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  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
    
Location: Riding Crackhead. | uno-dos-tres! - 2013-11-26 10:45 PM CYA Ranch - 2013-11-26 7:43 PM sonyawalz - 2013-11-26 1:07 PM our round bale feeder is like a "cradle" and the bale is held up about 3 feet off the ground. so i took our slow feed round bale nets and draped one over the top and tied it to the 4 corners. now we just take a round bale and set it right in the feeder and the net is already in place! we dont' even have to "bag" them anymore!
Your hay feeders sound like mine. I really like them.
I use mine on everything from weanlings to the old guys all shapes and sizes. Never had a problem and no one rubs their manes off. If you go to www.macksteel.com and click on the products, that will show you the single and the double bale feeders. The technical page will give your hubby hints on the sizes of tubing he'll need to use.  |
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More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | rockinas - 2013-11-27 8:37 AM uno-dos-tres! - 2013-11-26 10:45 PM CYA Ranch - 2013-11-26 7:43 PM sonyawalz - 2013-11-26 1:07 PM our round bale feeder is like a "cradle" and the bale is held up about 3 feet off the ground. so i took our slow feed round bale nets and draped one over the top and tied it to the 4 corners. now we just take a round bale and set it right in the feeder and the net is already in place! we dont' even have to "bag" them anymore!
Your hay feeders sound like mine. I really like them. 
I still have the cradle but I only feed cattle in it now.
I use bale rings for horses now and I put my netted bales in them.
Very little to no waste and so far I haven't killed one.
I'm so sorry to hear that Amy. I really think its a freak deal though and not the feeder. I've had problems with horses in the on ground feeders and most recently a friend around here lost a nice horse that got tangled in the tombstone style and somehow got inside it upside down. Horses will do whatever possible to hurt themselves. One of our hired men quit using his above ground feeder for his cattle because he had a calf get his head stuck and die. |
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 Best of the Badlands
Location: You never know where I will show up...... | CYA Ranch - 2013-11-27 10:13 AM I'm so sorry to hear that Amy. I really think its a freak deal though and not the feeder. I've had problems with horses in the on ground feeders and most recently a friend around here lost a nice horse that got tangled in the tombstone style and somehow got inside it upside down. Horses will do whatever possible to hurt themselves. One of our hired men quit using his above ground feeder for his cattle because he had a calf get his head stuck and die.
That is the truth CYA. They will kill themselves on whatever. For some of my horses, I pitch hay off of round bales into turned tires and I've heard of horses getting stuck in those too.
I was just so mad at that stupid thing (bale basket) I put it in the bull pen hoping they would wreck it. 
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More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | rockinas - 2013-11-27 11:13 AM CYA Ranch - 2013-11-27 10:13 AM I'm so sorry to hear that Amy. I really think its a freak deal though and not the feeder. I've had problems with horses in the on ground feeders and most recently a friend around here lost a nice horse that got tangled in the tombstone style and somehow got inside it upside down. Horses will do whatever possible to hurt themselves. One of our hired men quit using his above ground feeder for his cattle because he had a calf get his head stuck and die. That is the truth CYA. They will kill themselves on whatever. For some of my horses, I pitch hay off of round bales into turned tires and I've heard of horses getting stuck in those too.
I was just so mad at that stupid thing (bale basket) I put it in the bull pen hoping they would wreck it.
I don't blame you one bit. Was it was from Common Sense or Macksteel? |
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Expert
Posts: 3147
| My three pasture ornaments (plus pony) are on pasture/round bales 24/7 365 days a year. They get no grain and are fat, slick and shiny. They are on decent pasture spring and summer, not much grazing in the winter. The hay is fertilized improved bermuda I grow. They haven't been ridden in probably two years. They have a mineral/salt block and that's it. |
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I Need a Xanax!
Posts: 2774
| All this talk about horses getting hung up in round bale feeders is making me nervous! I've been feeding round bales in feeders for 25 years and never had a problem(knock on wood) but I can see how easily it could happen. |
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Expert
Posts: 4766
Location: Bandera, TX | Val, Thank you for your notes I will look into those specs. Amy, I'm so sorry for your lost colt. Now I'm thinking I might just get a few of those ABS pallets and some more of the ABS hay rings and feed that way. Got a few $ tied up in my coming foals. What I really want is Mother Nature to provide rain for some natural pastures! |
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 A Lady with Fight
Posts: 2701
Location: NC | Rdcreations - 2013-11-26 3:15 PM
 Thank you for all of the replies, I am not ignoring you all!
Ok here is my mare. She is 7 and an appendix.
With school I only get to ride 1-2 a week but she is out 24/7.
Along with the round bale she gets about 4-4.5 pounds of nutrenas safe choice perform. Its a 14% and then healthy coat on top.
She is due to be regular wormed. Last time I did a power pack was back in 2012.
Her top line is not bony but I would just like to fill it out more along with her withers and get rid of the hay belly as much as possible.
Your horse looks fine to me. All that top line filling in that you're talking about won't happen with feed. It will happen with more work. If you're feeding plenty of protein & working the horse at least 4-5 times a week, then you'll see the top line fill in. It takes a lot of repetition to get results though.
But for only being worked 1-2 times a week, she looks fine! And what hay belly are you talking about? I don't see a belly. |
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 Shoot Yeah
Posts: 4273
Location: Where you need a paddle... Oregon! | I skimmed the previous posts so not sure if someone already said this, but if it were me I throw a flake of alfalfa to her. Do that for a couple weeks and see if there's a change.
I don't think she looks bad at all, but I can see where you would like her to be fleshier across the top. All of ours are leaner style horses with a lot of thoroughbred influence in them. 1-2 flakes a day really changes how ours look. |
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 As Good As I Once Was
Posts: 1211
Location: frozen tundra of pa | Mine are out 24/7 with free choice hay and get grain once a day. All are fat and shiny. We have a Hayhuts which cover the entire bale and have slots for the horses to get at the hay. There is nothing for a horse to damage themselves on and we can feed the roundbales year round without the worry of the weather ruining the bales. |
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 Can You Hear Me Now?
Location: When you hit the middle of nowhere .. Keep driving | rodeowithjoker - 2013-11-25 12:59 PM
Mine are all on a round bale at home (hay bags or square bale flakes tossed on the ground at Matt's when we spend weekends there) and I grain them twice a day just like normal. My grain is about 11 percent protein and Joker had gotten a little thin this summer so about a month, month & a half ago, I started adding black oil sunflower seeds (maybe a handful per feeding) to his grain. He has really put on the weight and in fact, last weekend I had to let the cinch out a notch on him. Pretty good for a 20 year old who's not getting any special senior feed or supplements. The sunflower seeds cost about $15 for a 25 pound bag and one bag lasts my 3 horses close to a month. I was shocked at the results on him & Clifford (who was looking a little ribby late in the summer) and honestly all 3 of mine have put on some weight with the seeds.
Do you drive out to feed that one time a day? And if so, how long are you out there? Would it be possible to feed 3/4 your normal grain when you first get there, do other stuff for an hour and then feed her that same amount again?
As far as supplements go, I tried THE's Muscle Mass and didn't see any changes on Joker a few years ago. I'm guessing he just needed the extra fat (sunflower seeds) more than additional muscle. Matt has fed beet pulp and rice bran pellets to his Joker with great results. He actually has pulled the beet pulp because his Joker is bulkier and fatter now than I've ever seen him. He says rice bran pellets are pretty pricey but they've gotten him results.
I love the sunflower seeds for my horses too. I then get random flowers growing in my field all summer (lol). I feed timothy round bales all winter free choice and only grain in jan/feb when it gets really cold and even then they don't get much. A good worming schedule is key as well as GOOD hay. If you have junky hay and it's your horses primary source of food you will need to feed more grain to keep him looking good. I have 11 horses of varying ages on this schedule and it has always worked for me, I will only grain the babies all winter. |
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 Ms. Manners
Posts: 1820
Location: Oklahoma | Get your hay tested . . . I had mine tested and it was much lower in protein than I thought or was accustomed to feeding. I added some soybean meal and alfalfa pellets to up their total protein, and their toplines looked much better. Yes, working them in the right frame will build a topline but poor toplines are also an indicator of protein deficiency. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 632
Location: Missouri |
Those pictures don't really show it very well. Here is one taken today from a higher view.
I will check into our local 4-h extension center maybe they test hay? I know when I volunteered there they tested soil. I went out and looked at the round bale and its just not the best. I went ahead and moved the ring so what is left can get air on it. All of these stories are scaring me about it. We had purchased it to help with waste but im afraid of injury now.
Her feed is a 14% feed, isn't that pretty high for protein?
I am feeding her 4lbs a day which is at the lower end of the light worked horses (It says 4-6 lbs)
Edited by Rdcreations 2013-12-01 8:51 PM
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