internet for such a device , and puzzled with my (very practical and creative) OH to see what we could rig up. We never succeeded - even little horses are so big and strong they can destroy most devices even when they're not trying

 

[Jessey]

There's a few commercially available in the US but all too expensive for me, I mused on it and came up with a design similar to what you described but using water instead of sand to trickle out, but I never got around to making a final prototype (it's on my winter project list)

 

[stigofthedump]

That sounds like hard work! I'm also a bit wary of having sand anywhere near where horses are fed as if it's windy it could blow onto the feed and over a period of time risk sand colic. Would it not work to just put their last net in as late as possible and make it a tiny holed one?

Hi. That's a good point about the disadvantages of sand near hay. Maybe one solution is to allow the sand to empty into a high sided tub although the winds round here (South Yorkshire) would still manage to spread it about! I have searched for very small holed haynets but couldn't find any so i bought some small holed mesh from eBay & made a couple of my own. My bigger (greedy) pony still succeeds in eating the hay at warp speed. In the winter I put hay out twice a day, around 8/9am then again around 4pm. Each batch of hay disappears in about 40mins. My ponies live out 24/7 so they can graze what little grass is available during the winter months. I would like to split their hay ration into 3 feeds - morning, afternoon & late evening - so that the night-time period without access to hay is kept as short as possible. To do that I might need to drive 12 miles return trip three times a day except on the couple of days when my helper visits. Not very practical or sensible! I think my ponies are just going to have to stick with hay twice a day unless they can learn to eat more slowly

 

[stigofthedump]

There's a few commercially available in the US but all too expensive for me, I mused on it and came up with a design similar to what you described but using water instead of sand to trickle out, but I never got around to making a final prototype (it's on my winter project list)

Hi. So someone else has had the same idea that I have had. Yes I originally thought of using water but water freezes & wouldn't therefore trickle out over a few hours during a very cold winter night. so I gave up on that idea.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

I just had a thought. You can buy gadgets which open doors for chicken hutches. The light sensitive ones are not cheap but here's one on a timer for £75 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chuxaway...510787?hash=item4697eb9a43:g:fYgAAMXQlgtS7i6u. If you could rig up something with a large lightweight door which when opened allowed the hay to drop out (or a horse to reach in), this timer would work for you. One would mean you could open the hay hatch at, say, 11 pm if you were worried about them being hungry overnight, which I absolutely understand!

ETA there's also a heavy duty device which can lift 5kg, but it's £150 on eBay.

 

[stigofthedump]

I just had a thought. You can buy gadgets which open doors for chicken hutches. The light sensitive ones are not cheap but here's one on a timer for £75 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chuxaway...510787?hash=item4697eb9a43:g:fYgAAMXQlgtS7i6u. If you could rig up something with a large lightweight door which when opened allowed the hay to drop out (or a horse to reach in), this timer would work for you. One would mean you could open the hay hatch at, say, 11 pm if you were worried about them being hungry overnight, which I absolutely understand!

ETA there's also a heavy duty device which can lift 5kg, but it's £150 on eBay.

thanks for the tip. I did look at these devices & am still considering them. My main worry is that it wouldn't be long before opportunist thieves (often travellers on the prowl) realise there is a useful bit of tech in my field that is relatively easy to steal & I end up several pounds poorer. I am hoping to find a lower cost /less nickable option so will keep researching.

 

[carthorse]

@stigofthedump have you looked at the 1" softmesh nets on the Barnstormers site? Slow my greedy welsh cob down in a way nothing else has (he sometimes has a tiny bit left in the morning!) and he's yet to chew a hole in them which is most unusual.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

thanks for the tip. I did look at these devices & am still considering them. My main worry is that it wouldn't be long before opportunist thieves (often travellers on the prowl) realise there is a useful bit of tech in my field that is relatively easy to steal & I end up several pounds poorer. I am hoping to find a lower cost /less nickable option so will keep researching.

Very good point, some scrotes will have anything away

 

[Jessey]

A 2nd for the 1" softmesh nets, slows my mob down.
I was going to put salt or antifreeze in the water but sand would be easy and no more risk for me as I don't have mains water and our soil is sand. I did debate buying one of those auto flip top cat dishes and rigging it on a post to trap a bit of bungee cord in so it would ping back to open an area at a set time, wasn't sure how sturdy they are tho and haven't been to a pets at home to look yet

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

A 2nd for the 1" softmesh nets, slows my mob down.
I was going to put salt or antifreeze in the water but sand would be easy and no more risk for me as I don't have mains water and our soil is sand. I did debate buying one of those auto flip top cat dishes and rigging it on a post to trap a bit of bungee cord in so it would ping back to open an area at a set time, wasn't sure how sturdy they are tho and haven't been to a pets at home to look yet

Not sturdy at all.

Estimated lifespan with Hank and Dan = 45 seconds approx

 

[Jessey]

Not sturdy at all.

Estimated lifespan with Hank and Dan = 45 seconds approx

Yeah it would def need to be out of their reach. Why don't they make giant ones of those for horses?

 

[Mossy]

My gang have ad-lib hay, in a big bale net and round feeder in the field, and in big blue bins in the stable. It took a little while but they do learn to self regulate their consumption.

 

[Jessey]

My gang have ad-lib hay, in a big bale net and round feeder in the field, and in big blue bins in the stable. It took a little while but they do learn to self regulate their consumption.

Mine self regulate eventually but at too high of a rate to stay slim They normally settle at about 2.25% of body weight but they are all exceptional doers and 1.75% is actually enough for them.

 

[Frances144]

I just think if you are not on site 24/7 watching with 100% at the evil ways of equines who spend their day inventing as many ways to kill themselves as possible, then anything that involved more than a stand alone bucket or container would be a recipe for disaster.

(Even leaving mine with a haynet, one of my ponies managed to nearly saw his own leg off!)

 

[stigofthedump]

@stigofthedump have you looked at the 1" softmesh nets on the Barnstormers site? Slow my greedy welsh cob down in a way nothing else has (he sometimes has a tiny bit left in the morning!) and he's yet to chew a hole in them which is most unusual.

Thanks for the advice. I couldn't respond earlier because my laptop had to "go into hospital" for a week. Just got it back so will now have a look at the Barnstormer site.s site

 

[stigofthedump]

Having had a pony who spent a lot of time on box rest I have often wondered about this, searched on the Internet for such a device , and puzzled with my (very practical and creative) OH to see what we could rig up. We never succeeded - even little horses are so big and strong they can destroy most devices even when they're not trying

Hi. The hay container with a lid that needs lifting will be on the ponies' side of the fence, the lifting gear will be on the other side of the fence. The rope attached to the lid would be across the top of the fence then attached to the lifting mechanism so destruction of the kit wouldn't be a problem. My main worry is that my cheeky ponies will learn how to lift the lid before it is due to automatically open! Perhaps the lid needs to be heavy enough to prevent ponies pushing it open with their heads.

 

[stigofthedump]

My gang have ad-lib hay, in a big bale net and round feeder in the field, and in big blue bins in the stable. It took a little while but they do learn to self regulate their consumption.

My bigger pony (the greedy one) has never heard of self-regulation! Vet keeps telling me to get some weight off him (12.1hh & 280kgs on weigh bridge) so ad-lib hay is off the menu!

 

[Jessey]

Hi. The hay container with a lid that needs lifting will be on the ponies' side of the fence, the lifting gear will be on the other side of the fence. The rope attached to the lid would be across the top of the fence then attached to the lifting mechanism so destruction of the kit wouldn't be a problem. My main worry is that my cheeky ponies will learn how to lift the lid before it is due to automatically open! Perhaps the lid needs to be heavy enough to prevent ponies pushing it open with their heads.

I have an old wheelie bin I converted into a hay feeder, I have to tie the lid down or I come back to it open