How do you stop your horse from kicking over his feed bucket?

Spit That Out

Spit That Out

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My blinking horse (2 year old) kicks over his feed bucket, spilling his grub all over the floor.
He's fed from one of the rubber skip (kangaroo) types.
I've tried it inside a tyre and i bought a bucket that you hang on the door but he still manages to get his bucket out of the tyre and lifts his knee so high he boots the bucket off the door.
I'm fed up of him wasting his food and having to sweep it up off the floor.
I've even tried feeding it from the floor (no bucket) but he just paws it and it's half way across the yard!!!
It's got to the point now that he paws at it before he even takes a mouthful. Once it's tipped out he snaffles the lot but it goes so far across the floor bits are still getting missed!!!
It doesn't matter if it's his breakfast or tea and i know he likes his grub as he hovers up what he can find after it's been kicked about.
I've tried feeding in his stable but gets lost in his bedding so i feed outside of his stable so at least he can find most of it.
He doesn't have any horses disturbing him while he's trying to eat and i had the dentist in August that although said his teeth were sharp he didn't want to do anything with them as they are only caps. Also he's been kicking his bucket for over a year now!!!
Is it something that he's always going to do, will he grow out of it, are there any buckets out there that can't be booted across the yard?!!?
Suggestions welcome...
 
I can't say if he'll grow out of it, but i doubt it, why not try putting his feed in a feed ball? that way he can kick away, and only a bit will come out at a time.

Or get a bucket that you can bolt on the wall.
 
Attach a clip to the wall, get a bucket with a handle and attach it to the clip. Put it high enough that he cant get his paw in it.

If you cant put a clip on the wall, run a bit of baler twine from your stable door lock, put it over the door with a clip on it, same result, clip the bucket to it.
 
I had the same problem, and he has sarcex in his feed which isnt cheap....although he is 5 now and he does seem to be growing out of it :)...i just held his feed bucket while he ate when he was at his worst, he would stand on three feet the entire time waving his free leg around, but now i just growl at him if he starts waving his legs about, he puts his foot down.
Silly babies lol, they just seem to get so excited about their feeds..
 
guido16 said:
Attach a clip to the wall, get a bucket with a handle and attach it to the clip. Put it high enough that he cant get his paw in it.

If you cant put a clip on the wall, run a bit of baler twine from your stable door lock, put it over the door with a clip on it, same result, clip the bucket to it.
Click to expand...
I think that is a particularly dangerous idea. I can't speak for anyone else's horses but mine would certainly have a field day skinning his eye on the bucket handle...

I have little advice, apart from putting a manger in? Mine are all built in, but failing that can you not get the corner ones on brackets that are harder to knock out?
 
sorry cant help with any suggestions but will eagerly await everyones answers as i have a 7 year old sec b stallion that does the same,,,very frustrating it is too and he obviously asnt grown out of the habit ,,,
 
Thanks guys.
I would hold it for him and did do while he's had things like bute in it to save it from being thrown around but i get a few small jobs done while he's eating saving time in the morning...the lazy side of me likes the extra 5 mins in bed :)
He's fed Speedibeet and Happy Hoof so i don't think a feed ball would work but it's a great idea for his treats...OH might be spending his hard earned cash this weekend in the saddlery!!!
I was always a bit worried about a corner manger as i was worried about him knocking it while he was in his stable at night etc but maybe i should try one as they do look less "kickable"?
I think it's going to be a trial and error process with him, unless he snaps out of it overnight?!!?
 
My TB was doing the same, wasting half of his feed and he wasn't looking as well as he should of been, thankfully my fabulous YO got a large plastic barrell, sawed it in half and cemented in a bucket shape at the bottom, its heavy enough that he doesn't mess with it and eats all his feed and has put on loads of condition.

I'll post pics on Saturday if you want?
 
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Pics would be great...and thanks for the suggestion.

Someone told me to try a taller (trug) bucket as he can't get his feet in it while he's got his head in it...are they safe to use?
 
I would fix a wall manger quite high up the wall - def no chnace of rolling into/onto it that way.

Personally however I will only feed from the floor.
My TB is a bucket tipper but we have sold this by putting his feed into a MASSIVE tub trug. He seems happy now that he has room to move it around within the bucket and never tips it over.
 
Hi all,

We have got a couple of horses which are terrible "pawwers", and try to shove as much in as possible all in one go. We find the best solution is to put your feed bucket into a rubber tyre, if they kick and paw it won't cause any damage to your horse and the tyres are heavy so can't be moved or tipped over easily.
Providing he doesn't lift the bucket out of the tyre this should hopefully do the trick!

Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be to see their food go everywhere!
 
my TB always kicks his bucket over, its so frustrating especially when he has the likes of blue chip or baileys outshine in it, theres my money gone out the window!

I usually end up just standing by him while he eats and hold onto the bucket. very boring and time consuming and he is the worlds slowest eater!

but i do think those feed mangers look good.
 
My horse was more throwing his food out of his feeder, he would push it to the corner and lift it out with his nose, any mice etc were having a field day.

I would think anything moveable wouldn't work for long, i think if its heavy enough they just won't bother wasting their time.

My horse had YO's head wrecked thinking of a solution, but thankfully she got it right within a day or two with the half plastic barrell.

I'll pop in to the yard tomorrow and get some pics.
 
tip his feed in a thin line on the floor, next to the wall. if his nose is in the feed his feet are 18 inches behind the feed. once a dinner flicker always a dinner flicker!! anything fixed high like on a door risks a big knee. corner mangers work quite well but can still be flicked.
 
I used a standard door feed bucket that clips over the door.... just put it on the door on the outside.... can't be kicked!!
Only problem I had then was he still got overly enthusiastic and shovelled his nose in, spraying food around, and anything that drops on the floor can't then be hoovered up. But might be worth a try to break the habit?
 
OK i have a few that bucket kick and it drives me mad.
So far have tried hanging on door /fencing buckets on the doors buckets ended up on floor and on fencing botton rail got smashed.
Bucket wedged in tyre sutck foot in and dragged till all went over then figured can lift bucket out and throw all over floor.
Round buckets that are shaped to go in tyres no use.
Big tub trugs feet just seem to go higher till in bucket then walk backwards.
I have to feed 4 per field so cannot stand there and hold buckets.
Where do you buy nose bags i like the idea of them
 
If any of mine did that they'd get their food tipped straight onto the floor, or onto sections of hay, come to think of it, in winter, in the paddocks, they do. Otherwise feed bowls tend to get buried in the snow and get lost until the melt:(

I think I'd go for the corner manger option, the ones with the bars across.
 
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Sorry to pee on the bonfire but those corner mangers are still up for abuse! Mine used to pull his out and use it as a football until he completely wrecked it. Out of five ponies, three of mine paw until they knock feed over, one knocks it over with his nose and only one has the sense to stand still and eat it!!
 
http://www.robinsons-uk.com/product...ode=004&parentGroupCode=0404&page=8#sku.43602

The blue field manger - you can get round or square and are meant to be virtually impossible to tip over. Its quite big but I think would work well!

43602-02.jpg


43602-01.jpg
 
Mine is dreadful, I now use one of those new plastic/rubbery buckets you can buy and just clip one handle to the wall, this means he cannot tip it over and has to concentrate on eating, if he gets to carried away it just swings about!

I also remove it as soon as he is finished as I'm sure he'd somehow manage to tangle himself if I left it in there.
 
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