Big Bale Buddy opinions

I am thinking about getting two of the big bale buddies since the ponies seem to waste so much off of a round bale. Just wondering if anyone has used them and what the opinions of them are? Do they hold up and are they worth it?

I have never used a bale buddy, what i use is snow fence wrapped around the bale. Once the fence is on, I take the string off the bale. I find that the snow fence works great and almost eliminates waist. I am able to get most of the winter out of one section of snow fence. If wad not writing this off my iPod, I would post a picture, maybe later. There is a picture of my boys eating from a round bale wrapped in snow fence, if you search it.

I have used the Big Bale Buddy, and I loved it! The company is a dream to deal with. My first bale buddy ripped, and they replaced it immediately and for free. That was one of the first ones, and they have since dealt with the faulty material. The newer ones are very hearty. My geldings loved it as well.. it also kept the waste to a minimum. It does take at least 2 people to get the Hay in the Bale buddy.. but it is not that difficult.

I don't use mine any more as my mare came with breathing issues, and burying her head in the round bale was not a great idea for her. So I only use square bales now. I did notice on their web site they have now designed a slow feeder. It looks pretty cool!

I can not get photobucket to work for me today or I would load a pic of the horses eating at the Bale Buddy! I do recommend them, IF your horses normally eat from round bales with no health issues.

I have my round bale in a feeder, then cover it with a cargo net, tied down. Works well and keeps them from putting their heads right
in there.

I plan on getting their new slow feeder - it is exactly what we have been looking for! Currently we stuff the hay into hockey nets and make hangable hay nets nd it works great, the horses took a litle while to get used to it but they prefer to eat their hay out of them now, so for the winter for time and energy we are going to invest in one of the new slow feeders for them! Same idea just covers a WHOLE round bale!

we got three years out of one, and loved it

Great, thanks guys! I think I will give one a try. MoonShadow would you be interested in selling yours? LOL. If not, where do you get them?

http://www.bigbalebuddy.com/page/page/2674952.htm


That is the website I purchased mine from. There are dealers, and they list them on the web site, but I ordered mine direct.

I am not interested in selling mine ... on the odd time when Squares are not available, I use rounds.. peel and place.. But I use the Bale Buddy up side down to protect the round I'm not using. ( Would get 2 rounds at a time). Hope that made sense.

I use an apple crate, fill it with enough for the day and drop a cargo net over it, then bungee the corners to pull the hay down tight. Very minimal to no waste at all and they're not over eating either.
Has worked well so far ...

Green paint wrote:

I use an apple crate, fill it with enough for the day and drop a cargo net over it, then bungee the corners to pull the hay down tight. Very minimal to no waste at all and they're not over eating either.
Has worked well so far ...

I'm trying to find an apple crate for this reason. I use pillows made out of a tennis net, but I find them a HUGE pain to fill. The box would be so much easier with the number of horses I have. As for the big bale buddy, I personally don't like them. I hate round bales. Generally its poor quality hay and dusty. I don't want my horses having their heads stuck in a bale, covered by a bag. It would also limit movement. I'm sure it would be great as far as waste goes though.

Most farm markets have their "older" ones not being used anymore and are happy to get rid of them. I got mine from Henniger's in Wolfville...

Regarding the apple crate, especially the older ones, personally I would put screws in each board to make sure the horses couldn't easily pull a board off and stomp on the nails. If there's something to worry about I will find it

I have a big bale buddy and love it. Practically no waste. Just get a size bigger than you think you'll need, ours came up small and we have to remove layers of hay before fitting it. I would highly recommend getting one.:o). I got mine from Scotian Gold near Berwick.