HayMate

01/03/2020

I have been asked about how I send the HayMates and what is involved in assembling them.

For such a large piece of kit it obviously has to be sent as a flat pack, so I will explain how I do it, and illustrate it with a couple of pictures.

The HayMate 2020 has a new feature - the front legs are set OUTSIDE the side panels. For the user the advantage is that even the biggest nets can be pulled out from under the HayMate without the legs obstructing them. This has never been reported as a problem with my other HayMates, but the fence rails I use are an inch wider than the joinery quality timber I use for the other HayMates so the space between the legs has been reduced by a couple of inches.

This new design has one extra advantage which relates to its carriage which you can see from the first photo which shows how the back and front frames slot so neatly together.

Before wrapping the HayMate I lock the legs together with small strips of plywood screwed to both leg.

All the other fittings, i.e. the spindles, springs, screws and the plastic parts, are then packed between the back panel and the two side panels.

I then complete the wrapping using recycled cardboard from fridge boxes (from Robson and Cowan, our wonderful local Country Superstore!) and hey presto it is ready for off.

Tomorrow morning HayMate 2020 will be on the FedEx van to Lincolnshire.

Upon receipt of the HayMate all one needs to do is unscrew the side panels, fit the plastic parts and then use the two side panels to join the front and back frames together.

26/02/2020

THANK YOU for sharing this page with other horse owners. I have had several orders for the new HayMate 2020 already and the first was delivered in person this afternoon.

The purchaser was so please to get it. She had had a nasty shoulder injury which will require surgery, but had no problem filling her nets this afternoon - except that she found it so easy the first one was over filled!

Please keep sharing these post if you know anyone who could benefit by a HayMate.

24/02/2020

What is unique about the HayMate?

After posting details of the HayMate 2020 yesterday one of my customers asked me to stress what is so special about HayMate and why it is SO easy to use. I will expain without the waffle.

The HayMate's spindles can rotate freely but they can lock in just two positions....

1. Pegs pointing UP, to drop the net onto the spindles.
2. Pegs pointing OUTWARDS, lock the net on.

The net is now filled. Once full, push handles inwards. The weight of the hay spins the spindles inwards, dropping the net full at your feet.

One more thing. If you tuck the drawstring under the k**b on the front bar, the drawstring is pulled tight at the net drops!

This is the case in all of my HayMate.

If you now study the CAD drawing of the HayMate 2020 you will see how the front legs are mounted OUTSIDE of the side panels. This is ideal for extra large hay nets. There are no legs in the way when lifting out the full net.

23/02/2020

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Dear Friends,

Today is an historic day for this brand new HayMate Facebook site. It is my very first post - EVER!

Before I explain why, let be briing you up to date.

It is now twelve years since I invented the HayMate. The post below was written by my lovely wife Sue, who I made my first HayMate for when she was in a lot of pain because of her bone cancer.

After making Sue's HayMate I started making them for other people. Sue then encouraged me to use Facebook to tell people about the HayMate, but at the time I was very busy and through the www.haymate.net website I was selling enough HayMates to make it worthwhile, but without it taking over my life.

I have sold in the order of 250 or 300 HayMate in all, so I have not made a fortune, but what I do get is the most wonderful, amazing and heartfelt feedback - which is actually why I continue making the HayMates.

For the last two years the website has said "Our stock is very low at present, please contact us for delivery times."

There is a sad reason for this. In February Sue died. I made the HayMate for her at a time when her bone cancer was giving her a lot of pain, but since she died I have had too much to do to spend all my time making HayMates.

However, I have continued to make them to order and the feedback has been better than ever. To be told "You've saved my life. I can now fill hay nets again" over and over again has given me a lot to think about. For those who have to fill hay nets, for whatever reason, the HayMate is a game changer.

It is the only hay net filler with rotatable spindles which not only lock the net onto the frame for filling, but drop it at your feet once full, without having to yank it off the pegs or disentangle it.

So I have some exciting news to share with you.

Very conscious of the fact that if more people are to enjoy all the benefits and the joy of using a HayMate it must be affordable, and if I am to go on making HayMates I must be able to keep my costs down. I have therefore designed a new model I am calling the HayMate 2020.

The HayMate 2020 had the same functionality as all the other HayMates, but to reduce production costs I am making it using honest to goodness fence rails for the legs and bars.

For carriage, the front and back frames will be pre-assembled, but strapped together with minimal packaging. The cardboard will be recycled from Fridge boxes thanks to our wonderful local country store, Robson and Cowan in Scots Gap.

The side panels are top quality 6mm Russian Birch Plywood. Believe it or not, they are the off-cuts from boards used to make the floors for top of the range sports cars. "My Brother is an Aston Martin" one name dropping HayMate was allegedly heard to brag!

Finally, there is one extra feature which anyone using large nets will be delighted to hear. Look carefully at the frame and you will see the front legs are set outside the side panels. This means there is nothing to stop the largest nets from being pulled out from under the legs.

To keep costs down I will offer a discount equivalent to the commission charged by PayPal if purchases can pay me directly when their HayMate 2020 is ready for dispatch.

To start with this will be a limited edition of 20 HayMate 2020's.

Anyone buying one of these, may if they wish, claim a £5.00 reward for each recommendation which results in a sale.

The price is £65.00 plus £10.00 for UK mainland delivery*

The following pictures illustrate the HayMate 2020. I will try to post a video of it in action on this page soon, but go to www.haymate.net to see a short clip of it being filled.

Please share with your friends.

If you already have a HayMate, don't forget I promise support for life, so if in the unlikely event of it needing any attention, or perhaps a repair following a mishap, do get in touch.

Thank you for your time reading this.

IF YOU WISH TO PLACE AN ORDER PLEASE PHONE ME DIRECTLY. 01670 772214

Best wishes for 2020

Richard Cansdale

23/02/2020

Richard Cansdale enjoys a challenge and is always inventing things. Having spent a lot of time in rural Africa where the nearest hardware shop could be a hundred miles away or more, he became great at improvising with whatever was to hand.

He made the first HayMate to make filling haynets easier for his wife Sue, who has a bad back, using bits and pieces he had in his garage.
It wasn't long before Richard had invented an ingenious tool with which to hold a haynet open at a comfortable height and at the push of the handles, the full haynet would be delivered with drawstring pulled tight, ready to hang where it was needed.

By putting a table next to the HayMate on which hay could be piled, Sue was able to fill hay nets easily without any bending at all.
Richard showed his invention to the Farrier who said
'That's bloody brilliant! You've got to market that!'

Richard would much rather be inventing than marketing and now that he is retired, he just makes a few HayMates to order, for people who stumble across his website, www.haymate.net.

Without exception, everyone who has bought a HayMate has said how brilliant it is and how it has made filling haynets so much quicker, taking the strain out of a boring, tedious job.

You can see a video-clip of the HayMate action on the website: www.haymate.net

HayMate : the easy way to fill haynets: saves time and backache from haynet filling