Hi Nikki here from GutzBusta! We often hear various inquiries from customers about the hay nets' drawstrings. The easiest way to tackle this is to put all the information in one place for customers to easily reference.
Some of these questions are:
- How do I extend the length of my current drawstring?
- What is a daisy chain knot and how can that help me?
- What do you do with your drawstring if the hay net is on the ground (unshod horses only)?
- Do you have any other material available for drawstrings?
Extending the length of your drawstring
Sometimes you may find you need to extend your drawstring longer than what we provide. There is a REALLY easy way to do this without having to replace your drawstring with a longer length.
- Simply, undo the simple knot at the end of your drawstring (pictured below). Grab one of these ends and tie an overhand loop knot in it.
- Then feed the OTHER end of the drawstring through this loop, feeding it all the way through so that you now have a nice long drawstring that is one single length of rope, instead of 2. This almost doubles the length of the drawstring rope.
This Overhand knot is the knot that our drawstrings are tied with and is a very simple knot to undo and redo.
It is also the knot we recommend to use at the base of the net, once you have loaded your hay net with hay. This secures the hay within the net as some 'tricky' ponies may try and bury their nose down at this point in the attempt to get some hay. Tying this knot at the base of the net will stop that from happening.
Daisy Chain Knot
The daisy chain knot is a great knot to use to take up the length of excess drawstring in all situations, particularly if you are using your hay net on the ground. As we have mentioned multiple times, hay nets should NEVER be on the ground if your horse is SHOD. However, for many of us that have unshod hooves that are regularly trimmed so there are no chips and splits, then our hay nets are great to throw on the ground if you want to do this.
What do you do with the drawstring if you want to throw your hay net out on the ground?
This is a very common question that we receive. A daisy chain knot allows the excess drawstring rope to be removed from being a potential hazard by not only shortening it up, but also removing anything to get tangled in.
Please watch our video on how to do this as there are a few different ways. You can either do it by tying a simple overhand knot at the base of the hay net once you have filled it with hay, then you can leave the overhand knot at the end of the drawstring in place and do a daisy chain knot. Or, you can again tie the overhand knot at the base of the net, then untie the simple overhand knot at the end of the drawstring, and again do the daisy chain knot.
We do recommend tying a simple overhand knot at the base of the hay net after filling with hay to ensure a tight closure of the hay net and then doing the daisy chain knot!
Leaving your hay net on the ground (unshod Equines only)
Not just useful for smaller hay nets, the daisy chain knot is also great for round bales of hay when you have an excess drawstring length.
Aside from using a daisy chain knot, you can also just undo the simple overhand knot at the END of the drawstring after tying a overhand knot at the base of of your hay net to secure the hay in the net. This will then leave 2 free lengths of rope and nothing, such as a loop of drawstring for legs and feet to get caught in.
Of course this must be assessed in each individual situation and individual animal personality, as to if this is a good choice for your horses or livestock. I have done this for 13 year and never had an issue, however each and every horse and situation is different and in some cases, this might be deemed unsafe. Therefore, even if you undo the simple knot at the end of the drawstring, you can still apply a daisy chain knot to the drawstring.
Replacing a Drawstring!
The easiest way to replace a drawstring is to start at one of the sewn edges and weave in through every second mesh hole. As a guide, follow the existing drawstring if possible. It doesn't matter if you miss a hole, as the drawstring will still work just fine, so don't stress too much about it.
Feed the drawstring along one side of the hay net, then pull half of it through, then flip the net and feed the drawstring through the remaining net. Once the drawstring has been woven through the entire net, pull it through so it is even on both sides and then tie a simple overhand knot in the end of the drawstring to keep it secured within the hay net.
New Drawstring Material
Both our Knotted and Knotless Hay Nets come with an included 6mm Braided Polyethylene drawstring. This is a durable, affordable, tried and tested material that has been used for many years. That said, in certain scenarios (and for certain users of our hay nets), a more premium drawstring may be something you are looking for.
Introducing our range of Premium Soft Braided Polyester replacement drawstrings, a cord that can provide the following benefits for Hay Net users:
- 8mm Diameter: Super Strong with Easy to tie and untie knots
- Slides easily through the netting, facilitating quick opening and closing of hay nets with the drawstring, which means quick filling and hanging times.
- Bright dynamic colours to help identify net sizes, or have a different colour for each horse.
- Super strong with heat shrink sealed ends
- Fits through the Carabiner hole if required
Our premium replacement range offers an opportunity for both a functional and ergonomic benefit to our community of Hay Net users. The bright colours make it fun, whilst also making it easy to locate hay nets from a distance.
Once you try the 8mm premium range we are certain that you will love them, and that they will be the BEST looking and performing Hay Net drawstring you’ve used.
