Anyone on here use a feed ball... which one and what do you put in it?

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Ziggy_

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My mare loves bashing her feed bucket around with her head and chucking food everywhere, I think she'd love a feed ball. My yard restricts turnout in the winter so I'm thinking of buying one to reduce boredom a bit when she's stabled and make her hay last longer (I feed ad lib and the amount she eats has to be seen to be believed!!
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So those of you that have them, which one do you have and what do you put in it? Do your horses spend ages getting the food out, or do they finish it really fast, or get frustrated and give up? Do you think they're worth it?
 
Daisy has a dodecahedron which she loves but I don't use it very often as she doesn't get hard feed normally. She's a very clever horse but it takes her ages to get it all out.
 
I think the ones other than the ball are the best ones to have (harder I think too, as it doesn't roll so far etc) God knows what the shape is sorry!
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I use the decohe thingy as my boy got so snotty with the trickle ball type (my old horses loved this type & could empty it very very quickley) it went flying across the stable & into the door!
The dec ball is great as you can use mix, cubes etc in it & it cant roll all over the place. My boy loves it !
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The decahedron ones are great. They don't roll so it takes longer for them to line the hole up with the floor. I put grass nuts, alfalfa or chaff and carrot pieces in mine.
 
I use the Snak-a-ball. I showed Star how to use it the first time, she got it straight away! She gets the yellow lid to the top, wobbles it with her lips, scoff and repeat.

I fill mine with Fibre Nuts. She goes to her ball before her dinner tbh!
 
I use a snak-a-ball and tend to put grass nuts in it. My horse is brought in before I get up to the yard after work, so tend to leave it in for her to amuse herself with until I get there.

She's a smart cookie and has figured that wedging it in a corner and repeatedly banging it in the same spot is a faster method of getting the goodies out!
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I use a snak-a-ball and tend to put grass nuts in it. My horse is brought in before I get up to the yard after work, so tend to leave it in for her to amuse herself with until I get there.

She's a smart cookie and has figured that wedging it in a corner and repeatedly banging it in the same spot is a faster method of getting the goodies out!
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Ha ha ha ... Bless her.
 
If your horse likes to use her hoof to play with things then I strongly recommend that you avoid the red ones.

My warmblood has had one for years without incident, but my connie broke his in 2 within a couple of weeks. He uses front hoof to paw things.

The red one is held together by a number of very sharp screws with protude about 2cm when the ball separates.

Mine have the deco ball, and the oblong one. They have pony nuts in them.
 
Thanks for replies.
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Niceweatheronly, when you say red one do you mean the snak-a-ball? She does like to paw so thanks for the warning, I'll steer clear of that one.

I had heard the deca-thingys were good so looks like I'll be getting one of them...
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Stinky has the snack ball - I do go through a new lid every year in general.

Farra has inherited Cairo's huge equiball - great big green thing that has lasted 8 years of clydesdale feet. I wish I could still get them as I would love another one for Stinky.

I put nuts in them and they have them about 4 in the afternoon with more hay to keep them occupied until I come up in the evening during the winter routine.
 
i love the decahedron its so tough and cant roll about all over the place. bailey batters his against the door he makes so much noise but he loves it!!
 
Mine has a red snak a ball. She loves it! I give it to her during the day with fibre nuts in, when shes staying in, or in during the summer, or at night with more fibre nuts when she has her tea.

She goes from tea to ball, and back again. Shes learnt how to use it but it doesn't stop her keeping using it - in fact, if I put her tea in, let her eat it, she will then come to the door and shout until she gets her ball too.
 
Yes, the red snak a ball.

As mentioned, brilliant for the warmblood as its much quieter than the deca ball. In fact I bought his second hand.

The connie though, gave me hell of a shock when i found his split in half on his bed. Those screws are sharp enough to cause nasty wounds
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Get the larger of the decahedron "balls", the food doesn't come out so easily ! My mare has both a snackaball and a decahedron. She doesn't paw the red one so its lasted over 4 years but is decidedly "tired" so no doubt "santa"will replace that soon!!

I really prefer the decahedron. Easier to clean, and no sharp bits it they get a little heavy hoofed with it. Plus the added bonus of a larger aperture than the snackaball.

I put all kinds of treats in there.. carrots, satsumas,apples (all cubed/segmented). Polo's, horse treats or just pony nuts... she loves it, prefers it to eating out of her bowl.
 
I've got the oblong one ( can't remember the make) and that seems quite sturdy. No lids or anything that can break of as far as I can see.
I put alfalfa pellets in there as I like to limit anything with sugar.
 
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my mare has a decahedron filled with Badmintion Hi-Fi nuggets and she loves it

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Echo - mine have the decahedron and Badminton Hi Fi nuggets too! The decahedron is much much tougher than the snack ball thingy and the nuggets don't come out as quickly as ordinary nuts do.
 
If you have a destructive horse the rock n roll balls are brilliant also the hole is bigger so you can get chopped carrots and mints in it too!
 
Che has a decahedron, he is brought in for me at dusk so I leave it hidden in his bed with a selection from hi fi cubes, seedless grapes, mint imperials and chaff!! He absolutely loves it. I dont know how quickly he empties it but there is never anything left at 6pm.
 
I've bought several decahedrons over the years, as some (not all) just love playing with them. I think decahedrons are best as they don't roll so far, and also change direction which amuses the horses even more.
 
Mine has a snack a ball and loves it, I put bits of carrot. apple and high fibre nuts in his, I find if you put a handful or two of chaff in as well it seems to make it harder to get the good bits out so it lasts longer.
 
I use a snak a ball and put spillers hi fibre cubes in there and am a bit naughty - I put a couple of treats in which dont come out the holes so it still rattles and she plays with it for longer!
 
Ditto what a couple of other people have said-I wouldn't recommend the snack-a-ball. My boys snapped clean in half one night revealing about 8-10 really sharp screws.

Thank goodness he didnt lay/roll on it.

He now has the decahedron one which my friend got him brand new from a car boot for £3.00 and he loves that just as much as the snack-a-ball.

I prefer it because it looks safer-no concealed screws and it doesnt get gunged up inside like the other one used to sometimes.

I put his high fibre cubes in it with a few treats. He usually goes for that before he eats his tea.
 
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