Does anyone have plans for building a hay rack?  I have looked online at purchasing the metal racksand they are just too expensize.  I did a search for plans on line and found lots of stuff for cattle but nohting I thought I coudl adapt for horses.  It would be for 2 - 4 horses but if I could get plans I can always adjust the size.

 Thanks!

If you're talking about for a round bale, I saw one the other day in a neighbor's pasture and went "duh", lol!  It was very simple but you could add to it to make it whatever you want.  Somebody had taken 4 probably 10' -12' treated 4X4s, and sank them in the ground so that a bale would roll in one end and be locked in.  There were 2X4s around the top to stabilize it (so this is taller than the horse) and 2X6s about chest high on a mid size horse, all the way around, and at ground level.  That was it.  The end the bale would go in was a bar arrangement that could be taken off to roll in the new bale and lock it in with one of the chest-high 2X6s.  Very simple and there appeared to be very little mess.

That's great.  Thanks. 

 We have a hayloft full of square bales.  I guess I should have mentioned I need to something for the square bales or two put a half a bale in. 

We have one that a boarders husband built, it looks like a large baby cradle. About three feet wide and maybe six feet long and 3 feet deep. I know this isn't a "plan" but I'll try to get a picture and post it for you. Hubby is not to handy so I was impressed with what he built, so I assume it wasn't that difficult.

flyingchange:

 We have a hayloft full of square bales. 

I have 2 homemade square bale feeders. Someone gave us one and hub made the other.. He used large plastic barrels cut in half to catch the falling hay with holes bored in for drainage. You can feed them in it also, tho I don't often.  Rebar I believe is what he used for the basic structure. It's on a square of the same for a base and can be pulled(heavy tho) by him or w/a tractor.

Pics can be viewed at MY PHOTOBUCKET

Thanks!  Appyt, I love the barrel idea.  My dad isn't a metal guy but maybe he can adapt your pictures to work with wood.  Dbbear, I would love to see your pictures to get more ideas.  Thanks again!

Years ago my dad made one out of the slats from some skids for our ponies. No reason why your dad can't make one similar. Dad made a fairly square base (sorta like a box with no bottom) that was open to the dirt below.  Then he made the 2 sides that would form the Vs with gaps that allowed the horses to pull the hay thru but not so wide as to allow flakes to fall out. (hub left them too wide on the one he made.. grrrr)   and attached them somehow to the box. I'm sure your dad can figure that out. :)  Ours was square and only wide enough for one pony per side, but that's all we needed. :)    You might fare better with 2 smaller ones as opposed to 1 large one. It would be easier to move and easier for the horses to share, or not to share..  ;)  I use both of mine and I have 4 horses and a pony..  Nobody wants someone right beside them.. The Goobers.. 

I have attached a baby's crib spring est, about 3'x5" to the wall of a large stall in my barn. The bottom rail of the spring needs to be able to rotate in whatever clamps you attach it to the wall with. The top rail needs to have some means to hold it in place after you put hay between the crib spring & the stall wall. I used some old U shaped brackets that were used for big insulators. They still had the pins that help the insulators in them & those pins work great. As you push the top of the crib spring against the hay to secure the top; the hay is compressed by the stretching of the spring. My donkeys have to work at getting the hay out instead of just grabbing big mouthful which often ends up on the ground. I can get about half a square bale in at once. Thrift stores often have crib springs for sale.