Trickle feeding forage replacers

[Highmileagecob]

It's unlikely that Old Dobbin will manage to chew his haylage this year, and the chaff and short chopped haylage will be increased alongside the sugar beet/dried grass mix. Does anyone have any DIY tips for making it last? I don't have the funds for a chaff trickle net and don't like the amount of action necessary to release a mouthful. He would probably leave his front teeth embedded in the folds! I've tried smooth stones in the trug bucket, and he simply tips the bucket over. I did wonder whether feeding from a long trough might help, but working out how to provide one that he can't injure himself on is work in progress.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Bumping this thread up, in case anyone has any good ideas.
At the moment, I am increasing the amount of chaff and dried grass with his sugar beet so that he has to chew, and he is managing to eat soft haylage. He can syill plough through his rations in record time though, and I would welcome any suggestions to allow ad lib trickle feeding.

 

[quizzie]

Some interesting ideas on this old thread if you have a DIYer handy?!

Stablegraze.

Has anyone got one? How is it? Has it stood the test of time? It looks a really good solution to The Greedy Horse Problem. But it's not something I've seen before or even heard of. And it's pricey, as you would expect! But I'm wondering if it might be worth the investment given how The...

forums.horseandhound.co.uk

 

[tda]

We had some dog bowls that were moulded plastic with bobble lumps in them to slow the dog from gulping his kibble, wonder if there is a horse version if the smooth stones haven't worked

 

[Jambarissa]

Could he eat chopped straw like the honey chop oat straw? Mixing that in will give him more to chew without significantly more calories and will make it a little less palatable.

Can you feed more often or can anyone else pop a feed over?

I have successfully built automated feeders by fitting a dog food timed 'lid pops up' one to the end of a drainpipe. Fit the feeder to the bottom and fill the pipe with chaff.

 

[meleeka]

These look quite good. I saw them on the Munchkins Rescue page

Parallax Grad Feeding Trough | Slow Feeding

Speedy UK delivery. Parallax Grad. Proven to slow down consumption by 50. Ideal for avoiding wasted supplements. Free delivery over £50.

www.justhorseriders.co.uk

My old girl will graze her mash now and usually still has some left at 5am. I mix in Happy Hoof Molasses Free so it's not just a case of inhaling it.

Eta - if you google there are photos of them in use.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Thanks all, there's some good ideas to try, and I like the automated feeder idea! I'm mixing straw chaff in the feed at the moment, but being a typical cob, it disappears in no time.

 

[maya2008]

Buckets of one, boring thing, tend to cause waning enthusiasm in my experience. So a large tub of wet sugarbeet = boring and they pick at it. A large tub of mollichaff lite (no molasses) can be similarly boring.

You could put anything that would fall out through the hole in those treat balls you can get. Some dispense them more slowly than others!

 

[Highmileagecob]

Hmm the treat ball lasted about ten minutes. He could smell food, but couldn't find it so he stamped on the ball..... Yesterday he took the field gate off it's hinges because his breakfast was an hour late, and his clock hadn't gone back. Seriously considering the wheelie bin with a hole cut in, and enough forage to keep him going all night.