There are two things that all horses love to do: break things, and eat. Consuming feed in massive quantities is surely a great part of the joy of being a horse, but unfortunately some horses have terrible [s]table manners. Whether our cloven friends are dunking their hay, spreading it, urinating on it, spreading it and then urinating on it, or just eating too damned much of it, one of the principal time-sucks when it comes to stable management is simply controlling hay consumption in a responsible way.
Flip through your Smartpak/Dover/Schneiders catalog and you’ll find all sorts of hay-feeding contraptions from nets to wall mounted feeders (often this is where the “breaking things” part of being a horse comes in). Run-of-the-mill slow-feed haynets rarely last more than a couple of weeks in the Outside Rein stables, but more importantly, when left within reach of a horse overnight, these seemingly benign contraptions can become quite dangerous (Horseshoe, meet thin nylon cord. Cord, meet horseshoe.). Wall feeders can present the same problems, and rarely have the slow-feed options that our robust geldings require.
Enter NibbleNet, a company that has come up with a simple solution to your “whoas” (sorry, not sorry). NibbleNet manufactures haybags made of weather- and rip-resistant vinyl combined with a soft yet durable webbing (durable meaning that after five years of daily use in sun, rain and snow, we’ve never had to replace or repair a single one). Small D-rings located strategically around the bag allow it to be hung safely in stalls, on fences, and in trailers. The NibbleNet design allows horses to access limited quantities of hay at a time which prolongates their mealtime experience, thus simulating grazing, aiding in healthy digestion, and alleviating boredom.
At OR, we love to support well-made, innovative products (and small businesses!) that make the stable life easier and more efficient, because only an idiot thinks the horses do all the work.
