NORMA’S SMALL HOLED HAY NET FOR SOAKING/EATING – and Internet deals TODAY!

As you may have read earlier, Norma’s (my donkey) IR kicked in this Spring which has caused some laminitis. It isn’t bad. We caught it in time and stared her on Anti-Flam right away.

She’s fine.

But, since she is now residing in the barn until the grass quits growing, I decided to give her something to do all day… a hay net!

I figured that if I put her meager allowance of hay into a small holed hay net, she wouldn’t gobble it up in a nanosecond and then stare at me balefully for the rest of the 11.8 hours until the next feeding time.

WHY THE SMALL HOLED NET?

Norma has nubile lips and a small mouth. I think most donkeys have a narrower mouth than horses. Anyway, a regular hay net/bag was too easy for her. She’d have it emptied in less time than it took for me to fill the darn thing (I hate hay nets in general…) I have every type of regular hay bag… Nibble Net, Nibnet, Niblet… all of them have too big of holes for Norma – and too large of a capacity.

So, I went on an Google hunt for a small holed hay bag or net. You’d think that would be easy. You’d think.

I guess the pony market isn’t as hay net oriented or something – or I’m a bad googler… but I could only find one that was in my price range.

To be fair, I didn’t want to spend a huge amount of money on Norma and this experiment, just in case it didn’t work.

OK, so anyway, I found one. It was called the SHIRES Small Hole Hay Net (linked here) and it was only $9.99.

Norma's small holed hay net.

UK LIKES THEIR PONIES

I have to say that of course I’d find my small holed pony hay net from a UK company! They love their ponies over there!

Actually, my net didn’t come from the UK since it is distributed here. I found it at Equestrian Collections

HOT TIP: (no affiliation)

If you purchase from Equestrian Collections, they have an option where you can pay a one-time shipping fee of $29.95 and it will be good for all shipping from the company on anything you purchase for a YEAR! Now, if you rarely purchase on the internet, this isn’t for you. But, if you are like me and need stuff all year long and are looking for bargain, saving on shipping is sweet!

OK, so I purchased my Shire’s pony small holed hay net in red.

It arrived very quickly!

Norma was totally OK with it... And she couldn't ravage it!

SOAKING THE HAY IN THE NET!

Norma was fine with the hay net when I filled it and hung it in the barn for her. She knew what it was and went right after it. Good.

The other good thing was it opened easily (not like other hay nets) and I had no trouble filling it with about half a flake. I could have stuffed the whole flake in there but I didn’t want to. She only needs a half – if that.

After the initial introduction, I took the haynet off of the wall and filled a water bucket with water. I then stuffed the hay filled hay net into the bucket. It fit!

Norma was appalled. How could I do that to her hay?!

I soaked the entire net, full of hay, in a regular bucket

After about 20 mins, I pulled the hay out. I kinda smooshed it around a bit, too, like I was washing a shirt in a sink. Then, I pulled it out by its strings and I had perfectly soaked hay with no mess!

Awesome! I hung it back up and let it drip onto the barn floor.

Norma was still totally appalled.

She sat there and glared at me.

I tried to entice her by pulling out the hay through the small holes. I mused how it was starting to look like a pineapple…

She didn’t think it was that funny.

Of course, she didn’t touch it while I was there. But, when I came back down to the barn, she was happily munching away – and the bag was still full. So, that was good. It slowed her down and it was EASY TO SOAK!

TOTAL SUCCESS!

So, if you want a Shire’s small holed pony haynet ($9.99), here is the link and remember to look into the shipping deal! (no affiliation)

Her nice ball of freshly soaked hay, all nice and neat! She at it - all. Of course!

INTERNET DEALS I FOUND TODAY!

While I was searching around, I found a few deals that I wanted to pass onto you…

1) DECENT FLY MASKS FOR $9.99!

It is fly season… I just found this sweet deal on fly masks. Since I use so many, I like to find deals. Go to horse.com and you will see a variety of masks on sale. I purchased 5 of the Defenders for $9.99 each. We’ll see if I like them. But, I know I like the price.

(I did a mask review a few years ago. Here is that link.)

Click image to go to their sale page

2) FREE SHIPPING ON SPRINGTIME GARLIC BUG REPELLANT (no affiliation)

I use SRINGTIME BUG-OFF GARLIC every season. It really adds to my war against flies and mosquitoes by keeping the pests off of their bodies and faces. If I don’t use it, I can really see the difference.

Right now, Springtime, Inc is having a free shipping deal through the weekend. So, order up now if you can! Shipping on these heavy supplements can be spendy so this is really a good deal!

Click image to go to the website!

3) ENZION PRODUCTS ARE 15% OFF through May 15! (no affiliation)

You know that I have used Enzion products for years! I looooove the Equion supplement. This is hands-down the most all around successful supplement that I’ve tried. It promotes gut health, hair, hoof and coat health and reproductive health. It really makes a difference. Even my trainer asked me what I fed my horses! And, if you breed, this totally made a difference in my broodmares taking the first time. I don’t breed anymore but when I added Equion to my feeding program back then, it made a huge difference.

I also like the hoof supplement if you have especially soft feet – however the Equion will harden up feet, too.

And, I’ve come to rely on the Dry Creek Minerals to replace the salt block dilemma (which one, which hay, cattle block good for horses? sea salt?). The horses eat is free choice and it remedies most hay deficiencies. I feel comforted knowing that they have it if they need it – and that is exactly how they use it. Also, I can buy in bulk and I don’t have to lift a 50lb block out of my trunk…

Again, no affiliation, I just love their simple, no frills, great products.

Here is a link to the product page and you can read more. They are having a 15% off sale!