How do you organise your feed per horse?

[QueenT]

Need help from a process engineer or similar! ;-)
We are at a yard where we organise feed ourselves per horse. Each stall has a small closed box in front where feed is kept, but yard rule is that it has to be measured for each meal with everything that goes into the horse's meal - feed, supplements etc - not scooped. Each meal has to be prepared in a twisted, but not tied, plastic bag so it is easy for yard staff. The plastic bags are put back in the box and reused. It is a little cumbersome, but gives me full control of what the horse is fed (which was a serious problem before!). But organizing the preparation of the bags, how on earth do I do that? Do I do it all at home, bring the bags to the yard in a big bucket? Get feed delivered to the yard, with the limited storage space that I have, and fix the bags there? Smaller batches, a couple of times a week? Big bulk productions? Seriously out of ideas!

 

[Jenko109]

I would just do it at home.

 

[Squeak]

If space is too limited at the yard for storing the feed then I'd just make the feeds up at home but otherwise I think I'd preferably keep it at the yard. If I was doing it at home, then I'd probably make up a week/ few days worth and always keep one or two securely at the yard for forgetful days but if it was at the yard then I'd just make it as part of my daily routine.

 

[nikkimariet]

Keep all your feed at home and bulk make feeds. I make 2 weeks worth of feeds ahead of schedule which saves me time. Just grab a few days worth every time you go up and bring back the empty bags?

 

[MrsMozartleto]

I echo the do it at home. One of our liveries' horses had a very complex load of vits and minerals, so she sorted it all at home, put in tupperware boxes, and into a bigger box, it was easy to pull a lid and add to his feeds.

If you do it all at home you can get the big open fronted with a flap down lid, or the new coloured wheelie bins (can get two bags of feed in if kept in bags, probably three if loose). We have a mix as have been trialling what works best - my least favourite is the metal bins, which surprised me as I used to covet them, however they're a right royal pita to clean; my favourite at the moment is the wheelie bin style - have different colours for different feeds, easy to clean, and can write on the lid (on top and inside of it) what's inside.

 

[santas_spotty_pony]

mine are at home so it’s a bit different but when I go on holiday I make them all up in sandwich bags and label them so that might be an option?

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

OP, it appears that your yard owner wants control of everything. You have made feeding the horses very complicated. At our yard the horses feeds are prepared the night before & left outside the animals stable. When the feed time comes the ships are put into the stables & the horses enjoy it. I cannot see why everything is so damn complicated at your yard when it doesn't need to be.

 

[Landcruiser]

I used to do this by choice when my horses were in livery, just so I could make sure they had correct amounts/supplements (Yes, I'm a control freak ). I'd make them up at home in bulk and take them in about 2 weeks worth at a time and leave in a dustbin. I did the same recently at home when I was away for a week - each horse had its own big flexi bucket with all its feeds in sandwich bags.

Tip: Get a nice big plastic measuring jug and buy plastic bags that are big enough to be put in to line it with the neck turned back, then use this to tip the feeds into. MUCH easier than trying to scoop or tip made-up feeds into a bag held in your hand.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

OP, it appears that your yard owner wants control of everything. You have made feeding the horses very complicated. At our yard the horses feeds are prepared the night before & left outside the animals stable. When the feed time comes the ships are put into the stables & the horses enjoy it. I cannot see why everything is so damn complicated at your yard when it doesn't need to be.

Jeus - Who p*ssed on your chips this morning?

 

[Shoei]

I have to say, moving the horses to 24/7/365 turnout, taking the feeds down (although only a couple of minutes from where the feed is stored is a right PTA), the storing all in bags in a box seems a great idea! I'm going to try mixing a weeks worth and doing this!

 

[AdorableAlice]

Need help from a process engineer or similar! ;-)
We are at a yard where we organise feed ourselves per horse. Each stall has a small closed box in front where feed is kept, but yard rule is that it has to be measured for each meal with everything that goes into the horse's meal - feed, supplements etc - not scooped. Each meal has to be prepared in a twisted, but not tied, plastic bag so it is easy for yard staff. The plastic bags are put back in the box and reused. It is a little cumbersome, but gives me full control of what the horse is fed (which was a serious problem before!). But organizing the preparation of the bags, how on earth do I do that? Do I do it all at home, bring the bags to the yard in a big bucket? Get feed delivered to the yard, with the limited storage space that I have, and fix the bags there? Smaller batches, a couple of times a week? Big bulk productions? Seriously out of ideas!

Are you on full livery ? If you are leaving hard feed and whatever supplement/drug needed in a plastic bag for staff to feed, do they add water and mix it up before feeding, or just chuck a bone dry feed into the horse ?

 

[Fieldlife]

Are you on full livery ? If you are leaving hard feed and whatever supplement/drug needed in a plastic bag for staff to feed, do they add water and mix it up before feeding, or just chuck a bone dry feed into the horse ?

that is what I was wondering! I have base feed with salt added that is soaked. I then have tupperware pot that is mixed into the soaked feed just before feeding (as ingredients degrade if wet for a long time).

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Need help from a process engineer or similar! ;-)
We are at a yard where we organise feed ourselves per horse. Each stall has a small closed box in front where feed is kept, but yard rule is that it has to be measured for each meal with everything that goes into the horse's meal - feed, supplements etc - not scooped. Each meal has to be prepared in a twisted, but not tied, plastic bag so it is easy for yard staff. The plastic bags are put back in the box and reused. It is a little cumbersome, but gives me full control of what the horse is fed (which was a serious problem before!). But organizing the preparation of the bags, how on earth do I do that? Do I do it all at home, bring the bags to the yard in a big bucket? Get feed delivered to the yard, with the limited storage space that I have, and fix the bags there? Smaller batches, a couple of times a week? Big bulk productions? Seriously out of ideas!

sheesh strange, way of running the yard,
the DIY of mine make up a weeks worth in tesco clear bags like this, inc supplements all with the day on it https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/297040365. They only do that when they go away, otherwise they pay me to make it up, or they make the feed up and leave outside the door, that is for diy, the parts i make up a day in advance.

 

[fidleyspromise]

I bought 7 feed buckets per horse, I make feeds up at weekend and put them in a bin.
If you have space at yard I would do it there and make several days in a row otherwise keep feed at home.

Making up several feeds means if I can't get there one day I know my horses rations are still correct regardless of who feeds them.
(It's not as bad now all 3 get almost the same feed but one horse had a different base mix, one had danilon and one had different supplements which made it all confusing for people).

 

[Surbie]

I feed soaked mush mixed with straw chaff so that wouldn't be easy for mine. I do make up bags of A's mix of supplements so I can just tip one into a feed and stir. I have a shoebox sized plastic box and I can fit 2-3 weeks' worth of bags in there - particularly useful in winter when I have less time. Sandwich bags are a good size for that.

When I had less space I kept some of my feed at home, and took it to the yard in large tubs - I used the clear ones that you get 50 fatballs in as it's easy to see when it's running low.