Absolutely. If it’s exposed to rain, you may need to drill a second drainage hole in the base of the manger to ensure it drains well. We suggest a ¾”- 1” hole drilled where you observe water accumulating after it has been mounted.

OptiMizer InStalls can be mounted from the ground (lip height about 22”) to as high as needed. The mounting height is up to you and the horse you’re using it for. Some considerations are the size of the horse, safety, and forage height preferences. In our experience, most OptiMizer InStalls have been mounted using a bale of hay underneath (a practical way to do it). This results in a lip height of about 34” which works well for many horses. If you choose to mount it lower, we do suggest leaving some space underneath if possible, to be able to drain it when cleaning it with water.

The InStall can be used to pre-soak hay prior to feeding. Use a 3/4″ or flat sink plug to plug the drainage hole. Add hay and water. Place a bucket under the InStall to collect the water when you pull the plug.

If your horse is turned out from 8am to 4pm, that means it’s spending 16 hours in its stall and will need ⅔ of its daily forage over this time. The majority of horses will learn to self-regulate their intake when they learn that hay is always available. Horses that are used to being meal-fed their hay may tend to overeat for a few days or weeks because they are accustomed to going a long time with an uncomfortable empty stomach. If the hay is really palatable and digestible, they may overeat because it tastes so good. We have a smaller net (1.25”) which helps to further slow down eating rates in this situation.

Equine nutritionists recommend that horses should consume between 1.5 and 2.5% of their body weight daily in forage. 2% is a good starting point. Estimate your horses’ weight, multiply that by 0.02, and then weigh out that amount of hay. For example, for a 1,000 pound horse, that’s 20 pounds of hay needed every 24 hours.

If your OptiMizer InStall is in a barn, monitor the temperature. If you blanket your horse and the barn temperature doesn’t drop much below freezing, it likely doesn’t need more forage to keep itself warm. Conversely, horses living outside in cold weather need to eat more hay to generate body heat to keep themselves warm. In our experience, our horses have consumed greater than 3% of their body weight in hay in 24 hours of weather in the deep cold (-40
degrees celsius). Please see the article Guide to Forage Intake During the Winter for more detailed information.

The standard net measures 1.6” on the square and is working well with over 90% of our feeders. The large net (2.5”) is a good option for larger or older horses and/or horses with mouth or dental issues. The small net (1.25”) is a good option for small horses/ponies or horses, really easy keepers, or if your hay is very palatable or high in digestible energy (DE).

We engineered the OptiNet to be soft and durable in the equine environment. The OptiNet has been used in all of our feeders produced since 2022 and only a few nets have been replaced due to wear and tear. We anticipate these nets will last 3-4 years on average. If the feeder is consistently empty and horses are hungry, they will grind the net into the bottom of the feeder, which can create holes. A horse in its stall has few distractions to keep its mouth and mind busy. We recommend that horses should always have some hay available for their gastric health and for the longevity of the net.

Replacement net kits are available for sale in all 3 sizes (standard, small and large holes).

The OptiMizer and net can be periodically washed out with soapy water and rinsed with clear water. There’s a drainage hole in the bottom of the feeder and wash water can be collected in a bucket underneath. We’re in the habit of quickly gathering up yesterday’s hay and putting it on top of today’s hay when we refresh the feeder. This prevents hay from getting old and going off in the corners of the feeder, and overall it keeps it quite clean.

We can do almost any colour. So far, we have done beige, grey, blue, green, and pink feeders.

The manger is rotomoulded from linear low density polyethylene (LLDP). This is the same polymer that is commonly used to make playground equipment and is proven to be tough and very durable. The hay net assembly and all the fasteners are stainless steel. Compared to other options like powder coating, galvanizing steel and plating, stainless is extremely durable and will not rust.

Our factory and main warehouse are in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. We have a second warehouse in Tonawanda, New York, US.

OptiMizers are available at dozens of dealers across North America, and can be picked up at those locations. In addition, arrangements can be made to pick up OptiMizers at our warehouses in Canada and the US.