Warranty

Schooling your horse to SlowFeeding.

All horses can learn to be comfortable eating through SlowFeeding nets. It usually takes 5 minutes, but
it can take a month depending on external circumstances. Horses that have been fed servings usually
suffer from feeding stress caused by the trauma of running out of food, which is completely
unnatural and very hurtful for a horse.
For the first couple of days, your horse is presented to a SlowFeeding net to make sure he is not hungry or
frustrated. This is easily done by feeding him the same way you did before and adding the full net as a
bonus. As soon as you see him eating from the net before the loose hay is finished you can stop
feeding loose hay.
SlowFeeding SMHN Original is made from heavy-duty Polyester nets originally made for deep-sea
trawling and they are very strong and durable. Polyester withstands abrasion better than Nylon and
also absorbs less water which keeps it cleaner and it doesn’t freeze as badly in cold temperatures. UV light does not impair the nets.

SlowFeeding SMHN Original net.

Limited 1-year Warranty.
Because the SlowFeeding SMHN Optimal net material is made of a very large number of completely
individual fibers going diagonally over the net have defects following the rows of meshes
impossible since meshes in a row have absolutely nothing in common. This means that if 2 meshes in
a row is broken it is very much more likely that the cause of the problem was external than that it
would have had anything whatsoever to do with material quality.
That said, and understood, the only real warranty issue we have ever encountered, in the 10 years
history of SlowFeeding SMHN Original, is broken sewing twine. If this happens, which it very seldom
does, it is because the needle has impaired the twine on the high-speed industrial sewing machine
that was used on that particular net. We replace the needles regularly on all our sewing machines as a
precaution but there is no way of knowing if an issue like this is building up.
We will exchange the net if the webbing comes loose due to broken twine.
So, what about broken nets?

Nets can break for 5 different reasons:

1, It’s easy to see if a horse is to blame for a broken hay net. A frustrated horse has been chewing on the net for hours. This is very easy to detect since a chewed-on net has a very specific appearance. Frustrated horses are not covered by warranty and no material can withstand a frustrated horse. Not even steel would. How big a hole a horse can chew depends on how much time they spend doing it.

If a horse has chewed on the net for a long time more than one wire will be affected and the broken ends will be long and curly.

2a. If the damage goes diagonally and more than one wire is involved it’s probably a human error. Tractors are good at breaking nets and they can cause any size holes. Looks like 2a but usually more than 1 mesh is broken following the lines of the meshes.

If the hole is because of poor material quality the hole will continue diagonally and only one wire will be affected.

2b. If the damage keeps going diagonally and only one wire is involved then it might be
a mistake made in the production of the net material (a bad needle) and the net will be replaced. SlowFeeding SMHN Original is of very high quality and we have only once in over 200 tons of nets
experienced an issue with the net material.

3. A sharp tooth can cut a mesh. This is very rare, but I have seen it happen. It only cuts a
single mesh.

If the net has been cut by a sharp tooth or a knife the ends will be clean cut with no fuzzyness.
Holes that have been cut have clean-cut wire ends.

4. If a hook on a halter or blanket has gotten stuck in the net and a mesh broke when the horse pulled it loose. This is rare and only beaks a single mesh.

Torn meshes do not have clean-cut wire ends.


    This is what you need to do:
    You must check a net in use every day and if you see a broken mesh you must tie it together
    immediately.
    Please take a photo of the hole before and after you have mended it and email them to
    holes@slowfeedingnets.com for evaluation.
    The easiest way to mend a broken mesh is to pull it together with a zip tie but any piece of twine or string works. If the hole was caused by a frustrated horse he might very well chew a new hole at his next opportunity so there is no reason to exchange the net just yet.
    Make sure to leave a little hay outside the net for the frustrated horse and keep mending
    the net (and email photos) until he has stopped chewing holes in it.
    As soon as he has gotten used to the net he will stop chewing holes in it. When so, take a photo of the well-mended net and email it to noholes@slowfeedingnets.com. If we find it to be a warranty issue we will email you a return code and a domestic return address to where you can send the net to get it replaced.
    Even though warranty issues are scarce (<1% = 1 out of 100) we recommend everyone to report holes in nets because we might feel sympathy for nice people with bad luck.
    SlowFeeding SMHN Original nets can be machine washed at any temperature (or even boiled to be sterilized) but don’t do it to try to fool us that the net is new because we have been in this business for too long to be fooled that easily.SlowFeeding SMHN Original® is owned and produced by SlowFeeding Industries s.r.o.