Health Benefits of Slow Feeding Horses

Slow feeding helps horses and ponies spend more time doing what comes naturally: eating hay in smaller amounts over a longer period. Each answer below gives the plain version first. Open "What the research found" for the figures and the papers.

How much longer does a hay net make a meal last?

Roughly half as long again to twice as long, depending on the hole size. A horse that clears a biscuit of hay in two hours off the floor will take over three hours from a small-hole net, and that time grows as the holes get smaller. Most horses new to slow feeding start with our 4cm knotless hay nets.

What the research found

Overweight horses took 193 minutes to finish a restricted hay meal from a 3.2cm knotless net, against 120 minutes off the floor (Glunk et al., 2015). With unlimited time, a meal of about 1% of bodyweight took 5.1 hours from a 4.4cm net and 6.5 hours from a 3.2cm net; in a separate trial floor feeding took 3.1 hours (Glunk et al., 2014).

Can a slow feed hay net help a horse on a restricted diet?

Yes, by making a small ration last longer, not by taking weight off. The diet does the weight loss; the net stops your horse finishing it in an hour and standing hungry. For laminitis (founder), obesity or insulin dysregulation, feed the ration your veterinarian sets. Our 3cm small hole hay nets for easy keepers are made for that job.

What the research found

Horses fed 1% of bodyweight a day lost similar weight whether fed from a net or the floor, 40 vs 32 kg over 28 days, a difference that was not significant (Glunk et al., 2015). The authors concluded the restricted diet did the weight loss and the net extended the time spent eating it.

Does slow feeding change the insulin response to a meal?

Only the timing. Horses eating from a net reach their insulin peak later, but the peak is just as high. A hay net is not a treatment for insulin dysregulation or obesity, so keep working with your veterinarian on diet and exercise.

What the research found

Net-fed horses reached their insulin peak later, but their peak insulin was no lower (Glunk et al., 2015). Peak cortisol was lower with the net, though the floor-fed horses could watch the others still eating, which the authors flag as a likely confounder.

Can slow feeding help with gastric ulcers?

Nobody has tested hay nets against ulcers, so we make no promise. What is known is that horses fed hay in three or more sittings a day do better than horses fed twice, and that chewing makes saliva, which settles stomach acid. A slow feeder does not diagnose, prevent or treat ulcers on its own.

What the research found

No study has tested hay nets against gastric ulcers. In 81 Icelandic horses, those fed hay or haylage in three or more meals a day had much higher odds of their squamous ulcers improving over eight weeks, odds ratio 17.95 (Luthersson et al., 2022).

Does slow feeding reduce the risk of colic?

No hay net study has measured colic, so we make no claim. Spreading hay over more of the day keeps the gut working the way it was designed to, rather than in one or two big meals. Clean water, good hay, gradual diet changes, movement and a prompt call to the vet matter most.

Do horses chew more with a slow feed hay net?

They chew for longer, not harder. A horse eating from a net spends about two more hours a day chewing than one eating loose hay, but it chews each mouthful the same number of times and eats the same amount overall.

What the research found

Eight horses spent 518 minutes a day chewing from a small-mesh net with roughly 5.5cm holes, against 378 minutes with loose hay, 140 minutes longer, while chews per kilogram and total intake were unchanged (Hart et al., 2024). Those holes were larger than ours, so treat the figure as indicative.

Does slow feeding reduce boredom and unwanted behaviours?

It helps. Stabled horses given a slow feeder spent about a third less time weaving and eating manure, and groups fed from nets squabble less at feed time because the hay lasts. Nets do not cure stable vices, and holes that are too small can frustrate a horse instead.

What the research found

In seven stabled jumping horses, a hay bag with 45mm openings cut abnormal behaviour (weaving and eating manure) from 130.6 to 86 minutes a day, with no control group (Correa et al., 2020). Across 390 group-housed horses, those fed from nets had the lowest odds of aggression around feeding (Burla et al., 2016).

Does a hay net reduce hay waste?

Outside, a lot: a round bale left open in a paddock loses more than half its hay to trampling and manure, and a net over it cuts that to a few percent. In a stable with a measured feed that is picked up promptly, the saving is small. A net also keeps hay off sandy ground.

What the research found

Round bales with no feeder wasted 57% of the hay; a net with 4 × 4cm openings over the bale cut waste to 6% (Martinson et al., 2012). That was a whole round bale in a dirt paddock. With rationed hay in stalls, cleaned up promptly, waste did not differ between floor and nets (Glunk et al., 2014).

Can slow feeding help a horse that rushes its feed or has choked?

Smaller holes mean smaller mouthfuls and a steadier pace, which is what you want for a horse that bolts its hay. No study has tested hay nets against choke, and choke can be serious, so any horse that has choked should be assessed by a veterinarian before its feeding routine is changed.

What the research found

In 109 horses referred with choke (oesophageal obstruction), about half developed complications, mostly aspiration pneumonia, and the risk rose sharply when the choke lasted over 48 hours (Chiavaccini & Hassel, 2010). The paper studies complications, not causes.

How high should a hay net hang?

No study has found an ideal height. Lower is closer to a natural grazing posture, but a net must stay high enough that a hoof cannot catch in it, especially once it empties and sags. Hang it as low as is safe for your horse, use one net rather than one inside another, and check it regularly.

What the research found

A 4cm net hung at elbow height changed back and neck shape most; one at mid-cannon kept the back closer to its ground-feeding shape (Raspa et al., 2021). Horses pulled harder on a net just above the withers than one 30cm higher, and doubled nets raised pull force and head angles (Hodgson et al., 2022).

Is a slow feed hay net right for every horse?

Slow-feed nets are a management aid, not a substitute for veterinary care. Ask your veterinarian or equine nutritionist about hay, ration, hole size and setup, particularly for a diagnosed medical condition or difficulty chewing or swallowing. Hay nets can raise exposure to hay dust, so horses with asthma may need soaked or low-dust hay and an individual feeding plan.

References and further reading

Figures above are quoted from the primary studies below. Research into slow feeders is still developing, with small groups of horses, so results may not apply equally to every horse or every net design.