Horse attitude problems!

[Maple Hollow Farm]

So I feed out of the little rubber pans that sit on the ground and my horses seem to think that they have to play with them once I feed them and dump their grain out into the sawdust.

Is there any way to make them stop doing that or do I need to find a way to anchor it to the floor? Thanks

 

[Marty]

Get some different kind of buckets that hang up with a flat back or something else like the ones you can put over a fence. I have to have mine screwed down or they knock them down.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

well my stalls dont have any where that you can screw holders into... I built my stalls myself and they are made from a plastic type board that if too many nails or screws are put through it will crack and the walls are too high to hang an over the fence hanger on I guess that was bad planning on my part huh

 

[Katiean]

When grain was all my horses got in the little rubber feed pan was grain they too pawed ans steped in and even picked up the pan in their teeth. I use the biggest feed pan (the 25 gallon one I use for water but the pan that is the size for feeding a dog is what I use fro grain). I started feeding beet pulp and before the buckets are dumped into the pan I add the grain or compleat feed. It takes them some time to eat the whole thing they are not so anxious to gobble it down, hide it or try to take it somewhere else. I can even put the horses in a circle with the pans no more than 3 feet apart and no one messes with the others feed. They know there is enough they will get what they need.

 

[candycar]

What is your floor made of? If it's wood or solid material- you could try screwing it to the floor right through the bottom of the bowl. Use a couple of screws and big washers and maybe they won't be able to tear it off. We had to do this to the barn kittys bowl, it kept ending up all over the place.

 

[targetsmom]

There is a kind that has a base that doesn't tip - well not very easily anyway. Try Tractor Supply??

If you do get new feeders, leave the old ones for them to play with! Ours love to play with all sizes of rubber feed dishes. Luckily ours are good about not tipping them over with grain in them.

What is the surface you feed on? If wood or mats, could you just sweep the sawdust awayf so that at least the grain would land in a clean spot?

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

Thanks for the suggestions I will probably just have to find a different type of tub...my floor is sement with rubber mats on top so its a little more difficult to shoot nails in.

 

[Connie Ballard]

Sometimes it is a source of entertainment for them...to play with the pan....just had to share this picture. This is Dandy's son TJ (Buckeye WCF Tijuana Dandy)....RUNNING with his rubber feed pan. He'd eat inside on a rubber mat....when it was empty...pick it up and run out into the paddock with it...toss it in the air...if it landed upside down...he'd paw it until got it turned upright and could pick it up again and carry it. You can hardly see the black pan for the fence post when I snapped the pic...but he was so darn funny.

Since this....we got him a buddy to play with and he doesnt do it anymore.

I've tried the type you hang on a gate or put a 2x4 piece on a wall..then hang the type with a hanger on it...when I get them low enough for them to eat out of...they turn around and poop in them when they are done eating...GRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrr...I finally gave up...put rubber mats in...and they have a place to at least dump the grain that isnt pure sawdust. KIDS!!!!! LOL Not sure there is a fool proof answer they wont figure out how to twist into a game!

 

[bjcs]

Our horses use to flip the pan with the feed in it. We then got rubber buckets with a wire handle, a strap with a clip on both ends. Clipped one end of strap to the stall boards and the other end to the bucket. We did remove the bucket when they were finished eating. With the strap you can lower the bucket as low or high as you need it. This also worked good with wire fence in the pasture.

Barbara

 

[tagalong]

I just sweep back the bedding from the front of the stall and leave an area of rubber mat showing. Grain etc. gets poured on that. Feed tubs were simply something to toss around at each other - and were eventually eliminated!

 

[Jetiki]

I've had several bucket flippers and what I did in the pasture with one mare (large pony) that doesn't come in the barn is take one rubber mat and screw the bucket to that mat I can slide around if I need to and she doesn't leave a crumb so there's never much to clean. I can get a pictures of it if you need one.

Karen

 

[ropenride]

If your feed pans are big enough you can set them inside a tire. We drilled drainage holes in the sidewalls of old tires and put the feed pans in the center. They sit down low enough in the tire that the horses can't quite get hold of the pan with their teeth, if pawing they hit the tire instead of the pan and the grain stays put.

 

[rubymtminis]

I found a solution to this problem! Switching from big horses to miniatures presented us with the same problems as previous poster here. Stomping, pawing, pooping in, and flipping feed everywhere became a challenge I was determined to overcome. After much trial and error I found something perfect. I already had cattle mineral tubs, metal kind, and never had much use for it, but it looked too good to get rid of. It had rolled edges on the top, light enough for my small body to hitch up and haul whereever I needed it, and they couldn't paw, poop, or tip in,on, or over the feed. I got more of them and the boys can scoot them a little on the rubber mats in the run-in shed, but outside they can't move them. They are perfect for hay also. And my 25" weanling can reach the bottom, but still to make it easier I put another little pan on a small flake of hay so she can reach. You can get these tubs at a feed store for a small amount used. They are also perfect in the corners of the stalls, and indestructable.

 

[LC Farm]

I use to hate for the horses grain to get spilled. I went to a sale and they had these feeders (home made) so bought some and hubby made me more CHEAP. They are screwed to the wall in all three barns and horses are feed their grain and hay in them. They have a tray on the bottom for grain that they can't spill and the back holds the hay. It has four one by ones that hold the hay in the rack. The tray catches the leaves they love and are gobbled up quick. No wasted hay on the ground to get stepped on. Everyone knows their feeder and goes to their spot. One barn has four one has three and one has two. They work great for me and the horses love them.