Horse Bolting food... Abit worried

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EquestrianFairy

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Ive had my new girlie about 2.5 months, she came to me very underweight/undernorished and has had a few set backs with a huge foot abcess in the first 48 hours etc.

Shes built up nicely and slowly, on good Dr Green and a good balancer and her work load has increased slowly and id say is around the 'medium' load.

However, i give her the balancer with chaff to save her bolting it anymore but she literally opens her mouth and grabs mouthfuls at a time in about 2 seconds its gone half over the floor and half in her mouth.
She also eats, then snaps her head up to check noone is approaching the gobbles as much as she can.

Shes fed in her stable, on her own and theres rarely other horses around as its a private yard.

Im worried about this causing Colic and dont know how i can try to slow her down, she obv eats this way as shes been deprived in the past but shes never left to go hungry and i was hoping she'd grow out of it or at least started to by now.
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My Shire x TB is now rising 4yo. I bought her as a weanling - looking very underweight as she'd been fed with her foster mother and sister, both of whom bullied her and ate all the feed.
She has chilled a bit at feed times, although she's a bit of a speed-eater, at least she has relaxed a bit and doesn't feel the need to 'defend' her feed (my other two are chilled). It did take time, though.
To slow her down, add more chaff, or feed her by pouring the feed in a line along the ground. Another solution is to find a large, round stone, (too large to eat, and with smooth edges) and pop it in her feed bowl...eating round it will slow her down.
Or you could try a playball thing (I forget the name...where she has to roll it around to get dribbles of food) - the round ones seem to release food more slowly than the hexagonal ones.
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You could throw in a brick or salt lick into the bucket as she then has to work round the object to get at her feed!

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I was going to suggest this
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Hmmm, never even thought of that!

I think i'll give the 'brick' a go- theres plenty of large rounded stones at my place.

Bless her, shes so sweet just extremely food orientated!
 
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Or you could try a playball thing (I forget the name...where she has to roll it around to get dribbles of food) - the round ones seem to release food more slowly than the hexagonal ones.
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its a snackball
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agree with others putting a large stone in the bucket or not feeding in a bucket at all and instead either putting it in small piles on the floor or spreading it around
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I gave my Shirey girl a snackball when she was box rested for colic....she found an alternative way of using it.
When she was naughty to be led in hand, I'd put her in an empty box next to her normal one to calm down....the snackball was in there...
Instead of playing with it to get food, she named it after me, then belted it off the walls to vent her aggression
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They do stand up well to being hammered off stone walls by a set of large, angry feet, though
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I would try a Dechrahedron (sp - silly word!) toy as they release food a bit more quicky than the snackball and you don't want to get her more frustrated by restricting her too much - but it will ensure she has to eat more slowly as she won't be able to take huge mouthfuls and gulp it down. They are also cheaper than a snackball
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Hmmm, never even thought of that!

I think i'll give the 'brick' a go- theres plenty of large rounded stones at my place.

Bless her, shes so sweet just extremely food orientated!

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I was going to say put a couple of large stones rounded in so they don't catch or cut her mouth.
 
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