Eating behaviour

[wickedwilfred]

Can anyone give me some ideas on how to feed horse in a field that insiists on chucking the food out or upending the bucket. We have tried putting it inside a tyre ring, low sided bucket, high sided bucket, special plastic manger that fits inside the tyre, all without success. He just hooks his hoof inside and pulls it out and his feed ends up all over the ground. His field partner eats without a fuss. Not possible to feed off a wall or fence.

 

[Quigleyandme]

I have one of those and nothing I tried worked either. I dump his feed on the ground or a swept corner of the stable floor. I also feed him cubes rather than a muesli with course Agrobs chaff and stick it together with Speedibeet.

 

[planete]

Nose bag.

 

[wickedwilfred]

I don’t believe in nuts after a conversation with a national feed supplier when I asked why were their nuts £2 cheaper per bag than the muesli. Basically, the nuts are made from a by product of the flour industry, squidged into a paste with a few viamins and minerals thrown in. At least with the muesli, you can see what they are being fed.

 

[Quigleyandme]

I don’t believe in nuts after a conversation with a national feed supplier when I asked why were their nuts £2 cheaper per bag than the muesli. Basically, the nuts are made from a by product of the flour industry, squidged into a paste with a few viamins and minerals thrown in. At least with the muesli, you can see what they are being fed.

Odd that my horses look so well then. Well muscled, great hooves, gleaming coats, loads of controlled energy.

 

[Arzada]

Dig a suitable sized sufficiently deep hole and deposit the feed bowl in there

 

[Highmileagecob]

Shake the feed out onto a pile of hay.

 

[wickedwilfred]

Odd that my horses look so well then. Well muscled, great hooves, gleaming coats, loads of controlled energy.

Yes, just me being cranky I expect, but all ours are mainly broodmares or youngstock, so have to be sure they are getting what they need.

 

[wickedwilfred]

Dig a suitable sized sufficiently deep hole and deposit the feed bowl in there

No, he would just pull it out with his hoof.

 

[RamblingRosa]

One of mine did this so I got a no tip feeder, can’t remember the name but it’s square with arms sticking out of each corner. She pushes it round the stable but can’t tip it over.

 

[ycbm]

Hang the bucket on the fence? If necessary, as it was with one of mine, get a rectangular door manger and put rope through some holes so he can't sweep it out with his nose.

Failing that, I second a nosebag.
.

 

[Auslander]

I have filled the inside of my tyres with postcrete, drilled holes in the tyre feed bowls, and screwed them onto the tyres. It stopped the resident 2 yr old colt from throwing his feed/bucket/tyre everywhere!

 

[Auslander]

I don’t believe in nuts after a conversation with a national feed supplier when I asked why were their nuts £2 cheaper per bag than the muesli. Basically, the nuts are made from a by product of the flour industry, squidged into a paste with a few viamins and minerals thrown in. At least with the muesli, you can see what they are being fed.

That's only true of cheaper basic nuts. There are a fair few good quality nuts around that do what they say on the tin. Releve from Saracen and Ease and Excel from Baileys are two that I use with great results.

 

[ycbm]

Basically, the nuts are made from a by product of the flour industry, squidged into a paste with a few viamins and minerals thrown in. At least with the muesli, you can see what they are being fed.

Cheap nuts are usually made with wheatfeed (and sometines oatfeed) which is basically bran with a fair bit of flour still on it. There's nothing wrong with it, and I now feed it as straight wheatfeed to mine because then the stables don't need to soak anything to hide his minerals, just add water and stir. He loves it and looks great on it, it just needs calcium to balance the high phosphorus, cheap as chips as limestone flour. I fed cheap nuts for donkeys years in the past and all my horses did well on them.

Horses have been fed wheat bran, oats and oat bran for centuries. I have far more issues with soya which seems to be in almost everything these days.
.

 

[Snow Falcon]

Larger tyre with feed bowl (the rubber style one) handles tucked into the tyre. Stopped the yearling chucking the feed bowl round.

 

[wickedwilfred]

Larger tyre with feed bowl (the rubber style one) handles tucked into the tyre. Stopped the yearling chucking the feed bowl round.

I’m already doing that. He will still put a hoof in the bowl and either upsets it or knocks it with his nose so that it spills. I think it may be greedy frustration, that he can’t get the food in his mouth fast enough.

 

[Snow Falcon]

How old and big is he? What size tyre have you got? Mine's an old discovery tyre so heavy. Mine's only a NF so maybe not as powerful as yours?

 

[wickedwilfred]

How old and big is he? What size tyre have you got? Mine's an old discovery tyre so heavy. Mine's only a NF so maybe not as powerful as yours?

He is a 2 year old thoroughbred. The dentist has now been and removed 3 milk teeth caps from molars, which may have been causing difficulty eating. Just waiting to see if it makes any difference.

 

[lizziebell]

Just tip it in a pile on the floor.

 

[jnb]

Rubber mat on the floor, tip it onto that for him

 

[cowgirl16]

Hold the bucket while he eats?