Hay Ball Feeder is rated
4.4 out of
5 by
16.
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Karen from
great idea but product needs upgraded
I have 2 of these, I have had them about a year. They do work great as a slow feeder and entertainment but they only hold about 2 pounds of hay not the 6 pounds advertised. If you stuff in more than 2 pounds the hay won't come out and frustrates the horse. My horse like to pay her toys. The lids are made out of a thin brittle plastic that is different than the ball. I only started using the balls daily in September of last year. The lids only last a few month with daily use. I ordered 2 lids in Dec 2021, it cost about $36 with tax and shipping for 2 lids and now in February of 2022 they are both broken already. The hole for lid is big enough that a foot would likely go thru it without a lid on it. I bought one of another brand and it has had a few months use and still has no damage. The lid is thicker and a different type of plastic. I am disappointed with the poor quality of the lids and the very high price of replacing them.
Date published: 2022-02-16
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Ellasmom from
Horse loves it!
She will eat out if her hay ball even before she's finished her other hay. Easy to stuff. Durable.
Date published: 2022-01-11
Rated 3 out of
5
by
Kziegler22 from
Great ball til my horse put his foot through it
I've had this feeder for about a year and my horse loved it! Warning though... it does break. I went out to feed this morning and my horse had his leg stuck in the feeder. We had to saw it off of him. His leg was super puffy and had mild heat. Lucky my horse is the "I'm going to stand here til my mom helps me" type so he didn't do any major damage but I could see another horse panicking and getting seriously injured. I would just use supervised or replace regularly. It was in perfect condition but maybe after being out in the elements for a year it wasn't strong anymore.
Date published: 2021-08-17
Rated 5 out of
5
by
bonnie from
Great for stall rest
I have a mare in rehab on stall rest. She gets 4 hay balls during the day to keep her busy. I can only use these during the day because they are noisy. In the morning and at night we use slow feed hay nets.
Date published: 2021-06-22
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Ali13 from
Great for a horse on stall rest!
I bought this hay ball for my horse on stall rest and he's really enjoyed it. He eats from a slow feed hay net anyway and seems to go from that to the hay ball and back if both are stuffed with parts of his normal hay ration. I was worried that if the ball wasn't completely stuffed with hay that he would have a hard time getting the hay out, but he's always cleaned it up with no problem. I pull several strands partially out of the ball to get him started, but I'm pretty sure that's not necessary and just makes me feel better. The hay ball is pricey but worth it. I give this hay ball feeder a 10!
Date published: 2021-06-14
Rated 5 out of
5
by
MarL from
Horses use & love them!
Purchased 2 hayballs. My Paint horse & Paint mini love them & whinny when they see them. Great for mid-afternoon diversion when you might be late for dinner feeding. Seem very sturdy & are easy to fill.
Date published: 2021-06-11
Rated 5 out of
5
by
JLHen58 from
Horses love it!
Bought one for each of my geldings to slow down eating their daily flake of alfalfa hay. Works great and keeps them entertained and moving. I use it in their stalls. These balls are tough and indestructible. During stall rest my 1500 lb horse flattened his ball but amazingly it popped back out again.
Date published: 2021-04-08
Rated 4 out of
5
by
kdavies88 from
Durable and My Mares Loves It
I bought this hay ball feeder about two weeks ago for my mare who developed laminitis in February and was diagnosed as pre-EMS. She's on stall rest on a diet and I love that this hay ball feeder not only slows down her limited hay consumption in a safe way (hay nets make me so nervous!) but also that it keeps her entertained.
It is very durable and my mare is not gentle with it!
However, it took me a while to figure out how to load it in such a way that she was able to actually get all the hay out of it. The trick I found that worked was to pack it much more loosely and with only one small flake of hay. For my grass hay, this is about 2lbs instead of the 6lbs advertised that it holds. It does hold that 6lbs (the most I ever got in it was 6.8lbs of my hay) but when you pack it that tightly, it's next to impossible to get all the hay out.
Date published: 2021-04-08
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Rookie from
My horse loves it!
The holes are the perfect size for long stemmed grass hay. I add a little alfalfa as well. This toy keeps him busy for hours. My only hesitation at awarding 5 stars for quality is that the filler cover does sometimes come partially unscrewed. This doesn't happen with the other hay ball made by a different manufacturer. But, it was also 20% more expensive.
Date published: 2021-03-24
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Laura from
Not worth the $$
I tried many different ways to use this hay ball. I've tried finer, softer hay, coarser hay, and hay cubes. My horses tried to play with it for a few minutes, but gave up. The hay is very hard to get out (the holes are small). The hay cubes were a bit better, but you have to put some hay in too or they all fall out. The hay ended up in the middle, wrapped around the hay cubes. The horses couldn't get either out. A frustrating purchase.
Date published: 2020-12-25