- It's easily loaded with a front-end loader or pickup truck
- It offers each horse a private area to feed
- It provides protection from rain and snow
- The punched metal bottom provides air passage for drying
- It minimizes waste and reduces feeding cycles
- It saves up to 50% in cost of winter feeding
- It minimizes spring cleanup of old and wasted hay
- Most of all, feeding with round bales is approximately 50%
less expensive than square bales!
The Problem
We came up with the idea of a Round
Bale Feeder for Horses due to the frustration with wasted
hay during the winter feeding and the unavailability of feeders
designed specifically for horse safety. Conventional hay feeding
techniques are inefficient.
Wasted Hay
Round bales of hay weighing up to 1200 lbs are generally carried
by tractors or skid steer loaders with front-end spears and
set in open areas for horses to feed. The problem with this
application is the amount of wasted hay from ground moisture,
rain, snow, dirt, mud and animal waste that mixes with the
hay over a short period of time. The hay also becomes marking
territories for dominante horses and beds for others, wasting
upwards to 50% of its intended use in a matter of a few days,
if not hours. At a cost of $30 to $50 per roll, hay bales
not lasting four days per four horses through the winter
becomes very expensive.
Lack of Safety for Horses
Most round bale feeders that are commercially available today
are designed with the waste issues as noted above but are for
livestock, not designed with the nature of horses in mind.
Horses are herd animals and rely on safety in numbers. They
are easily spooked and move quickly with explosive force when
surprised by noises, smells, strong winds, or other horses;
often they jump without looking, coming down on sharp edges
or other ground-placed feeders, or they get entangled in other
feeders in an attempt to avoid being kicked or bitten.
The Solution...
...was to make a Round Bale Hay Feeder
for Horses that was both efficient and safe. By
using a tubular steel design with no sharp edges, the feeder minimizes
the dangers of cuts or serious injuries. The height of the feeder
facilitates feeding and eliminates rubbing off the mane of horses
(as is the case of some of the other feeders that require horses
to place their heads in small openings, a potentially dangerous
situation).
Because horses naturally paw at their food, the height of our
Round Bale Hay Feeder helps protect their legs from possible injury.
And since horses are naturally graze animals, what falls out of
the feeder during feeding will be eaten first, leaving little waste.
O'Neill Bale Feeder Unit with Legs
O'Neill Bale Feeder Unit without Legs
O'Neill Bale Feeder Legs Only
For assembly information visit the assembly
pictures & instructions page.
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