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Heica hayfeeders for enriching horses lives every day

31/10/2026

We know that horses don't care much about colours, but for us humans, it often matters.

There are also some practical reasons why colour matters. Bright colours are handy when you need to find the feeder in a larger area, while dirt is less visible on darker colours.

Colour coding is also great when there are several horses at the same stable using Fluffy Feeders, as it makes it easy to identify which one is yours.

So, we're happy to announce that we've finally added a new colour to our Fluffy Feeders collection in our webshop!

This colour is available in both net hole sizes at the moment. Hopefully, in the near future, we'll also have Mini Fluffies in blue!

Would you be interested in Minis in blue?

28/10/2026

Without these two elements, the feeding experience is not complete.

That doesn't mean hay nets or loose hay are bad, they simply offer a different feeding experience and can be used alongside other feeding options. The important thing is to consider what benefits your own horse the most and which combination of feeding systems best suits their individual needs.

Often we assume that horses prefer loose hay or a round bale in the paddock. But if given a choice, most likely they tell us something different.

Fluffy Feeders are the most popular products in our selection and for a good reason. When horses have the freedom to move around with a Fluffy Feeder and nibble hay through its soft mesh, their joy is something that reaches us humans too.

We've often discussed with our customers why horses become so enthusiastic about Fluffy Feeders, and these are the main reasons we've identified.

Instead of standing still at a fixed hay feeder, horses can move, forage, and search for their hay in a way that more closely resembles natural grazing. Fluffy Feeders are the perfect size for horses to move around. They can toss them, roll them, and carry them to the places where they wish to eat. And they do learn this skill after a while.

They can also pull hay out of the soft net with their heads down (which increases saliva production!). And I believe this is one of the main factors, the materials are soft and comfortable to use.

All of this may sound very simple, but when you compare it to the way hay is typically offered in a horse's everyday life, the pieces start to fall into place. Free-access hay is rarely the answer in the overly passive world our horses live in.

It’s not just about filling the stomach, but about how to experience eating.

27/10/2026

It matters how we serve the hay for our horses.

The most important thing is to use soft materials that are quiet and won’t cause additional harm to the horse,
and that the horse can eat with its head down.

Also small gentle moves help prevent strain in the muscles. ❤️

26/10/2026

The whole idea is that it’s movable.
So the horse doesn’t stand still while eating, but moves along with the hay pillow.

The Fluffy Feeder is intentionally designed to hold only 3 kg of hay, so that the horse can move it easily -> getting more movement during eating.

Horses need variation and activity in their daily lives. Something other than just working with us humans.

Standing still for long periods is not natural for horses. Their bodies need movement also when we are not actively exercising them.

The easiest way to provide movement is to place feeding and watering points apart from each other and to offer hay in different ways from several locations.

25/10/2026

We’re used to the idea that a happy horse should have unlimited access to hay, freely eating from a big pile. We tend to think that unrestricted, free-choice hay is the only option a horse could ever want.

But research has shown that this isn’t the only truth. Horses want to be able to choose what they eat, how they eat, and in what order. Our job is to offer them different options.

When a horse gets to decide for themself how to eat their hay and in what order, it can influence the horse’s emotional state. The horse gets a sense of control over their own daily life.

That’s why having one big bale of hay in the paddock or an unlimited supply of hay freely available in the stall isn’t necessarily the best option for the horse.

A better approach is to offer hay in a variety of ways.

What we do is we scatter hay in different places, especially around the paddock. In addition, we use several Fluffy Feeders every day. They make it easy to keep the hay clean, which also helps reduce hay waste.

Just yesterday, when I went to give the evening hay, our Kerttu started nickering as soon as she saw me bringing them their hay pillows. I had just finished putting out the other hay, so I got the impression that she was particularly interested in the Fluffy Feeder.

Any thoughts?

23/10/2026

With the Fluffy Feeder the horse doesn’t just stand and eat, but instead:

💯 moves while feeding
💪 uses the muscles of the neck, back, and core
🐴 changes posture again and again

Slow, regular, longer-lasting eating also supports the body from the inside. It promotes more even energy use and reduces sudden fluctuations in the horse’s alertness, metabolism, and behavior.

Fluffy Feeder is not a form of training.

But it is an everyday way to add movement, muscle work, and full-body use even when a human is not there to guide the horse.

22/10/2026

And let me tell you, we did the design phase thoroughly!

The first prototype was tested with our own horses and we made changes based on that. This revised version was again tested with our horses, and further improvements were made afterwards.

Modifications included redesigning the closure system. We wanted the closure mechanism to be more durable (able to withstand extreme cold and hoof pressure) and more user-friendly.

We also increased the size of the net openings several times, as experience clearly showed the negative side of too small openings.

After these modifications, we tested the Fluffy Feeder with a large group of horses, including both competition horses, trotters, and pet horses.

And we made a few minor adjustments to the model before launching sales in Finland.

Since time and money had been invested in developing the product, we were also interested in protecting the design. The Fluffy Feeders are protected by a design patent, and let’s just say the design has been a great success!

20/10/2026

Horse's well-being means different things to different horse owners. To me, for a long time, it meant physical well-being. Today it means also mental well-being.

How we increase mental well-being? One way is to give the horse more agency. How? By letting them make decisions, by letting them to choose.

One of the easiest ways is to let them choose how they wish to consume hay. You can start by giving them loose hay together with a feeder, and see which one they choose.

This way you also learn what they like. Repeat the question and you learn more.

Years back, we started with loose hay and hanging hay nets. After developing Fluffy Feeders, we tried a combination of loose hay + hanging hay net + Fluffy Feeder.

And based on the answer, we founded Heica. If our horses would have said ”hell no, not the Fluffy”, we would be doing something else.

By giving horses the possibility to choose, we can let go of the feeling that we need to know everything.

17/10/2026

This is not an uncommon sight. Horses love to explore and nibble with their muzzles, so giving them something they can play with, combined with hay, can't go wrong.

We love to post videos received from our customers, because this is the reality. It's not staged or manipulated, it's from real life that this Irish cob chooses the Fluffy Feeder over loose hay.

There can be several reasons behind it, why horses choose the Fluffy Feeder over loose hay.

One is that horses are contrafreeloaders. They like to work for their food, just like humans do. Horses are super curious by nature. They love to explore and use their senses, and often the environment we have built for them, can feel unstimulating.

Fluffy Feeders are soft and quiet in use, which makes them safe and pleasant.

I think it's time to start using enrichment with horses, just as we do with our other pets. Let's normalize equine enrichment together!

Thank you for the lovely video ❤️

09/10/2026

If we asked horse owners whether they would like their horses to live in a place where:

🐴 They could live with a companion

🐴 They could choose for themselves whether to be indoors or outdoors

🐴 They had access to a decent turnout area

🐴 They were fed high-quality hay more than 5x a day

🐴 There were sufficient opportunities to train and spend time

I believe there would be a long line of people willing to sign up. The problem is that these kinds of facilities simply aren't available in sufficient numbers.

And this is without even considering the financial side. Imagine that every horse owner had an unlimited budget. The options still wouldn't be there.

IN THE MEANTIME

📌 We need different tools to improve horses' everyday lives within existing environments, while we work towards changing the system itself.

How do you see the situation, is there enough options available to choose from?

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