Friday, March 23, 2012

Takin' it Slow


In my last few posts I have talked about both keeping my horses busy and keeping them full of hay to stay warm.  Well, here I am going to do both.  I decided to make "slow feeders".  A slow feeder is just a device to slow down the intake of feed.  These are commercially available but I decided to make my own for half the price.  

In this case I made a bag with small holes that makes it more difficult get a mouthful of  hay.  They still get the same amount but it takes them twice as long to eat it.

I started with 2 inch nylon webbing and cut them into strips of 18 and 22 inches.  I chose these measurements because they are approximately the dimensions of a flake of hay.


I pinned them together in this grid pattern and sewed where the pieces overlapped. 
I sewed each section in a box pattern then across the middle in an X because these areas are going to take a lot of abuse.
I cut pieces for the back, sides and bottom out of duck canvas.  (Again, I chose the canvas because it will take a lot of abuse.)  I cut the sides and bottom to be 6 inches wide (not including seam allowances) so I could fit more than one flake in the bag.
Sewed them together...
then added the nylon webbing and some handles.
I was able to get 2 1/2 flakes in each bag.
I hung them from an eye screw with a double ended snap to the inside of the dutch door to each stall.  That way I could use them at night as well.
Happy Horses!

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