Four Freedom Feeders

7/14/2014

I just replaced my Freedom Feeder. Again. This is the fourth one I've bought in the last two and a half years, and it might even be the fifth one. I am not disappointed with the product; it works just fine. I just have a very "energetic" hay burner.

Speedy is still using a refurbished Freedom Feeder net. I took one that had a Really Big Hole and stitched it closed with baling twine. Speedy has been using it for over a year. Sydney's nets don't last very long. Here is his latest net sporting yet another Really Big Hole.

Dude's hard on his stuff!

Sydney is just a bit … aggressive when he grazes. He like to grab a mouthful of net and SHAKE IT REALLY HARD. This causes the yummy alfalfa leaves to fall through the net's holes, but it's also hard on the net's fibers. This has required some clever McGyvering on my part.

In order to keep things more or less where they are designed to go, the top corners of the net are secured to the pipe fence with heavy duty nylon cord. The net is hung with eight, lightweight carabiners which will break if enough force is used. And lastly, the middle of the net is anchored to the pipe fence to keep Sydney from flipping the net over the top pipe.

I have to replace the carabiners from time to time as they break with all of the shaking.

Sydney's hay is fed through the opening like a piece of bread in a toaster. This net is bigger than the past one so the flakes drop fairly deeply into the feeder. As he grabs and shakes the net, stems and leaves fall into the black feeder and green cart. Whenever I am out at the barn, I reclaim whatever is in the cart (and on the ground) and shove it back into the feeder.

Feed me!

I use this system for several reasons. Sydney doesn't like to eat his hay from the ground, so when he used to push the stems out of his way, they would invariably tumble over the side of the feeder to the ground where they were stomped into the dirt and wasted. The net also slows Sydney down so he has to work throughout the day to get his hay.

So while I might be buying a new net every nine months, it's okay since I know I am saving my barn owner a lot of wasted hay, and my horse gets to munch happily all day long. That's a win-win.

By the way, the Riding Warehouse is having a great sale on this net right now; check it out!

Melissa Auman- Manufacturer and Inventor of the Freedom Feeder link

9/26/2014 08:32:16 am

Hi Lori,
Thank you for sharing your Freedom Feeder experience with your readers.

You might try using baling twine to attach the net to the pipe instead of clipping the carabiners back to the netting. Where you are clipping is not reinforced like the edges are. This may be causing your holes. I like the idea of the tub on the outside, I've also seen people mount a board below the opening to keep the hay inside.

Just a suggestion here, your horse's digestive tract and stomach would benefit by switching to grass (timothy, orchard, teff or bermuda) in the net 24/7 and using alfalfa as a protein supplement to keep his topline strong. Grass 24/7 greatly reduces ulcers especially on show horses as it prevents their digestive acids from sloshing in their stomach which is empty if they run out of hay for more than 2 hours and it typically has a better calcium/phosphorus ratio than alfalfa which prevents the formation of enteroliths (stones). You can read more about this on my website www.freedomfeeder.com or through Dr. Juliet Getty at wwwgettyequinenutrition.com.

Thanks again for your support. Nice scores by the way :)

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Not-So-Speedy Dressage