About Us
Our Origins
Hay Pillow® Inventor - Monique Warren with Izzy & Hazel, R&D team.
The Hay Pillow® Inc. was born in 2012 - after a VERY determined horse enthusiast, Monique Warren, attempted several variations of homemade slow feeders to keep her insulin resistant mare, Lily, happy and healthy.
After researching and learning the importance of slow feeding and eating from ground level, Warren could not purchase a slow feeder that was both:
In addition, ease of “loading” and the weight of the feeder became key challenges.
Her quest to help Lily resulted in a 4 year experimental journey of creating a slow feeder that met her needs. During that time, Warren bought, designed, built and prototyped a variety of slow feeders and slow feed hay bags for her own use. Once the Hay Pillow® design was complete, it was too good not to share with others!
Warren knows what it's like to want the best for your equine partner, to embark on an exploratory journey, and to be overwhelmed in the process. For those who are new to slow feeding - or are still experimenting with finding the best slow feeders to accommodate a 24/7 feeding protocol - Warren offers her prototyping findings and lessons learned in her post, Feeding Free Choice - How I Chose the Best Slow Feeder, in hopes the information may help others in their journey.
Just ask her family, friends and veterinarian when visiting her home, how many times there would be a different contraption for her horses to eat out of. Lily and Ruger - Warren’s equine companions - have been the guinea pigs to all of the various contraptions she would introduce to them. Never knowing what device was coming next.
The initial design was intended to be clipped in tubs. The closure was a unique challenge and finally when the zipper was introduced the Hay Pillow® design was complete! The bag no longer needed a tub. When looking at it filled with hay the only name she could think of was Hay Pillow® - and that’s where the name originated. Numerous prototypes followed and the list of guinea pigs grew with great success. Even those with the most voracious appetites could not crack the code. Even more amazing about this product is the durability, effectiveness, and health benefits: improved digestion; less dental, neck, and back issues; less respiratory issues; and reduced risk of ulcers.
Most inventions are borne out of necessity. Little did she know how successful this invention would be!
After researching and learning the importance of slow feeding and eating from ground level, Warren could not purchase a slow feeder that was both:
- Safe, and
- Slowed down her horse’s consumption rate enough.
In addition, ease of “loading” and the weight of the feeder became key challenges.
Her quest to help Lily resulted in a 4 year experimental journey of creating a slow feeder that met her needs. During that time, Warren bought, designed, built and prototyped a variety of slow feeders and slow feed hay bags for her own use. Once the Hay Pillow® design was complete, it was too good not to share with others!
Warren knows what it's like to want the best for your equine partner, to embark on an exploratory journey, and to be overwhelmed in the process. For those who are new to slow feeding - or are still experimenting with finding the best slow feeders to accommodate a 24/7 feeding protocol - Warren offers her prototyping findings and lessons learned in her post, Feeding Free Choice - How I Chose the Best Slow Feeder, in hopes the information may help others in their journey.
Just ask her family, friends and veterinarian when visiting her home, how many times there would be a different contraption for her horses to eat out of. Lily and Ruger - Warren’s equine companions - have been the guinea pigs to all of the various contraptions she would introduce to them. Never knowing what device was coming next.
The initial design was intended to be clipped in tubs. The closure was a unique challenge and finally when the zipper was introduced the Hay Pillow® design was complete! The bag no longer needed a tub. When looking at it filled with hay the only name she could think of was Hay Pillow® - and that’s where the name originated. Numerous prototypes followed and the list of guinea pigs grew with great success. Even those with the most voracious appetites could not crack the code. Even more amazing about this product is the durability, effectiveness, and health benefits: improved digestion; less dental, neck, and back issues; less respiratory issues; and reduced risk of ulcers.
Most inventions are borne out of necessity. Little did she know how successful this invention would be!
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Warren continues to share her passion for educating horse owners about slow feeding and nutrition topics in her blog: Enhancing Equine Health. She also contributes articles to publications such as:
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Our Mission
- To manufacture and deliver the highest quality, effective, affordable products made in the U.S.A. - enabling horses and their owners to relax about feeding schedules and regulate the quantity of hay consumed without limiting access to forage for periods of time.
- To no longer have hungry or overweight equine companions.
