NetBox by Horse Feeding Solutions Ltd
The back story:
I was filling 20 hay nets a day for my horses and like most people, I found it extremely tedious! I had two or three second-hand ‘dolavs’ (a ‘dolav’ is a large, heavy-duty plastic pallet box used to store and transport bulky or heavy goods) and used cable ties and carabiners to tie the nets into the bottom of them – but I was still having to fill the hay nets. I could have just put the loose hay in the ‘dolavs’ but I needed to slow down the rate at which the horses were eating (I have fatties…) and without nets, they were tossing loose hay all over the place, then trampling it, weeing on it, making a mess and just generally wasting it!
My long-suffering, dearly beloved and resourceful husband put his head together with a very talented design engineer friend and the short story is that they came up with the “NetBox”!
Using my second hand ‘dolavs’ they initially created the NetBox Auto – an integral frame and net meant that I could just lift the frame and drop the hay in and the hay wasn’t being pulled out and dropped and wasted. A lid on a timer that would open and close at set times or at set intervals (the “Auto” part of it) meant there was no risk of the horses being without hay for extended periods. Perfect! After that came the ‘standard’ NetBox – same integrated net and frame in a ‘dolav’ but without a lid and timer and the realisation that this could be useful for anyone who had to fill hay nets and was concerned about wasting hay and so on.
Both models underwent rigorous testing by my herd which, during the last few years has comprised various makes and models ranging from 17.2 sports horses, through warmbloods to natives and cobs.
Having proved their worth at home, both models of Netbox went out for trials in track and traditional livery yard environments (huge thanks to the track and yard owners who accommodated these trials). The first trial was at PB Paddock Paradise Livery and after trialling the NetBox Auto on one of their tracks, Horse Feeding Solutions were invited to bring the NetBox to the open day in 2025.
This was our public debut and we were delighted by the interest in both the NetBox Auto and the standard NetBox. Buoyed by this, we plucked up our courage, raided our savings accounts and took a stand at Your Horse Live last year. WOW! What a reception! It was marvellous!
As a result of conversations with so many people, it became apparent that there was a need for a lower-sided NetBox to accommodate smaller horses / ponies / minis, and a more compact box to fit in a shelter or stable. We set our minds to it (well, the ‘boys’ did) and were delighted to be invited back to PB Paddock Paradise Livery’s open day recently, where we were able to take the NetBox Mini and the NetBox Compact for their first public outing.
Once again, the NetBoxes had a great reception and interest has increased still more as a result of a post on Happy Trackin’ Magazine’s FB page. There is, however, no substitute for seeing the NetBoxes “in the flesh” so we are very much looking forward to bringing them all to the Horsemanship Showcase and hope to meet some of the people who have expressed an interest – and everyone else of course.
We have another model in the pipeline and will have a ‘first iteration’ with us for the weekend – you will be the first to see it! Please do come and see us in the outdoor exhibitors’ area – we look forward to telling you all about the NetBox range.