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The Original Slow Feeder Hay Bags

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The original Busy Horse Hay Bags were created back in 1972. 

 

Jan, Johnny and their two little girls moved to the Isthmus on the west end of Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California and soon after bought their first Welsh pony, Rinky B.  As the girls grew they ended up with three Welsh ponies. The Conservancy that maintained the island cut and baled the local grass hay and it was a good food source for the ponies. They were kept in a

large pen with shelters but were not allowed to graze as the buffalo (American Bison) freely roamed the island. In order to keep the ponies busy and also keep them from eating too much Jan started making Busy Horse hay bags with her industrial sewing machine.

 

They rode the ponies all over the island and it was very convenient to have hay in bags to feed the ponies at the local camps. Eventually the girls went to college and Jan and Johnny moved to Avalon at the east end of the island. The ponies were boarded at Middle Ranch and soon other boarders were also interested in the hay bags.

 

Hay was very expensive to ship to the island when the Conservancy no longer grew hay. The original bag started out as a toy to keep a horse busy but became a better way to feed a horse. Through trial and error the design as a toy to keep a horse busy was also made larger and with bigger openings so they can be used to feed a meal. The double ring closure at the top has always remained constant because of safety so no horse gets tangled in the bag. Thus Busy Horse hay bags began to be a business and has evolved into the slow system to feed horses that you see today.

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