Description
Knotless hay nets for round bales
We first bought haynets from this company when we were originally setting up our track system in 2007 – and would you believe we still have some of those original nets – they’ve been outside 24/7 in all weathers – I cannot believe how ridiculously hard-wearing & useful these nets are. We are delighted that they are now making round bale nets as well as the original ground-feeding haynets and we have no reason to believe that these round bale nets won’t be just as hard-wearing as the originals!
With a choice of mesh size 30mm, 45 mm or 60 mm, depending on what size equine you’re feeding and how much you need to slow down their eating for gut health and / or weight management.
Ideally, the net is tensioned from above with a tackle, so that it can then be retensioned when the bale collapses in on itself – see images.
Research shows that slowing down a horse’s consumption of hay or haylage from a net mimics natural grazing and is very beneficial to the horse’s digestion as well as helpful for weight management and reducing possibility of laminitis. Using a net on a round bale keeps wastage of valuable hay or haylage to a minimum.
Knotless Round Bale Net Sizes
This round bale net is a rectangular box with a net base, and is open at the top. You can place the net over a whole bale, turn it over and tie it on the other side.
Small Round Bale Net – 1.40 m x 1.40 m x 1.60 m high (30, 45 or 60 mm)
Large Round Bale Net – 1.60 m x 1.60 m x 1.80 m high (30, 45 or 60 mm)
Ideas for Use
Spread the round bale hay net out and place the bale in the middle of the hay net.
Or, you can simply put the net over the bale and then turn it over so that the bale is standing on the round bale hay net. You will need to thread rope or twine around the top edge to secure.
Now you can remove the wrap that holds the bale together…
The netted bale can then be hung in a field shelter or other covered area; placed in a rack, in a feeding ring (see below ingenious idea how to use as a topper net) or on a pallet with or without a haybell cover. NB: if you are not suspending the net but using in a rack, on a pallet or with a haybell cover we strongly recommend you turn the bale so that the fasten is on the underside with loops and ends firmly secured.
Benefits of suspending the net
When you fasten the hay net, which has been pulled together at the top, to the roof of the hay rack or to a beam in the stable with a rope, the horses can still reach the hay when the bale has already been eaten up to a large extent. Then the horses don’t have to work their way through so much loose net.
How to use as a topper net in tombstone feeder / ring feeder
As a great alternative, you can also thread a plastic water pipe through the lower edge of the net. The resulting round frame can easily be put over the hay net when the bale is to be placed in a rack or round bale feeder / tombstone feeder. It is almost impossible for the horses to lift the frame completely to reach the hay under the hay net.
Safety notice
All horse shoes damage the horse. Therefore the hay nets have only been developed and tested for bare hoof horses. We discourage the use of these nets by horses with unnatural hooves, ie shod horses. We also discourage their use by horses whose hooves have a diameter smaller than the mesh size.
Sheila (store manager) –
As with all the products we sell, we also trial and use them ourselves. We have recently trialled this Heunetz round bale net 30mm mesh (size small) on our round bales which measure roughly 4ft 6″ high by 4ft 6″ diameter (138cm x 138cm) – if your bales are larger than that, or if you want the net to close completely at the top, or if you are planning to use this round bale net over a Big Bale Buddy you will probably need the large size net.
As you will see from the photos we are currently using this round bale haynet in a sheep haybell for our goats – it is of course eminently suitable for horses as well as other grazing animals.
Here’s a short video showing how to easily remove the wrap from the bale, while the round bale net is in place and tied loosely at the top