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Horses need a place to eat their hay and that usually comes in the form of a horse feeder. If you don’t want to go to the feed store and purchase a brand new feeder, you can consider building one yourself. More than likely, if you have some land and horses — you probably have the basics as far as tools go as well.
Below, you’ll find the top DIY horse feeder ideas so you can get inspired and get started on this project. No matter if you have one horse or a herd of them — you’ll find a solution for your problem with one of these options.
Contents
- 1. Recycled Plastic Horse Feeder
- 2. Recycled Tire Horse Feeder
- 3. Horse Hay Feeder
- 4. Plastic Mesh Hay Feeder
- 5. Plastic Trash Can Horse Feeder
- 6. Indoor Stall Horse Feeder
- 7. Mesh Bag Horse Feeder
- 8. Metal Equine Hay Basket
- 9. Simple Wooden Frame Hay Feeder
- 10. V-Shaped Wooden Horse Feeder
- 11. Trough-Style Horse Feeder
- 12. Laundry Basket Hay Feeder
- 13. Mesh Feeder With a Roof
- 14. Hanging Barrel Horse Feeder
- 15. Kiddie Pool Covering Horse Feeder
- 16. Horse Feeder with a Tarp Roof
- 17. Plastic Playhouse Horse Feeder
- 18. Slanted Roof Wooden Horse Feeder
- Get Started on Your DIY Horse Feeder Today
1. Recycled Plastic Horse Feeder
If you’ve found yourself with a leftover plastic bin, you can easily turn this into a makeshift horse feeder. It’s the perfect container for grain or even a bunch of hay for your horse. You’ll want to ensure both ends of the feeder are sealed and then you’ll cut out an opening on one side of the tub.
Check out the project idea here: petdiys.com
From this opening, you’ll be able to fill and refill the feeder and your horses will have access to their food. This is a quick solution if you want a cheap feeder — as it won’t cost you anything if you already have the plastic tub.
If you want to paint the feeder, you’ll want to ensure that the paint you plan to use isn’t toxic for animals. You don’t want the paint chipping off into the feed and making your horses sick.
Additionally, if you want to view other projects, you might be interested in a DIY project for deer feeders.
2. Recycled Tire Horse Feeder
Another cheap and easy option for your horse feeder needs comes in the form of this tire feeder. If you have an old tire lying around from a truck or a tractor, you can repurpose it and give it new life.
View the project idea here: naturalhorseworld.com
These feeders are ideal for containing hay but not so much when it comes to loose grain. This is another free option (assuming you already had the tire) that just requires a bit of time on your end to set it up. No tools are required and you can have your horses using their new feeder within an hour or so.
3. Horse Hay Feeder
If you want to embark on a simple DIY project, you can gather up several wooden planks and build a small wooden forage box for your equine animals. This is a fairly straightforward build and you’ll need a compact circular saw and some nails.
You can check the DIY project here: hugofox.com
This box isn’t ideal for grain — only hay. The grain would fall out from the open gaps on the side of this feeder, whereas the hay stays well contained. Your horses won’t mind the plain design of this box, just that they’re getting fed.
4. Plastic Mesh Hay Feeder
If you find that your horses consume their meals too quickly — you may want to look into slow feeding options. The easiest solution is to cover the hay with some mesh netting, as this forces them to slow their eating pace down.
You can view the details here: diynets.net
You can place the netting into most feeders, but an open feeder does best as the horses have plenty of space to eat from. An older plastic bin will do just fine — or even a plastic kiddie pool if you have one from the previous summer.
5. Plastic Trash Can Horse Feeder
Caring for horses can be expensive and your budget may be too tied up to add in the cost of an expensive feeder. If this is the case, you can use old trash or recycling cans to create a feeding station for your horses. You can even use an old compost bin.
You can check the idea here: pinterest.com
This example shows an old can with the bottom cut out so that your horses have easy access to their hay. This costs nothing other than a couple of hours of your time and effort. You can lift the top to refill the feeder and then the older hay gets pushed to the bottom for your horses to eat.
6. Indoor Stall Horse Feeder
Some horse owners prefer for their horses to eat inside of their stalls. If this sounds like you, you can construct a stall feeder for your horse — using just a few tools and supplies.
You can check how to install this project: healthyhorsefeeders.com
You can use a metal fencing piece to ensure your horse doesn’t consume the hay by the mouthful. Similar to the mesh coverings from above, you can slow feed your horses to ensure better digestion.
You can easily refill this feeder by dropping some hay down the top and your horse will have no problem reaching their food.
7. Mesh Bag Horse Feeder
For a quick and cheap solution for your horse feeder problem, you can attach a mesh bag to a metal base and hang it up in your horse’s stall. This ensures the horse slows down to eat and doesn’t require any wood or extra plastic.
Check the DIY project here: horseandrider.com
This is a great solution for a feeder that doesn’t take up much space and won’t take you more than half an hour to set up. This feeder may be a little bit more difficult to fill with hay, but you’ll soon get the hang of it. You can’t place very much hay into this feeder at a single time — which is fine if you are carefully watching your horse’s diet.
You can also tie a mesh bag to a wooden post if you’d prefer for your horse to eat outdoors. For this example, you can forgo the metal frame entirely and just tie the bag to a sturdy ledge or frame outside.
8. Metal Equine Hay Basket
If you’re feeding a large group of horses at once, you’ll want a larger and more open feeder. This DIY equine basket is the perfect solution if you’re looking to create a durable solution for the long term.
Check the DIY equine basket here: thestuffofsuccess.com
You can place a substantial amount of hay into the basket at once — so you won’t need to refill it daily. If you want your horses to be able to be free-fed, this is a great option for you. Several horses can eat at once, so you don’t have to worry about anyone getting impatient.
9. Simple Wooden Frame Hay Feeder
If you simply want to throw a couple of large bales of hay into your feeder at once, you’ll simply need a frame of some sort to keep them contained. This doesn’t have to be a complicated build and you should only require cutting a few tall 4×4 support beams.
You can view the detailed project here: threechestnuts.com
The benefit of this frame is that it gives smaller horses or shetland ponies the chance to eat hay and taller horses can reach overtop at the same time. If you have a variety of equine animals, this would be an ideal solution for a feeder.
All you need is a cordless circular saw to make your cuts, and then a lightweight drill to join the wood together.
10. V-Shaped Wooden Horse Feeder
For this feeder, you can opt to use pallets to build the frame instead of going out and purchasing new wood. This is a great way to reuse and recycle what you currently have — which helps preserve your budget in the short term. Pallet wood is relatively easy to find, and you can paint the pallets if you want a certain color.
You can achieve the project idea here: cowgirlmagazine.com
Depending on the quality of your pallets, you may find yourself needing to replace the feeder within a couple of years. However, it’s a solid option if you have the supplies available and it’s a creative solution for recycling what you have lying around.
11. Trough-Style Horse Feeder
This feeder has a corrugated metal housing around it — with the plastic trough placed inside. This is the perfect choice if you live in an area with a lot of inclement weather — so you’re able to protect the horse feed during rain and snow.
Check the details here: motherearthnews.com
Cutting corrugating tin roofing can be a challenge, but only needs to be done once.
You can build a simple roof for this feeder, so you can quickly cover the feed if the need arises. The corrugated metal offers a level of insulation for the feed as well. You won’t need to worry about the hay and grain during the next snowstorm.
12. Laundry Basket Hay Feeder
If you’re looking for a solution that can be easily moved around the pen, grab a few laundry baskets from your laundry room and fill them with hay. This allows your horse to move the feed basket around and enjoy an interactive meal.
View the project here: pinterest.com
An especially playful and young horse will enjoy this type of feeder, as it will keep them preoccupied while they eat. This design also acts as a slow feeder for your horse if you notice that they’re eating too quickly and not digesting their meal properly.
13. Mesh Feeder With a Roof
Another solution for a feeder that can stand up to some inclement weather would be this one, which has a corrugated metal roof over the top of it. You can open the side door to the feeder when you want to refill it with hay.
View the project details here: sites.google.com
Build the roof trusses first, and then use your circular saw to cut the metal roofing. If you need more ideas for your structure, you could also add a ramp.
Wrapping the hay in mesh helps to slow the horses down while they eat, which aids in their ability to digest their food completely. The roof keeps the rain off of the hay and keeps the wood from rotting once it’s gotten wet.
14. Hanging Barrel Horse Feeder
If you happen to have an extra plastic barrel or two laying around, you can cut some holes into the plastic sides and fill it with hay. Or, you could even use a drill to make the holes in the plastic barrel. You can choose to leave it on the ground or you can alternatively hang it from a sturdy part of the ceiling.
View the project here: pinterest.com
This allows the horse to eat at an ideal height. The cut-out holes help to slow the horse during the eating process. This can also act as an interactive feeding routine for your horse — which some horses tend to enjoy as it keeps them engaged and active.
15. Kiddie Pool Covering Horse Feeder
If you simply want to protect your bales of hay from the rain, you can choose to cover them with a kiddie pool. The horses are still able to eat from the hay below the pool, but the top portion is roofed and protected from any rainfall.
Check out the project idea here: miniaturehorsetalk.com
Once the hay gets wet, it can begin to rot and it won’t be healthy for your horses to eat at that point. It’s important to protect the hay in some fashion so you don’t end up having to waste bales of it.
16. Horse Feeder with a Tarp Roof
Another cheap and simple option for protecting your bales of hay is to use some PVC piping for anchors and use a tarp to cover the top of the bales. You can cut the PVC pipe quickly with your circular saw. This is something you can construct within an afternoon and you can deconstruct it when the weather is set to be clear.
Check the idea here: pinterest.com
If you don’t have PVC pipes, you can use any tall length of wood to anchor the tarp onto. You just want them to be tall enough so that the horses can eat the hay without having to duck too much.
17. Plastic Playhouse Horse Feeder
Another creative recycling option for your horse feeder would be to use an old plastic kid’s playhouse. This protects the hay from bad weather and is suitable for smaller horses and ponies. For larger horses, this wouldn’t be a great option as it may be too low to the ground for them.
View the project idea here: natuurlijkpaarden.nl
If you don’t mind the vivid color of the house, it’ll be a great solution for your hay. The horses won’t mind that they’re eating out of a recycled house — they’ll just be happy to have dry hay.
18. Slanted Roof Wooden Horse Feeder
If you want to simultaneously store several bales of hay in a place where your horses can have access to them, you can build this open-faced roofed feeder/shed. The corrugated metal roof offers protection from the elements and you can build the siding of the frame with pallets.
Check the project details here: petdiys.com
How Do You Make a Slow Feeder for Horses?
A slow feeder for horses can be made by repurposing materials such as hay nets or large plastic containers. Cut small holes or slots in the material to regulate hay consumption. Make sure to hang the feeder at chest height with a hay bag or use a ground feeder. Using a slow feeder can actually stimulate the horse and encourage grazing behavior.
How High Should a Horse Hay Feeder Be?
A horse hay feeder should be at chest height, which is typically between 4 and 5 feet off the ground. This promotes proper digestion and a natural head position for the horse while eating. The exact height will depend on the size of the horse and the type of feeder used.
Get Started on Your DIY Horse Feeder Today
Overall, creating a feeder for your horses can be a quick and inexpensive project that can be completed within an afternoon. You’ll want to choose different designs of feeders based on how many horses you have and whether or not you want to include grain into the feeder.
No matter which option you choose — your horses will be happy with your decision as long as they’re getting their meals every day. You don’t have to blow your budget to buy a new feeder from the store. Even with minimal handy skills, you can create one on your own on a tighter budget.
