CASEY: Hi, I'm Casey, I work in Marketing, and today, I'm reviewing the SmartPak Small
Hole Hay Net.
This is a fantastic, economical hay net option, especially because it's very, very durable,
and it can hold a ton of hay. I have a horse that is really, really tough on this thing
- he whips it around, and he bites all kind of places on it, and it's held up great. So,
if you have a horse that's tough on hay nets, this is a great option for you.
This type of hay net is great for all horses. It's going to some extent mimic the natural
grazing that horses would do normally - taking in small amounts of food over a longer period
of time. So these are 3.5 centimeter holes, so that way the horse is going to take in
little, little bits of forage and swallow some saliva as they are taking that in, which
is going to help to mimic how they might eat normally in nature.
This hay net can be a great option for a variety of types of horses. So, for example, easy
keepers might be one that will be a great fit. So horses that get just a couple flakes
of hay at one time that tend to hoover through it, this is great because you can actually
slow down how quickly the horse is eating the hay, so they are able to keep more hay
in front of them for longer without increasing how much hay you are giving them, because
they are easy keepers. It’s also great if you have a horse that is prone to gastric
issues. So if you have got a horse that maybe has to be in a stall for longer periods of
time, you want be able to hopefully keep some sort of forage in front of them for as long
as possible. So again having this type of a hay net that can slow down how long that
hay is going to last is a good thing to keep the hay in front of the horse for longer.
Another thing that is nice, if you have never used one of these types of hay, hay nets,
or hay bags in the stalls, it you will help you to keep your stall cleaner. So you have
less hay waste because it is all going to be contained in the bag. It’s also great,
too, if your horse travels a lot. It’s pretty easy to hang up in a stall in a safe way so
that you can keep hay in front of your horse while you are traveling.
Anyone who has used one of these hay nets knows that sometimes stuffing it can actually
be a little bit tricky. But I do have one quick tip that will hopefully make it easier
for you. Start with the opening at the top like this and then what I do, I just reach
my hand in about half way down the bag. And then I allow it to kind of fold over on itself.
So what I end up with is the bag kind of half folded over like this.
The next step is, you want to just to put it on the ground as best as you can and try
to get it somewhat open.
So kind of like that.
Then you want to take your hay and get it right into the opening
Then the next step is all you have to do is just pull up around the hay, and it’s easiest
if you can find the string so we are kind of following it as I go here.
And I'll do it on the back.
And once you get the string around the hay, all you do is lift, and there you are.
So looking at this, this is just a small amount of hay that I am just using here to show you
this little trick. But as you can see there is a lot of room left, and at this point actually
if I wanted to put more hay in here it would be quite easy. I can just put it down on the
ground. It will kind of rest open, and I can add as much as this bag will fit. Very, very
simple.
The last thing I want to talk about is how to safely hang one of these nets. Because
it is really important that you are going to do it in a way so that your horse can't
get a foot or his head or his neck somehow caught in the net. So what you want to do
is the first place to start is, maybe put a double-ended snap on the end of the line
here, and then you are going to need to loop this back around itself. And you might have
to do this a couple of times just depending on how much you actually filled your net.
Once you have done that, the goal here is that you want to hang this high enough so
that your horse again can't get a foot or his head or neck stuck in it. So you want
him to have it so that it’s kind of flush up against the wall with no loose lying at
the back.
Another trick you can use to keep this flush against the wall is you are going to have
obviously a screw eye at the top with the double-ended snap here. But you could do the
same thing below. So a screw eye in the wall and then a double-ended snap connecting the
hay bag to the screw eye so that will stabilize it at the top and at the bottom so that as
your horse is feeding out of this, it is going to help keep it flush against the wall.
Of course, every horse and every barn is going to be different. So just use your best judgment
when you are hanging your hay nets that is going to be safe for your horse in your barn.
I am Casey, and this SmartPak Small Hole Hay Net is a great economical option if you are
looking for a slow feeding hay net.