My friend got me thinking....

[JenHunt]

she's entirely non-horsey but interested enough to tag along when I go to feed up or something. This evening she asked why we stir the feeds. Bear in mind that my lads don't get any supplements or medicines, and are anything but fussy on current rations....

so I guess I only stir them out of habit from days of having supplements or fussy eaters.

why do you mix your feeds?

 

[Katie__Connie]

I don't

 

[JoBo]

Actually most of the time I don’t, they mix it enough themselves by chucking the buckets around when they are eating.

Edited to say, they do get a general purpose supplement but I sprinkle that on, so spreads around anyway as I put the water in.

 

[mattilda]

Mine all have supplements of some description and also I dampen my feeds so it does need a stir!!

 

[V1NN]

i stir all the chaff, nuts and supplements up then make a space at the side for his fibre beet i dont think he likes it mixed through

lol!

 

[algy666]

I do it because I dampen mine

 

[soph21]

I like stirring the feed

But Im a weirdo

 

[charlimouse]

I only stir the feed if i'm putting a supplement in!

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

i dont stir, they do that with their noses when trying to find their favorite bits!!! keeps them amused and for the bucket turners they get theirs tipped out on to the floor!! then they snuffle around!

 

[MerryMAL]

I don't know, I just do! Interesting question though!

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

also my lovely huge wooden spoon broke a few years ago! but stirring 20 + feeds takes a lot of time. i do shoogle the odd one and do stir in any drugs!

 

[elliegirl12]

We always stir, dunno why but we just dont want all the mix and garlic or sugarbeet on the top or carrots I am OCD tho

lol

 

[NikkiF]

I've always stirred too, but new boy won't touch it if I stir for him

 

[Trotting]

Like others, I just do it!

 

[CharlotteBeth]

I do and mine doesnt have supplements either haha.
well he has garlic xD.
anyway I just do it so it makes the chop less dry ahha i dont really know!
x

 

[Charmaine18]

All Scooby gets is a handful of chaff and a little bit of Speedibeet to dampen it and mask the D-Itch supp - I stir it so there's no leftover dry chaff and the D-Itch is well mixed in (even though I'm sure he'd wolf it down stirred or not). It's a good question though - I always stir whether there are supps or not, I suppose I just assume it'll be nicer for the horse. But thinking of it, I wouldn't like it if someone mashed my Sunday roast together before they gave it to me!

 

[Mike007]

I once had a horse that would practically chase me out of his box if I mixed his feed in the manger.Other than that he was as mild as anything.When eating he would sift and separate it .

 

[S14Tobin]

Erm.... I've never actually thought about it, ust always mixed it! Will try leaving it seperate tomorrow - mind you, going by his current behaviour that would be out of his routine and give him an excuse to break something!!