Safety for shod horses or foals

GutzBusta use for small hooves or foals or shod horses.

When using any hay net, always take note of the size of your animals feet.

If you have foals with small feet, or ponies then don’t let their feet get in contact with the netting if the size of the netting hole is larger than the size of the hoof. Therefore, 6cm sized nets are not recommended for ponies or any animals with hooves smaller than 6cm diameter (unless you tie the net high enough or put it in a box or some other device that separates hooves from net). 4cm and 3cm nets are the safest for foals and ponies with small hooves but always check that the diameter of their hooves is LARGER than the hay net hole size you are choosing if there will be no barrier between their feet and the net.

Most ponies feet are bigger than 4cm but foals and mini pony foals may not be. The last thing you want is your foal to get caught in a net.


Once your foals feet are larger than the net size then they are safe to be with a hay net at feet level like these 2 gorgeous stock horse babies.

There are many ways to keep their shod hooves out of the net:

You can use a box like an old peach box or a hay ring to keep their hooves away from the hay nets. Click here for other safety ideas and things to consider when using slow feed hay nets with your horses or livestock.



Another simple solution is to tie your nets higher until the feet grow big enough.


Small GutzBusta Hay Net

Another option is using Hay huts. They work great with GutzBusta® Slow Feed Hay Nets for both weather protection and keeping hooves away from nets.
GutzBusta Round Bale Hay Net

When considering buying a slow feed hay net, there are many factors to take into account. Please click here for more information on taking into consideration the type of hay you are feeding, quality of the net, chosing the right size, shoes and youngstock, customer ideas and ingenuity.