HayDown Design

I wanted wide grazing areas and huge capacities, for horses to feel they  had plenty of hay, plenty of space and good all round vision when grazing. Fabricating from 5mm thick sheet plastic meant we could go as big as the sheets would allow, without an enormous investment in enormous forming moulds. At 120x120cm (4'x4') I think that's pretty big. I wanted horses to have a wide choice of holes to pull hay from, a bit of interest. Creating the choice of heights came later. 

Have a look at the internal dimensions to see how much hay they will hold. You can see these in the description of each product in the shop, and in the full range illustration on the home page.

3 heights

Easy to do with fabrication. As mentioned in for your horses, there are HayDowns for all sizes of horses.

40cm high Mini Shetland+
50cm high Shetland+
60cm high Standard. Any horse taller than about 12 hands. If you are unsure, when your horse's head is down measure the height from the floor to the highest point under the neck.

Of course, taller horses can use the lower heights too, they will be grazing even nearer ground level.

Stable tough and flexible

This is an obvious one, they really need to be, especially around here in Sheffield where it's really hilly. HayDowns are rigid at the base and flexible at the top, so they will give if knocked or pressed against. Most of the weight is low down, and most of them are quite a bit wider than tall. If they are being turned over you can tie them back to something either though the cable ties or by drilling holes in the side, remember to pick up the drillings. The recycled LDPE sheet is incredibly tough, while being flexible and quite soft, it will not shatter or crack until below -40 deg C. The MDPE tubes even colder. The cable tied joints add to this tough flexibility, and we feel they are safer than metal fastenings that could have been used in this situation. The nylon cable ties will give up at -40 deg C. There is no doubt a horse out there that can break one, though its likely only the ties that fail. Ties and other replacement parts can be bought.

It's in the nature of how they are made! Plus the field feeders have lots of 38mm holes in the base to let the rain drain away, and a row of 24mm holes all round the sides for added ventilation helping keep the hay fresh for longer. You cannot soak hay in these. You can put soaked hay in them, or hose it once in. See notes about soaked hay in For you.

If a part breaks or wears out, no problem, no need to throw the whole thing away, you can buy spares from YatesMakes Ltd.
HayDowns come with a 2 year guarantee, (cable ties not covered by the guarantee).
Like Trigger’s broom you can keep these going for years. And if you can give us some feedback as to why it broke, even better as we can look to improve the design. That's another good thing about fabrication.
The final test prototypes have been in use since spring 2019, including the occasional back kicking, no spares have been asked for yet.

The main parts are made from UK recycled bale wrap, and nearly all materials are recyclable again, even the cable ties. Only the tension bands in the latches are not recyclable. After assembly pop the cable tie tails in the prepaid envelope provided and return to me for recycling. If you want to recycle any of the main parts - the base, top, sides, and vertical guides - rap them in brown paper and send by courier or post. Domestic recycling won’t take black plastic. You may be able to find another use for the plastic, or a commercial recycler near you may take them?

The stainless steel parts and tension bands from the latch mechanisms can be kept in your shed for something else useful.
Can anyone think of something to make from cable tie tails?

If it can't be reduced, reused, repaired
Rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold
Recycled or composted
Then it should be restricted, redesigned
Or removed from production

Pete Seeger