• A Raufomat is a custom-made Time-controlled feeding system that comes as a kit. This lets you automate your hay rack - at an unbeatably attractive price.
• Detailed step-by-step assembly instructions will help you with the installation on your hay rack.
• You won't have any costs for setting it up or for any customer service later on.
• If you have any questions or run into any problems, just get in touch with us anytime.
• The hay rack is not included in the scope of delivery .

• A Raufomat works perfectly fine even with more than four horses, no problem!
• With our recommendation of a maximum of four horses per hay rack, we simply aim to keep the stress and competitive behavior among the horses as low as possible.
• If you have a maximum of four horses per hay rack, each animal gets a whole side to itself. This way, every horse has plenty of room.
• Even better is threehorses per hay rack, so there's always an alternative spot available.

The hay rack is NOT included in the scope of delivery! A Raufomat is a custom-made kit for the customer's hay rack. This turns a simple wooden hay rack into an automatic large bale hay rack.

Don't have hay rack yet? Then place a binding order for a Raufomat and we will send you a free hay rack construction plan. You can then build a suitable hay rack yourself or have it built by a local craftsman. You determine the dimensions. This approach has proven itself over many years!

We deliberately do not act as a timber merchant or intermediate supplier. This saves you transport costs and allows you to benefit from low-cost offers in your region or online. With our wood requirements calculator , you can find out the costs in advance by requesting specific offers from specialist timber dealers.

If you already have a wooden hay rack, we recommend our hay rack checklist. This lets you check step by step if and how your hay rack might need to be modified.

If you're not sure if your hay rack is suitable by design, feel free to send us a few pictures of it. We can then give you some tips on any changes that might be needed so you can use a Raufomat with it.

We've put together the order process for you here: Order Process.

Yes - the assembly by the customer has the advantage that he/she becomes familiar with the feeding system and later knows exactly what to look out for in daily operation. Don't worry— no special technical knowledge or tools are required for assembly. Anyone who can use a spirit level and cordless screwdriver is well equipped.

With a little patience and our detailed, richly illustrated step-by-step instructions, the Raufomat can usually be assembled in a few hours and put into operation immediately. We recommend that two people carry out the assembly, as an extra pair of hands is very useful for certain assembly steps.

Please note that we do not offer telephone support for assembly. Such an additional service would significantly increase our prices. However, this has not been necessary so far. Our customers usually manage the assembly very well.

Once it's set up, we'd love to see some good photos. This helps us check if there's anything we can optimize. It's also in our best interest that your Raufomat works reliably for years.

• • With the mains-powered Raufomat Smart, you'll need to run a 230-V cable to the hay rack, making sure it's horse-safe.
  • The electrical connection needs to be done properly by a qualified electrician.

• • The Raufomat Solar runs on 12 V power.
  • It works completely on its own and is super handy for locations without a power connection.
  • Regional power outages don't faze it one bit. It just keeps happily 'working' away while its grid-powered buddies are forced to take a break.
  • Anyone can do the installation, you won't need an electrician.

In our experience, you won't need to replace the hay cover fabric for years with normal use. This material is incredibly weather-resistant and super durable. Just be careful, though, as sharp tools can cause damage.

Incidentally, our oldest heavy-duty fabric in continuous use since November 2016—in cold weather, hot weather...and even with ponies hay cover against hay cover ! Despite considerable signs of wear and tear and quite a bit of patina, there is still no end in sight. We are excited to see what happens next...

What a question ... our customers say it best: Original customer feedback with pictures and videos.

Longer than we even expected. One of our own Raufomats has been running non-stop since November 2016 – with 12 feedings every day.

With the exception of two ropes (wear parts), we have not had to replace anything in all these years. The motor, control system, and hay cover heavy-duty fabric all original components that were installed when the machine was new. This durability does not seem to be unusual. The situation is similar for the majority of our customers. Spare parts are rarely requested.

But of course... if used improperly, even a Raufomat can be wrecked. That has happened before. 😉

According to the manufacturer's official information, the motor is designed for 10.000 to 16.000 cycles.

With 6 to 12 feedings every day, that would be around 3 1/2 to 7 years.

Our very own Raufomats have been in daily action since 2016 and 2017 – and they're still running with their original motors! (As of August 2025)

If you're feeding 12 times a day, the total Raufomat noise will only be around 6:40 minutes over a full 24-hour period.

We used a sound level meter and found the volume to be around 60 dB, which is pretty much like a normal conversation between two people.

Please always send us an email with as detailed a description of the error as possible—ideally with pictures or a short video.

We can only really help you out if we know what the problem is and what you've already tried to fix it.

General statements like “My Raufomat isn't working anymore, I need help!!!“ just don't cut it, because we can't possibly guess the exact problem from afar. And quick phone advice 'off the cuff' usually isn't very helpful ...

Bottom line: The more info you give us, the more precisely we can help you.

Most horses get used to time-controlled feeding really quickly.

It's totally normal for them to be a bit spooked at first, and you can't really avoid it. We suggest you just stay relaxed, as that helps the horses trust the system. And from what we've seen, every horse has figured it out so far! 😉

Yes, definitely! If you want to feed large hay bales, you should definitely use a suitable hay net - and stretch it upwards.
This prevents the hay net from being pulled over the hay rack side walls. This might block the hay cover .

When using the Raufomat, the hay net does not primarily serve as a feeding brake, but ensures that the hay hay rack compact and secure in the hay rack .

Basically, any sturdy hay net tensioning system will do the trick, as long as it keeps the hay net taut even when the big bale shrinks down.

Just a heads-up: the way you secure your hay net shouldn't put your horses at risk of injury. We received feedback from a customer about a near-miss accident that happened because their hay net, which was secured from top to bottom, unfortunately had some gaps: Pony's head in the hay net.

Due to their long service life, we have been using onlyLoewers hay nets with a mesh size of 4.5 x 4.5 cm for our 135 cm diameter hay bales for several years now.

But no matter which hay net you use: Please choose one that is large enough so that it can be tied tightly at the top with a rope or similar.

If your large bale hay net is a bit too short, there'll be a gap at the top. And you can bet a horse or two will definitely find their way to the hay through there. We actually had this exact problem for years! So, we're just giving you a heads-up about this little pitfall. 😉

A quick note on mesh size: We actually moved away from using really small-mesh hay nets years ago. Our horse dentist mentioned that, in his experience, those tight-mesh nets can actually cause damage to horses' teeth over time. Horses who tend to pull their hay out a bit roughly are especially at risk.

The hay net in the Raufomat feeding system is just there to prevent large clumps of hay from being pulled sideways onto the hay rack's side walls. Time-controlled hay feeding replaces the need for a mechanical feeding restrictor.

No problem! Small bales, loose hay, haylage, soaked, or even steamed hay – it's all possible.

Only use hay nets for large bales.

Horses are prey animals and constant grazers. That's why they eat, rest, and sleep in stages, both day and night.

That's why horses need to have food available pretty much all the time, 24/7. They really shouldn't go without food for more than 3 hours at a time.

It's super unlikely that horses will cause any damage by nibbling when the system protection is active.

You can use any electric fence device, even ones designed for dogs and cats.

We've had great experiences with the solar-powered Gallagher fence energizer. This device is tough, reliable, and almost silent. You can easily attach it directly to the hay rack roof. It has an integrated solar cell that provides the power. But other fence energizers usually work reliably too.

Some of our customers have Freiberger and heavy horses – check out their original customer feedback here.

Oh, and by the way, in all our years, we haven't come across any horse breed that frequently caused issues.