Slows down the rate at which the horses are eating the bale. Saving money.Keeps the bale gathered together instead of it getting scattered all over the ground and wasted. Saving money.I estimate before using this net that atleast 20% - 25% of the bale would get wasted using just a metal ring by itself.After feeding four bales I would estimate only that only 5% gets wasted. Saving money.It will take you one to two bale feedings to get proficient at putting this net on though so study up before hand, and keep at it.I have three horses that play with hay all the time and I order hay rolls every week. This net holds hay for 3 weeks! I'm happy! thanks a lotWe bought this with the hope that it would cut down round bale waste. It's a big hay net that cinches closed. Not the easiest to get aound the bale ( you have to lift the 800 lb round bale to get it under) but that was expected. What we did not consider is our horse is shod, and if they step on the net, it gets hooked on the trailing edge of the shoe. When this happened, our horse freaked out and injured himself. The net promptly came off after that.The product is well made and durable, but quite expensive for what it is. And with the snag issue, we decided to stop using it.I was really excited about this net. It was easily put over the round bale and tightened down. But, I used it for 1 round bale and my horses already made their own holes. I’d understand this happening, if it had been used on multiple bales and been in the Texas sun all summer, but not for a couple of weeks I’m February and after only 1 round bale. It’s slightly pricey to be having that happen. Not sure id recommend for that reason.I don’t generally feed round bales. They allow the horses to waste a ton, plus the amount of dust they inhale with their heads constantly in them. However, my husband and I are first responders and when Covid hit our community, we knew we would potentially be working 16 hour days. We needed to make sure our horses would be able to still be fed if we couldn’t make it home.So we purchased this hay net and a few round bales.I was worried they would pull the netting off the bale, I didn’t have a lot of faith in the tie at the bottom of the bale. So we put a ratchet step at the bottom of the bale. It wasn’t until the next day did I realise that was unnecessary. Once they start pulling the hay through and the bale loosens and falls down around the netting, there’s so much weight on the bottom that they couldn’t pull the netting off. With that though. The netting is still very stretchy to accommodate more hay flaking loose and adapt to the horses nosing around to get the hay.The second picture is day 3. Day 3!! Look how much is not on the ground!My horses can definitely get impatient with the hay nets, as I have smaller ones that I use for flakes. The cheaper brands have definitely not made it though a week for me, but at the end of 3 weeks on one bale, I could not find one damaged spot.I am impressed and have recommended this net over and over again to friends.We checked the knot towards the end of the bales life and just retighted it once the bale was small enough to get to the knot.I will purchase again if this net ever dies on me.The net is heavy and durable. I've been using the same net since last summer, no holes and still in new condition. I used a considerable amount of hay this winter, because the h horses cannot quickly overeat. The slow feed is much healthier for the horses as well. Worth the price, will pay for itself in one winter season.My older horses grow tired of trying to pull hay out of the tiny holes and return to eating over eaten pasture. This product has very tiny holes and might be more suitable for goats than horses.We have seven horses. We bought two hay nets this year. It seems to really help as two rolls of hay are lasting about 11-12 days and there is NO waste. However we thought we wouldn’t have to use a hat ring but we still use one because one was pawing at the hay and it was getting hung on her foot. But, the hay ring stopped that. Somehow with this hay net they get every strand of hay and it will be clean as a whistle, you would not even know a hay bale had been there. Used to they would stick their head in the bale and come out with a mouth full now they come out with a few pieces, so it definitely changes how much they get in one bite!I truly believe it will save money in the long run as far as hay cost goes.