“The hay last mile”, technology and stud hands

This article is written by Viktor Kvachan, the father of horse engineering, innovator and founder of EHOSS. Part Two. The first part of the article.

The hay last mile is the distance that hay takes from hay bale to hay feeder. It is the weakest in hay technology today. I would say, technology is absent in this process.?

The hay loading process in a wheelbarrow.

This process consists of some steps. The stud hands manage this process manually for all stables. First the hay bale is divided into portions to load in a wheelbarrow. One wheelbarrow has enough hay for about 4 horses. This process takes quite a long time and it is dangerous for humans. The mass of dust rises into the air during the loading process and humans breathe this in. There is such a thing as “farmer lungs” in rural areas in the US. That means the farmer breathes in dusty air all the time. For example, the stud hands need 2 hours for feeding 20 horses.

Sometimes the hay bale is located outside. So, the bale may get wet or may be a good place for dogs and cats. The animals leave their wool and sometimes they can leave their droppings.?

This video is a good example how as it is now ??

Hay loading in a hay feeder.

There are a few ways how to feed a horse with hay. Mostly it is a piece of welded metal mesh placed on the wall of the stall. Some horse owners do not like this way of feeding. So, they are putting the hay on the floor in the stall. Both ways of feeding have advantages and disadvantages, but they have some things in common.

The first problem is the significant loss of hay. It can be up to 20% of the daily amount of hay by volume. The hay’s straws are 30 cm and over in length. The horse loses part of the hay during the eating process on the floor; some hay is trampled; some hay falls outside.?

The second problem is the uncontrolled hay volume that is eaten in a short time. There is no possibility to make small hay portions because a horse is fed twice a day in the majority of cases; in the morning and in the evening.?

The next big problem is the huge amount of dust in the hay. The horse breathes it, the human breathes it, the dust falls on all the surfaces, the dust damages electronic devices and equipment in the stable.?

The hay feeder and a lack of technology.

I would say nothing has changed in the horse stall in the last century. The horse was eating hay from a mechanical metal construction so it does today. Well, unless we count the “invention” of hay slow feeding.

Slow feeders are designed to slow the feeding of a horse so that it limits the portion of hay a horse can eat in one moment.

The haynet or the feed bag is used for the trailers, for the mobile stables during equestrian events. ??

There are so many modifications of hay feeders that we have today. Some of them have smaller holes to limit the portion of hay for horse feeding.

?The primary disadvantage of current hay feeders is the inability to manage the hay quality. There is the absence of the possibility to get dust, mold and animal droppings off. Also there is a lack of opportunity to change humidity in the hay, hay smell and to manage the hay portions for feeding etc.

Conclusion.

My coined term “The hay last mile” describes and defines the problematic final process of the preparation and transportation of hay to the horse stall.

The hay last mile has a huge effect on horse health and its psychological condition. The hay last mile also has an effect on human health. The hay last mile is one of the hardest and most labour-intensive processes for the stable hands.

Nowadays the hay last mile increases costs in the living conditions of horses and destroys technological equipment in the stable.?

Waiting to read in the next part of this article about EHOSS "The Hay Last Mile" soluton!