True or false??? Feeding show ponies over stable door for topline ?

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treacle86

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As title really ?? I heard someone saying this recently and wondered if this is something people do and if it works ?

Show horses and ponies are fed their Feed and hay in hanging feed mangers over stable door or similar to aid topline and muscle building for their necks to look better ???

I am intrigued to know if this is right and what people think of it ???

discussing it with friend earlier , it cant be very nice for horse to always be eating like this , as not natural position for them , ie grazing naturally they would not do this .



anyone elses thoughts appreciated .. xx
 
I was told about this too (by top producer)...but feeding from the floor also helps to create better neck profile...and it is the natural way for them to feed!
 
One of a variety of methods used by some producers in a ridiculous attempt to build muscle. Other methods including stabling them in side reins
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Not natural and not healthy, horses should be fed from the floor when possible.
 
I don't doubt it. A horse spends a lot of his time eating so the position he does this in is going to have an effect on him.

Tall foals often get funny neck muscles from having to duck under their mothers to the milk bar. Eating from a manger does build up muscles but not necessarily the right ones!

Feeding form the floor is the best route for any horse IMO as it is the way the horse was designed!
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Frankie prefers to eat his haynet that is ties on the fence by leaning over the fence and eating the far side, and I prefer him to do that because it looks like an awkward angle for him to eat from the same side. He lives out so only has a haynet when he comes in for a groom or ride.

Feeding forage and hard feed on the floor is supposed to be a lot better for their neck muscles, and also for their teeth, as it is a different angle in the jaw and how they were built to eat. For that reason alone I'd prefer to feed both hard feed and hay on the floor where possible.
 
megan2006 , i havent heard that before , thats terrible, people do things like that to try and achieve things without the correct work being put in at the expense of the horse, I wouldnt fancy standing in a stable with side reins on !

I dont think its a natural way to try and muscle a horse , but we got talking about it as when I fed my horses today 1 of them got an old hanging manger as they had trashed their usual bucket !!! and I put their dinner in it , It was handy as it means shetland cant get his greedy head into the big horses feed!!

x
 
Feeding it from a manger is one thing, but the producer who told me about the method said to put hanging bucket on the door facing out not into the stable
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Horrid method that I would not use myself
 
when i went to a vet talk,there was a discussion about this.the vet lady said floor feeding is best for the above reasons also, another benefit she talked about was horses noses could `drain`
 
[ QUOTE ]
Feeding it from a manger is one thing, but the producer who told me about the method said to put hanging bucket on the door facing out not into the stable
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Horrid method that I would not use myself

[/ QUOTE ]

That is how Frankie chooses to eat. The fence I mention in previous post is same height as a door. He's a big Welsh Cob and has plenty of clearance over the door to do it happily. Maybe a smaller horse wouldn't but I don't see much difference in whichi side of the door it hangs if the horse is tall enought TBH.
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I knew somebody who did this with their show arabs.

I did not see it make any difference, much better off with correct feeding, exercise and good ole fashioned strapping.
 
It is true and it does help build a topline - obviosuly not a correct topline, but it does aid with putting muscle on top off the neck and showing definition
 
When I was a teenager I fed my anglo-arab from a wall fixed manager for a couple of years & ended up taking the manager down as eventually you could see the effect it was having on his muscles. Because it was a wall mounted manger, his face would be close to the wall so he would overbend & you could see the muscels working while he ate. The muscle wasn't in the right places & it made it harder to get him to work correctly.
 
My old YO used to put her kids ponies in side reins, go to work in the morning and then untie them when she got back from work at 5.
She thinks it's fine as she leaves a bucket at "mouth level"
So no one can call her cruel....
 
I know people do it. I had a hook on manger, as my horse loves to throw his food around! I swapped it because he is a chunky chap, he was struggling to fit his head in it. And he couldn't get the juicy bits of his tea stuck to the sides of his bucket - torture!
 
Yup, seen this method used to build up a false "crest" on show horses...although not the most "cruel" method I've seen - i think that one goes to the hitting the neck with a plastic pipe to increase the blood flow (and causes swelling in itself!), albeit not that hard hitting, but still!!
 
I don't think many places use it as the only method, surely they use good schooling too?!

I know there are some who do the whole side reins and various other extreme measures, but feeding in a certain way alongside a good schooling regime surely isn't a problem is it?
 
You dont see body builders tie themselves up all day, and stay in a static position, to build muscle do you, so why the hell does any sane human being thing stapping a pony down for the day will build neck muscle. I work on a showing yard and if my boss suggested that I'd walk out. Correct feeding, grooming and exercise build muscle.
 
Personally havent seen or heard of that myself.

Kia is 24/7 turnout so eats grass and hay off the floor but he has his hanging manger on the fence as we sometimes have sheep in the field and the scoff his divver and cr@p in the buckets of they are on the ground.

He has a feed trough in his stable but that was already there and he is happy with that.

Dont see the harm in mangers myself. But anything can be misused in the wrong hands.

Nikki xxx
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i think it has more to do with the sheer amount some ponies are fed rather than being fed in a manger that attributes to the crestyness of a ponie's neck!! i once did some work on a showing yard where yearlings and 3 year olds were fed concentrates on an addlib basis
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my sec D gelding has a lovely neck and topline yet he lives out and eats off the floor!! i do however try my very best to make sure he is working correctly!
 
all mine have their feed in mangers hung over the door, don't see how its cruel tbh, no different from having an upright manger in the corner. They do have their hay off the floor though, but I have hung haynets up the other side of the door for my old lad who likes to see whats going on and box walks otherwise. It hasn't affected him adversley, he doesn't have to strain to reach his food and although it may effect his muscling so does feeding form a haynet inside the stable!
 
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this is from a couple of winters ago, they have their breakfast and tea like this (although usually inside) lasts maximum 20 mins and then are either grazing or have ad lib hay off floor for the rest of the time, hardly think thats cruel!!
 
I was once horrified when my old YO who was reschooling my SHP for the showring told me how great it was that he weaved as it gave him gret topline - left the yard shortly after!
 
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