TRICKLE NETS

[Deleted]

Have any of you tried a Trickle Net?  Believe me, they are brilliant for greedy Dales!  Having just wasted money on Shires Greedy Feeder Nets, I came across Trickle Net on google search as I needed something to console myself after such a big disappointment with the Shires' ones.  They are £30 but are heavy duty and the holes do not stretch, unlike the Greedy Feeder.  I filled one net this morning at 8.00am for my two Dales to share from and it lasted 'till 11.30.  Have ordered two more so they have one each in stables as I anticipate it lasting my mare all night or all day and my greedy gelding approx 6 hours. www.tricklenet.co.uk.

[heathera]

I bought one to try. With my greedy guts ponies it slowed them down for a couple of days until they learned the technique required to yank huge amounts out in one go. They then emptied it as fast as a normal small holed net but ended up with tired necks as it took so much more muscular effort.

With my mare who's not so greedy it slowed her down if she was on her own as she became fed up of trying to yank the hay out or spending ages mouthing it to get very little in return so it did slow her down a little. Her full days hay allowance lasted from 6am to about 1pm but she still stood with nothing for five hours until her next net arrived.

I've not bought another one as I didn't find them that great and I'd rather they developed less of the wrong muscles yanking hay out the normal small holed nets rather than developed more doing huge yanks and head shaking yanking it out the Trickle nets.

They are incredibly robust though, My lot gave the one we have a real battering all winter and it's still good as new.

[Deleted]

The neck yanking has always been a worry for me too but I tie very low down so they don't have to raise their heads too high and they are unshod so unlikely will get caught up.  I also tie the rope through the rope at the opening at the top.  I feed Timothy Horsehage so they they can't pull out big mouthfuls.  They won't work for everyone but for those with limited grazing and in need of forage supplementation I think these are good.

[Tynedale]

jmc, welcome to Dalesfans. Tell us about yourself and your lovely ponies in the new members welcome section of our forum.

[mickey]

I think we've had 2 of these... and they did not survive our dales!! Standard haylage nets have had a longer life, possibly because the ponies dont get so mad with them

[Deleted]

Have any of you actually had any neck issues from using hay nets?  I worry about it but only because everyone else seems to!  Done Google searches to find out a bit more but it would appear that people worry about it but haven't actually experienced any problems.  I would love to feed from the ground and who likes filling hay nets anyway but I have never owned a native who picks slowly through its forage! The Dales breed has such a solid hard muscular neck so is it likely to suffer neck pain?  Mine never have, or at least nothing noticeable and I have owned Dales / Fells for approx 40 years. However, there is always a first time .......  opinions / experiences welcome!

PS I'm a new member and still practising!  Will introduce myself and my ponies when I have got to grips with everything!!!!!

[tinkerdorisalison]

We have a couple of trickle nets, bit of a gulp at the price but they do work.

I find the hay has to be well shaken out before stuffing the net. I give Tink a small normal net and then a trickle net. It does sort out the greedy nights where she eats everything in sight, and the normal nights where she eats the normal net and half the trickle net(i.e.until it closes and gets harder to eat!)

[harveydales]

I tried trickle nets for Dolly, my exceptionally greedy Dales. I gave up because she just lost her temper with them and started trying to trash the stable. My other 2 Dales aren't especially greedy and tend to ration themselves whether fed in a net or on the ground. I like Alison's idea of a normal net and a trickle net together. Never had neck problems but mine all live out and are normally fed loose on the ground.

[heathera]

Mind do build up extra muscle under the neck when I use nets if I hang them as high as you need to if horse is shod or you're using large holed nets. Mine don't have shoes on so I now hang my nets so they are almost in contact with the floor and they build less of the incorrect muscle. I do have to do more muscle release work on mine if they have nets as opposed to just grazing or loose hay and it was worse with the trickle nets than other small holed nets. To me that indicates they might be a bit sore as tense muscle can be a bit uncomfortable even if it's not painful.

Eating with the head lowered also influences how their teeth wear for the better. I think that if the Trickle nets work for you that's good, they just don't seem to work with those ponies that become angry or fed up with them and bash and tug them about a lot.

[Debbie]

Even though Dales ponies have muscular necks, the muscles should still be pliable. I've encountered a lot who did have rock hard/spasmed muscles from their eating habits.

With my own greedy pony, Blossom, we've only needed hay bags for when we travelled across country and for a couple of days when we arrived when she was stalled. I had to quickly take her hay back out of the bag and chuck it on the floor because even barefooted she promptly tore out two hay bags by pawing at them.

It has to be said, Blossom is too clever for her own good, so if there's a wrong way to go about something or a way she could injure herself, she'll find it

If the Trickle nets are working for your lot ~ Great!