The Buddy Feeder
A handcrafted quality built slow feed wooden hay feeder.
Our Story
Where It All Began
To the left and below is our 14 year old quarter horse, Arrow. When he came into our lives in September of 2012, he needed to put on quite a bit of weight. Besides the high fat/protein grain we gave him, we tried to make sure he always had access to quality hay to put on the much needed pounds! At first, we'd throw the flakes of hay on the ground, but would notice just an hour or two later he'd be finished eating his hay and much of it was trampled and defecated on all over the ground. And then he'd get bored...
...and then we'd give him more hay and the cycle continued. We decided to try and contain the hay and wanted to get it up off of the ground. In Jackson, NJ we are in the Pinelands and have very sandy soil. The last thing we wanted was a colic episode from Arrow ingesting too much sand from eating hay off the ground or for him to get a strain of worms or other parasite. So we started placing his hay in a big black tub. Yes, it was off the sandy soil if he ate it out of the tub, but he would pick up huge bunches of hay and drop it outside the tub and the same cycle as before ensued. Soon we realized we were racking up large hay bills and going through bales so quickly because so much of it was being wasted!
Slow-Feeder Dilemmas
Next, we tried several of the top-notch slow-feeding hay bags. In addition to keeping the hay off the ground, we wanted to slow down his eating for health benefits. He'd eat the same amount of intended hay, but over a longer period of time. We wanted a slow-feeder system so that Arrow's digestive system would continually be working with no excess build-up of acid, he would stay warm during the cold months, and he wouldn't be bored or develop any vices. We steered clear of the hay nets because we didn't want to chance Arrow getting his hoof caught up in one.
We liked the hay bag though and each brand we tried worked beautifully for the first few weeks! But then each one wore away on the canvas/fabric back leaving a huge hole and the front of the bags where he pulled the hay through ripped apart in several areas. He also figured out how to stick his head in through the top of some of bags to get huge mouthfuls of hay again or out of the back where the big hole was. Needless to say, now we were wasting money and time ordering and buying new hay bags every other month. They just weren't robust enough of Arrow.
Next, after attending a horse expo, we ordered a pricy slow-feeder hay barrel. We were aware of and agreed with the benefits of a slow-feeder and after watching the demonstrations thought... why not try this one. It was a two-piece durable plastic where you load the hay a particular way then place the 'top' down inside the barrel on the hay. The horse pulls hay through circular openings and the 'top' eventaully flows to the bottom of the barrel once all the hay is eaten.
Again, the hay barrel worked great and we actually used it for a few seasons this time! Some of the downfalls about it though were that it was a bit of a hassle loading the hay just right each time, every now and then the hay would become too compact to the point where Arrow couldn't get to it and was out of hay for a while, it only held a small amount of hay so I'd have to refill it throughout the day, and that getting the 'top' off became virtually impossible as the weather changed. It became very frustrating spinning the 'top' over ten times trying to get it out to load the barrel since you have to line up the three tabs just right! But... we used this slow-feeder for a while.
Then We Brought Another Horse Into Our Family
In May of 2014, we brought Murray into our lives, a 6 year old quarter horse. Arrow and Murray got along fine together, IF they weren't eating. Arrow was dominant over the hay feeder and would not let Murray eat from it. So we put a hay bag up away from the barrel hoping that would solve the issue because now they each had a separate place to eat in peace. We even bought a second pricey hay barrel. But no, we would just watch Arrow move Murray from one feeder to the next, back to the other feeder, back and forth back forth every few minutes! Observing Murray's anxiety and Arrow's food aggression are what made us design and construct the Buddy Feeder.
The Birth of the Buddy Feeder
We wanted to design a large enough hay feeder to where both horses could access the hay at one time on any side of the feeder. Using quality material to build the Buddy Feeder, it's weight keeps in from being pushed around by the horses so we could keep it in the middle of our paddock. Unlike the other feeders where we had to tether them to the fence. Safety is always one of our top priorities with our horses. With that in mind, we smoothed out the corners so they wouldn't injure themselves and attached the wire bottom so that they would never come in contact with it, and even the wire bottom is cut so that there are no sharp edges anyway! After trying several different materials to use for where they pull the hay through, we decided to use a black metal grate. It did not snap in half, bend, or break into little pieces like some of the other materials... the grate was sturdy. We wanted a feeder that was manageable, a feeder that was just one piece... no lids to warp, no hinges, no latches. So we designed the Buddy Feeder to have a thin opening at the top of one side. Just slide out the metal grate, add a bale of hay, and slide the grate back in... finished!
Since the day we built this feeder (late May 2014) and put it in their paddock, they both eat out of it simulaneously, ears forward with no signs of aggression. We add a bale of hay in the morning and they have access to it all day long whenever they choose. From that day forward, they've been true buddies... hence the Buddy Feeder.
My Work Ethic
I do not mass produce the Buddy Feeder. When someone believes in my design and wants to purchase a feeder for their own horses, I buid it. It will be finished within 48 hours. I do not rush my work. I take pride in my feeders and build each one like I'm building them for my own horses. And they only get the best. I pay close attention to detail, safety, and that it is built strong and heavy duty so that it lasts a long time. I keep my feeder out in the paddock in the blazing sun, rain, snow since the day I built it. I personally stained the outside of mine to help it from weathering in the elements and to this day it still looks brand new. There is no rot, the feeder does not wiggle, and the top trim is not loose one bit. If you purchase a Buddy Feeder from me, you will get a high quality, long lasting, safe slow feeder that you too, will be proud to have sitting in your own paddock.
Since building the Buddy Feeder, many horse owners have expressed interest in a slow feeder for just one horse so that it would be half the size and take up less room in smaller paddocks or even in stalls. For this reason, I designed the Stall Feeder.
Then, I had people ask if I could build a slow feeder for their minis, goats, and other smaller hay-eating animals. A feeder that would be lower to the ground for them to access hay easily. Because of these requests, I designed the Mini Buddy Feeder.