feedbags

Mesh weighs a lot less and folds down smaller. Plus it's easy to soak feed in whatever water source you've got.
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Now, there's something I hadn't thought about. My dad has been telling me about beet pulp for feeding on the trail. Says you soak it before feeding it. I've never used it, but I'm going to look into it.

Anna, are you carrying anything to supplement the grazing for your stock?

Yes, grain. Oats, mostly. Sometimes corn, sometimes barley if we can find it. They get between 1 and 3kg per day, depending on workload, general condition, and state of grazing that day.
I honestly wouldn't swap our mesh bags for anything.
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We always used the mesh bags, I think the horses finger them more comfortable to breathe in.

Tony, I use Beet pulp a lot. At home in the winter when the weather is really cold, I will soak it and feed it along with hay to add extra water to the horses diet during cold weather.

At trail rides, I offer the horses a drink. When they are done drinking, I then give them soaked beet pulp as a way to cram a little extra water into them.

My horses eat beet pulp with gusto. So I can easily add just about anything I want to slip into the beet pulp and get the horses to eat it. Electrolytes being a prime example.

Around here, I can buy beet pulp pellets for about $10-$12 a 50lb bag. So they are priced similar to other feed products. They broaden the mineral and vitamins that my horses would normally get just from hay.

There are some good articles on animal nutrition that discuss what beet pulp offers in the horse diet. Especially in the distance horse.

Thanks all. Great information.

Thanks Painted Horse for the link you sent on beet pulp and the above information. I used it several years ago to try to put some weight on an old horse. Never had time to really look into it much as a trail feed. I'm going to look around here and see if I can find it. I'll start my mare on it and get her used to it as a supplement.

I wish we could find it here. Great stuff.

Got my order from Trailhead Supply.

They both look pretty well-made, but I have a small complaint about each one:

The mesh bag's straps are sewn to the bag with one line of stitching. I'd prefer to see some reinforcing there with a couple lines of stitching.

The canvas/leather bag looks very well made. My complaint is that the breathing panel is too low on the bag for my taste. I'm concerned that three or four pounds of alfalfa pellets in the bag might cover it. I've seen horses stop eating in a nose bag, because their breathing was restricted.

At $14.95 and $21.95, respectively, I think they're both a good buy.

I'll put some use on both and see which I like best.