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Ove Lind of the Swedish Hoof School has lectured intensively
about the benefits of slow feeding. He writes about slow
feeding:
Slow feeding is important but Continuous Slow Feeding
is MUCH more important.
Continuous Slow Feeding does not work until your horse
has forgotten that there is an end to the hay supply. As long as
he remembers that there might be an end to the supply of hay he
will most likely still eat too fast and not chew the food
enough. Chewing is extremely important for a horse. It is when
he has chewed enough he feels content, not when he has filled
his stomach. If he does not chew enough he will not be able to
digest the food the way he is supposed to. When the Continuous
Slow Feeding starts to work your horse will show you both more
harmony and more willingness to work. He might also
be friendlier to other horses and easier to handle.
It is extremely important that your horse never can fill his
mouth with hay. When your horse fills his mouth with food he
will not chew it enough and the digestion will therefore not be
effective. Fantastic things happen when he has learned to eat
the natural way. He will even graze differently after a winter
with a well working "Continuous Slow Feeder". This is much
better than spreading the hay on the ground since it is much to
easy to eat hay that is loose on the ground or on the floor. One
small piece of hay at a time is the goal!
Continuous Slow
Feeding restricts the amount of hay your horse can eat per
minute instead of the amount of hay available to him. You will
gain in all ends.
+
No more wasted hay.
+
Less consumption because of better digestion.
+ Your horse is kept busy eating 16-20 hours as he is
supposed to.
+
Obese horses usually loose weight.
+
Thin horses usually gain weight.
+
No more fighting over food since it is always available.
+
No specific feeding times for you to keep (no early mornings or
lunch feedings).
+
Your horse will never be hungry and always ready to go.
Important
things to consider:
There must be
hay available to the horse at all times. 1½ hours after
the horse has stopped eating the unstoppable production of bile
(the horse has no gall bladder, he produces and releases bile
continuously) will burn the inside of the small intestine and
give the horse stomach ulcers.
It is not until
the horse has forgotten that the feeder ever can be empty that
the feeding system starts to work. Then the horses slow down
their eating pace, take the pauses they need and each horse in
the herd takes care of their individual eating needs (we have
Shetland ponies and horses eat together from the same feeders).
Give your
horse three weeks to get used to this new way of being fed
before passing any judgments.
If you want to
know how much they are eating you must look at the average
consumption over a three day period because they do not
necessarily eat as much every day.
Things NOT
to do:
Do not feed
servings or portions in the feeders.
If you believe
your horse still gets too much you can always mix the hay with
oat straw of good hygienic quality. If you are absolutely sure
your horse needs more get hay that contains more (but be careful
with alfalfa since the balance between calcium and phosphor is
completely off).
So far the
findings and teachings of Ove Lind.
We have
searched for a good, sturdy net at an affordable price and have
used these nets for a while now. They hold up to the daily wear
and tear and are easy to fill.
They have a
draw string you can connect with a double end snap to the net
itself to keep it closed, easy to open and easy to close.
You can order hay nets directly from Ove Lind in Sweden, they
ship free of charge worldwide:
Ove Lind Hay Nets
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