[horselovinguy]

Therefore I agreed to hang the nets (I have three 1-inch and one 1.5 inch hole nets).

I would ditch the 1" nets unless this horse is a expert at eating from slow-feed and absolute pig about their hay in how fast they consume.

1.5 - 1.75" inch is what many use for horses...and a slow introduction from a free-for-all gorge to slowdown consuming needs taken into consideration.

The difference between being a grazed from the feeder box to a hanging net that wiggles and moves can also frustrate a horse so much they walk-away.
If you must use hanging nets a way to secure the bottom of the net so when a mouthful is taken the horse not get smacked in the face might entice your horses to eat better.
A screw-eye and double-end snap to hold the bag still at the base... my concern is as the net gets emptier the fall off the wall can invite a leg to get stuck in the now loop made..
Maybe placing the net inside a corner stall hay feeder might work too...
You as owner will have to experiment some to find good combination.
First thing though is as long as its hanging and not inside a ground feeder box is larger size net opening and secure the bottom for stability....watch how the horse does and then as they adapt, if you need to slow down the amount they eat adjust larger or smaller those net opening sizes.

I saw this when looking for some other ideas of ground feeder style that might be acceptable to the barn if your horse really objects to wall hung bag feeders...
The 1 ¼” and 1 ¾” are the most popular mesh sizes; ¼” makes a significant difference in rate of consumption. If you have never used a slow feeder we suggest the 1 ¾”. Smaller mesh sizes do not necessarily equate to your equine eating slower - they may not be able to eat at all. Depending on your equine's personality and experience with slow feeders, there is no “one size fits all equines” mesh size. Horses fed meals are typically anxious when fed and tend to be far less patient with slow feeders.
Great words of wisdom written and shared above...

Choosing A Mesh Size

Get tips & guidelines. Learn how to choose the best mesh size based on your horse's personality & experience.

www.thehaypillow.com

Some ideas to think about and maybe something similar to make and or use in your situation.
🐴.... jmo...

 

[horselovinguy]

@tinyliny....as with anything else horse, "it depends..."
Hay as you know is fed by weight, not mass. If your flakes are very thick, dense hay then 6 flakes for a animal roughly 1000 pounds is about accurate.
Remember it is about 2% of their body gross weight to feed in forage for the average keeper, then if they not thrive is when feed can and should be offered if upping the hay amount or quality not give enough of what the animal can eat in a reasonable amount of time.
Slow eaters don't eat as much as fast so sometimes offering higher quality offsets the slow chew and swallow to get enough nutrition in the animals.

A 50 pound bale by me averages 14 flakes of hay. If all flakes are even each is about 3.5 pounds, then multiply that by 6 flakes fed over the course of the day = 21.5 pounds of hay consumed. Now if your bale weight is "off" that then throws off the equation of how much to feed whether more or less being needed.
For a horse who would weigh in at 1,000 pounds that "technically" should be enough hay.
Variables always need taken into consideration when a horse eats faster or wastes and why do they waste.
If a horse is in training and working hard they probably will require more fed in as they are burning more calories during the day too.

So, to answer your question, "Is 6 flakes of hay a day normal? "....
For a horse who weighs 1,000 pounds and fed off of 50 pound bales of hay....and is a average keeper...
It should be. But taking into consideration all the variables..."it depends" and is so animal specific to what they get fed, eat and how much if any they waste.
When I worked in the barns our 15 - 16 hand horses were fed between 8 - 10 flakes a day very dependent to bale weight and if the horse cleaned up all before more would be given. Our hay was a 50/50 of timothy & alfalfa, nice hay but these were working horses ridden daily and in training for showing as were their riders...

Hope that answered the question and a bit of understanding of how to figure out is it enough, to much or to little....then of course watching the animal for changes is always a must!!
🐴.... jmo...