6 Great Reasons To Feed From Ground Level

Learn about the physical, mental and emotional benefits of eating in a natural grazing position & more when you feed your horse from the ground.

A natural grazing position allows the mandible (jaw bone) to come down and forward in the atlantoaxial and temporomandibular joints. This alignment:

• Enables the mandible to move up and down, side to side, forward and back without any restriction
• Facilitates natural wear of teeth - along with optimum mastication and reduction of particle size

A natural grazing position puts less strain on the skeletal system and soft tissue because a horse is designed to eat with the head down.

A horse’s emotional state is reflected in body position and posture. If we require a horse to eat with their head elevated, we are encouraging an alert and tense mental state. 

Ground feeders such as the Standard Ground Hay Pillows and Mini Hay Pillows® do not impair the horse's peripheral vision. If impaired, this can create tension psychologically. Horses are prey animals and depend on sight and sound to detect predators.

Enables nasal passages to drain effectively thereby minimizing the inhalation of dust and particles.

Eliminates the risk of hay and dust falling into your horse's eyes. 

*Note:  Shod livestock should not use any netting device on the ground. Due to the dangers involved in using any mesh material that can potentially get caught on a horseshoe, it is not safe or recommended. We do not recommend the use of netting devices with horned animals or horses with blankets or halters that can potentially become snared in netting.​
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See our Slow Feed Solutions By Enclosure Type & Weather Conditions to learn more about appropriate choices for shod and barefoot livestock depending on your unique environment.