My Horse keeps knocking over his feed bowl?

R

RebeccaYorke

New User
Joined
14 January 2013
Messages
2
Visit site
My 15.2hh keeps knocking over his food bowl when I give it to him. The food goes EVERYWHERE and he makes such a mess. I worry it's from boredom but surely he would wait until he has eaten his food before knocking the bowl over?
Does anyone else suffer from this? Why is he doing it? Any advice welcome.
Thanks.
Becca x
 
Some just do it. It's VERY annoying, especially when they chuck it into the mud!
Tyre buckets work well unless you have a scraper, I've also tied flexitubs to the fence via the handles
 
rebeccayorke said:
my 15.2hh keeps knocking over his food bowl when i give it to him. The food goes everywhere and he makes such a mess. I worry it's from boredom but surely he would wait until he has eaten his food before knocking the bowl over?
Does anyone else suffer from this? Why is he doing it? Any advice welcome.
Thanks.
Becca x
Click to expand...

a few ideas
do you have a horse who knocks his water bucket over during the night??? Are you fed up with a soaking bed and an empty water bucket??


http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com/wall-fixing-bucket-holder-black.htm]
http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com/hook-over-bucket-holder-black.html]
http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com/flat-back-bucket-17-litres.html?source=webgains&siteid=54264
http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com/stable-yard/feedroom/buckets-mangers/tyre-feed-bowl-black.html
http://www.horseloverz.com/other/294055-tough-1-portable-bucket-holder.htm
http://www.doversaddlery.com/bucket-buddy®/p/x1-2805/
http://www.horseloverz.com/buckets-and-feeders/354946-locking-pin-bucket-hanger.htm
auto drinkers.
A corner manger holds a good deal of water and can be used
a tyre to place the water bucket

ways to stop horses kicking feedbowl over
http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com/stable-yard/feedroom/buckets-mangers/tyre-feed-bowl-black.html
http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com/plastic-corner-manger-white.html
http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com/field-manger.html
http://www.robinsonsequestrian.com/hook-over-portable-manger.html

an old shallow shower tray
picture
makes a good place for field kept horses to eat out of and easy clean with drain hole.


A deeper shower tray
picture
also makes a good feedbowl
a deeper shower tray
old sinks
old sinks also great as a feed bowl / water bowl.
Click to expand...
 
Flexitubs fit well inside old car tyres, and the tyres hold them steady, and are generally too tall for a horse who uses front feet to upset them - I have numerous tyres around the fields, bit big for inside stables though. Then I use the feeders that hang on the door.
 
I had one like this, so I started using an old cast iron bowl my husband had in the barn, she won't tip this over I thought to myself. She didn't tip it over, but just shoved the food out instead! Then I started using a really large bowl (they come with cattle licks in them, made by the folks who make Horselyx). With this there was enough room for her to move the food round in the bowl without tipping it up or shoving it out. Result.

It is annoying to see feed you've paid good money for chucked in the mud for the pheasants and/or cattle to pinch.
 
Last edited:
My older horse has always done it,even though he's not a foodie horse! He had to have a corner manger,also one of the heavy rubber door mangers worked for small feeds. He now lives out & is fed in field as won't eat in stable, I've been using a bucket in a tyre but recently started using a huge,shallow tub trug which works a treat as its big enough & deep enough that even when he's waving his feet about they don't go in it, he also likes quite a big bucket as he faffs a lot & pushes the food about.
 
Mine does this - he was a rescue case, and was bought by his previous owner as a yearling in an emaciated condition. We think he and other young stock were slung a bucket of feed and had to fight over it. So his idea behind it is "quick get my hoof in it before anyone gets to it!" and once feed is everywhere he is happy. But of course once its in his bed he wont eat it, which is frustrating.

So for every evening feed i go in and tip half of it out onto a clean bit of floor by his haylage and he is happy as larry and will eat that off the floor and the rest from the bucket. Strange horse.

For mornings i use as someone else mentions a rubber over door manger (he's a bucket thrower so i have to have things that bounce) : )
 
My mare knocks her feed over in the initial frenzy when I give it to her so I hold the bucket for her first few mouthfuls, then she seems to settle down and realise it's not going anywhere and I can safely put it down without her kicking it everywhere. I usually hover round when she's eating and if I see her lift a foreleg a loud 'NO' makes her put it down!
 
If you are a handy person or know so won't who is you can make a really good secure feed bin that doesn't tip easily.

You need an old car tyre, four bolts, washers and nuts, long enough to go through tyre and base. A square of rubber matting large enough to cover the centre hole.

Hardest part of making this is turning the tyre inside out. Requires a bit of strength. Once turned inside out bolt the tyre to the rubber square, rounded tops inside the tyre.

Will try and get a picture of mine. They are really heavy.

For horses that fling feed out of their feed bin place large chunks of rock salt or big stones in the feed bin, then they have to move these around to get the feed
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top