Hi Renee, I feed with round bales...
When I first started feeding with them I would have my neighboring farmer deliver one whenever I needed one. His tractor was not capable of tipping them up on end though and it would take at least three of us to do so. I would then roll the round bale feeder next to it and tip over so that it would contain the bale enough to keep from having it used for "bed and bathroom". There is still some wastage, but the difference in cost more than offset that. I have never worried about the rain since they would always clean up a bale before it would have a chance to mold, and lots of horses like their hay moistened anyway. I suppose you could "unroll" it in portions to feed as needed but I think it would be easier to just restrict their access to it. If you know about how long it takes them to consume the portion of hay that they are alotted now, to maintain their body weight, you could go by that for initial feeding access time and adjust as neccessary. The bales vary alot in size, and, with 9 horses here, the smallest bales generally last about 3 days and the largest bales last 6 or 7 days. I try to feed straight grass hay and do not restrict their access and some of them are definitely overweight (let's say fat). I also do not supplement their hay with any grain or sweet feed unless I am using it to feed meds and such. Hope this helps... Pat G., in MN Oh, and I always keep a supply of small squares on hand just in case I have no one to help me place a round bale or if I need to keep a horse in a stall for a while or if the weather is not condusive to feeding outdoors.
