How to Build a Hay Feeder that Reduces Waste

Hay is expensive! There’s nothing more frustrating than watching your horse toss his meal out of the feeder onto the ground. Not only does that behavior lead to waste from trampling and wind, it also increases your horse’s risk of sand colic.

What Makes a Good Horse Hay Feeder?

Over many years of horse ownership, I’ve searched for a solution that:

• Allows for quick and easy feeding through a panel fence. This rules out hay nets (major hassle) and the PortaGrazer (which is a great slow-feeder product, but expensive and still kind of a pain).

 

• Allows the horses eat at ground level to support normal tooth wear patterns, unlike raised feeders.

 

• Is safe even for busy, curious horses.

 

• Is reasonably priced and robust. I don’t want to spend a fortune, and I certainly don’t want to spend it repeatedly as the horse breaks things.

 

• Actually keeps most of the hay in the feeder rather than on the ground.

 
Having struck out on commercial options, I came up with a way of modifying a bunk feeder from my local farm store to meet the above criteria. I made two of them last spring. Since then, they have been tested by at least six, different equine personalities…and approved by me.
 
I needed one more, so today I took pictures as I pulled it together. Take a look at the final product, then I’ll show you how to make your own.

The finished feeder has plenty of room for a large meal. I put alfalfa on one side and grass hay on the the other, which makes the horses less likely to try to toss the grass out in search of those delicious alfalfa bits. The crossbars leave room to eat but keep flakes contained.

What You'll Need

To make your feeder, you'll need:​
​

• One 43-gallon bunk feeder by High Country Supply. I paid $110 at my local feed store.
• Three, 1/2 inch diameter, 18-inch long PVC male thread sprinkler risers ($8.65 at Amazon)
• Six keychain-style carabiners ($12.99 for a dozen at Amazon)
• Paracord cut into three, 58-inch lengths with ends melted to prevent fraying ($9.85 for 50 feet at Amazon, which is way more than you'll need)
• Two, 2-foot long x 1 inch wide cam straps ($13.99 for 6 at Amazon)
• Drill with 5/16 bit
• Tape measure

How to Make Your Waste-Less Horse Hay Feeder

This is really easy, I promise. It took me about 30 minutes, including finding the right drill bit and pausing to snap photos.

STEP 1: Drill holes in your bunk feeder. Fun, right? It's easiest if you tip the feeder on its side.

​The red arrows in the photo below show where the holes need to go. Hint: The mid-point between the legs is at the 9.75 inch mark

You'll put three holes on each side of the feeder, just below the lip. I find that this spacing works really well. It's easy for me to slip flakes of hay between the crossbars, but hard for the horse to throw them back out.

​STEP 2: Thread both ends of one of your sections of paracord through one of the holes. Leave enough of a loop to clip on a carabiner. 

The purpose of the carabiner is to keep the paracord from slipping through the hole. You could use something cheaper, like a large washer, but I like the carabiner because it doesn't have any sharp edges to wear on the cord, and it's easy to unclip if I ever need to remove the crossbar in a hurry.

​STEP 3: Thread one of your sprinkler risers onto the paracord.

The purpose of the PVC riser is to keep the horse from getting tangled in something more flexible (like chain or uncovered paracord). It's also not particularly interesting for most horses to chew on, and it's smooth against their faces as they root around inside the feeder.

​STEP 4: Thread both ends of the paracord through the hole opposite the one you started with. You should have a few extra inches on the other side, which will make it easy to tie a simple knot to close the loop. Be sure you pull the cord pretty taut before tying your knot. Mine ended up with just enough slack to expose about an inch of paracord on each end of the PVC riser.

Clip on another carabiner to keep the knot from trying to slip back through the hole over time.

​REPEAT STEPS 1-4 to add the remaining two crossbars. Ta-da!

​STEP 5: Use the cam straps to secure your new feeder to the fence. This way, it's easy to detach the feeder for cleaning, but your horse can't push it all around his paddock.

That's it! For less than $150, I have a bunk feeder that is the best combination of easy use and effectiveness that I've managed to find yet.

How well does it work? That depends on the horse. I'd say it keeps 90-100% of the hay off the ground for most of my horses most of the time. My determined hay-tosser occasionally gets up to half of his hay out of it, but usually much less. I call that a win.

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