6 Best Covered Horse Feeders For Sun Protection That Prevent Hay Waste
Protect hay from sun and cut waste with a covered feeder. This guide reviews the top 6 models that save money and keep your horse’s forage nutritious.
You’ve seen it happen. A perfect round bale, placed in the pasture on Monday, is a trampled, sun-bleached, and rain-soaked mess by Friday. Not only is half of it wasted, but what’s left is less nutritious and potentially moldy. This isn’t just an annoyance; it’s a direct hit to your wallet and a risk to your horses’ health.
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Why Covered Feeders Protect Hay and Horse Health
Sun-bleached hay isn’t just ugly; it’s less nutritious. The sun’s UV rays break down essential vitamins, particularly Vitamin A, leaving your horse with a less beneficial meal. A good cover provides shade, preserving the hay’s color and, more importantly, its nutritional content.
But the sun is only half the battle. Rain and snow turn hay into a breeding ground for mold and dust, which can cause serious respiratory issues and colic. A covered feeder keeps your hay dry and safe, preventing the kind of spoilage that leads to expensive vet bills.
Let’s be honest, horses are masters of waste. They pull hay out, step on it, and use it as a bathroom. A well-designed covered feeder with a hay-saving ring or slow-feed grate contains the hay, ensuring they eat what you provide instead of turning it into expensive bedding. This simple change can cut your hay bill by a surprising amount over a year.
The Hayhut: Ultimate Weather and Sun Protection
The Hayhut is essentially a personal barn for your round bale. Its fully enclosed, dome-like design offers unparalleled protection from every angle, whether it’s beating sun, driving rain, or heavy snow. Nothing gets through.
Made of tough, UV-stabilized polyethylene, it’s durable yet surprisingly lightweight. One or two people can tip it on its side to place a bale and then flip it back over. This makes it far more manageable than heavy steel feeders, especially for a small-scale operation.
The design features large feeding windows that allow multiple horses to eat without a dominant horse being able to block access completely. While it’s a significant upfront investment, the amount of hay it saves from spoilage and trampling means it often pays for itself within a season or two. It’s a top-tier solution for anyone serious about eliminating waste.
Tarter Hay Basket with Hay Saver: Top Durability
When you need something that can stand up to the toughest horses, steel is the answer. The Tarter Hay Basket is a heavy-duty feeder built for longevity. Its solid metal roof provides excellent shade and rain protection, and the entire structure is designed to withstand kicking, pushing, and rubbing.
The key feature is the hay-saver ring at the bottom. This metal grid prevents horses from yanking out huge mouthfuls and dropping them on the ground. They have to eat with their heads inside the feeder, which dramatically reduces trampling and soiling.
The main tradeoff is weight. This is not a feeder you can move easily by hand; you’ll likely need a tractor or a few very strong friends. But for a permanent or semi-permanent feeding station, its sheer toughness is a major advantage. It’s a buy-it-once kind of solution.
High Country Plastics Feeder for Slow Grazing
This feeder solves two problems at once: hay protection and fast eating. High Country’s covered feeders often incorporate a slow-feed grate, a metal grid that sits on top of the hay. Horses can only pull out small bites at a time through the openings.
This mimics natural grazing, which is better for their digestive systems and helps prevent boredom-related behaviors. It’s an excellent choice for easy keepers, metabolic horses, or any horse that tends to gorge themselves. The solid roof, of course, keeps the hay dry and shaded while they eat.
Be aware that slow-feed grates require some management. Very fine or dusty hay can clog the openings, and some horses take time to learn how to use them effectively. However, for promoting gut health and stretching your hay supply, the benefits are hard to beat.
Century Livestock Feeders for Large Herds
This 6-pack of Tiflev Goat Feeders simplifies livestock care by combining feeding and watering. The 3.5-quart capacity minimizes refills, while the mess-free design reduces waste and keeps your coop clean.
If you’re feeding a group of four or more horses, herd dynamics become a major factor. Century Livestock Feeders are designed with this in mind. Their large, often round or hexagonal, polyethylene feeders provide multiple feeding stations, reducing competition and ensuring less dominant horses get their share.
These feeders are incredibly tough without the risks of steel. The poly construction is safer if a horse kicks it, and it will never rust or require repainting. The integrated roofs are substantial, offering a wide area of shade and keeping the hay completely dry.
This is a solution built for scale. The size and cost make it overkill for just one or two horses. But for a small herd, it provides a safe, durable, and efficient central feeding station that minimizes waste and social stress.
Big Bale Buddy: A Smart, Portable Hay Saver
Not every solution has to be a rigid, heavy structure. The Big Bale Buddy is a tough, UV-treated polypropylene bag that wraps around the base of a round bale. It’s a brilliantly simple concept that is incredibly effective at preventing ground waste.
As horses eat the hay, the flexible bag collapses with the bale, keeping the remaining hay contained until the very end. This dramatically reduces the amount of hay that gets pulled out, trampled, and soiled. It’s also extremely lightweight, easy to put on, and by far the most affordable option for saving hay.
The Big Bale Buddy itself doesn’t provide sun or rain protection. It’s a hay saver, not a covered feeder on its own. However, its low profile and flexibility make it perfect for use under a separate roof structure, inside a run-in shed, or paired with a system like the Hay Chix roof.
Hay Chix Net & Roof: Minimize Hay Waste
Reduce hay waste and promote healthy digestion with the Hay Chix slow feed hay net. Made from durable, UV-treated marine-grade nylon, this half bale net features a patented closure for easy filling and secure feeding.
For the ultimate in waste reduction, a net is the answer. The Hay Chix system pairs a large-bale slow-feed net with a simple, lightweight roof that hangs above the bale. The net forces horses to work for every bite, virtually eliminating dropped hay.
The hanging roof is a clever, minimalist solution for weather protection. It provides shade and sheds rain directly away from the bale without the bulk of a traditional feeder. The entire system is lightweight and can be set up in different locations with relative ease.
The biggest consideration here is labor. Stuffing a large round bale into a net can be a chore, especially in the winter. But if your primary goal is to make a bale last as long as possible and keep your horses occupied, no other system is quite as efficient.
Choosing Your Feeder: Safety and Size Matter
Before you buy, think about safety above all else. Check for sharp edges, potential leg traps, or materials that could shatter dangerously. A feeder made of flexible poly is often safer than rigid steel for a horse that tends to kick or panic.
Consider your herd size and dynamics. A single feeder for a large or contentious group can lead to injuries and stress. Sometimes, two smaller feeders are better than one large one to ensure everyone can eat peacefully.
Finally, match the feeder to your hay source. Don’t buy a massive round bale feeder if you primarily use small square bales. Your choice should fit seamlessly into your existing hay management routine, making your life easier, not harder.
A covered feeder is more than just a piece of farm equipment; it’s an investment in your horse’s well-being and your farm’s bottom line. By protecting hay from sun and rain while preventing waste, the right feeder pays for itself quickly. The best choice depends on your herd, your hay, and your priorities, but the benefits of making a smart one are universal.
