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The PORTA-GRAZER is designed to replicate, as close as possible, a natural grazing environment for your confined equines by slowing down feed intake while simulating head down grazing behaviour.  The result is better physical and mental health for the horse. 

 

We knew it needed to be user friendly and at the same time safe for the horse, with no locks, latches or hardware to fool with.  It is perfect, too, for travelling - no mess, no wasted feed and no unsanitary conditions with the PORTA-GRAZER.  The inventor of the Porta-Grazer, Walt Tharp, says the goal is to contribute to better equine health as well as saving money for the owner. 

 

We take great pride in our company, our commitment to customer service and in the products we sell.  Our online store is designed to provide you with a safe and secure environment to browse our product catalogue.   

ABOUT US

Finally - a Hay Feeder that fits your busy schedule and your horse’s digestive needs!

Take a minute to look at your horse’s world through his eyes. He has evolved from the beginning of his time to be on the move, twenty-four hours a day if necessary, to survive.  He had to be agile and fleet of foot to evade the always present predators looking for him to be their next meal.  He travelled light, having a small stomach (about 15 litres) carrying little food, constantly eating and moving. This is the mind and body of the pet in your paddock or your equine athlete.  Compare his natural feeding routine to the one you have provided him and you will see why he is not as healthy and contented as he could be.

It is natural for a horse to travel and search for food constantly.  Everywhere he looks there is food.  He stands in it, walks in it, and lays on it.  This is his world - he is a hind gut fermenting grazer.  Meaning he searches, pulls, tears, chews and swallows in a continuous manner whenever he is hungry, eating only enough to be satisfied and never to be full.  Unlike humans that produce stomach acid when they eat, horses secrete a constant ongoing supply of stomach acid (60 litres per day) to digest the constant supply of forage they require to survive.  Horses do not have a gall bladder like humans to infuse large quantities of bile into their small intestine as they eat a meal.  A horse’s liver supplies a constant supply of bile (10 litres per day) to the small intestines whether they are eating or not.

When grazing, horses search and tear each bite to a size that can be chewed thoroughly.  Well chewed forage mixed with saliva is the beginning of the digestive process.  Saliva production (about 37 litres 

a day) is dependent on the movement of the jaw muscles.  

This alkaline mixture of saliva and forage buffers the stomach acid as it is being digested.  He relies on the Ph balance in the stomach to indicate when he has eaten enough.  Remember, horses do not eat to be full but only enough to not be hungry, thus the term trickle feeding.

The Porta-Grazer is designed to allow the horse to graze hay in a naturally slow, continuous, manner in the correct posture.  Restrictive hay feeders and nets are designed to slow the horse down by force.  Being restricted and forced heightens anxiety and can result in gastric ulcers and an unhappy, unhealthy lifestyle. Horses are the only ones who know how fast or slow they should eat and each one has its individual needs.  Porta-Grazer's patented design offers hay to the horse in such a manner that each bite is pulled and torn to size resulting in a slowed rate of consumption.  Searching-pulling-tearing while chewing and swallowing is natural and that’s Porta​-Grazer .

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