Horse that tosses grain out of their feeder?

[Leeana]

I have a filly, shetland filly, that when i grain her it ALL ends up on the ground. She swishes her head in her feeder and tosses it all out over the side, then what is on the ground she will eat like half of it...other half get crushed into the ground and lost. I have tried the corner feeders...over the fence feeders (the deeper buckets) and the smaller rectangle over the fence feeders, i think they are the large horse mineral feeders? Ive used the on the ground feeders but those get dumped too, same thing. Its allot of grain im loosing and she is loosing too. I topdress her grain with a few supplements, and i know those are getting lost on the ground too so its really a loss for her nutrionally and in my pocket book!

Any ideas on what to do or a different type of feeder to try? Im thinking about a smaller like bunk feeder to put in her paddock (she has a small paddock off the back of her stall) but i have a feeling she would still toss the grain out with her head too... Thanks

 

[Filipowicz Farm]

Have you tried a creep feeder with the bars in it. Just a thought.

 

[targetsmom]

Have you tried a regular bucket (e,g, 8 qt), attached so that it swings? A few of ours get fed like that and they swing the buckets, but the feed doesn't fall out.

 

[Annabellarose]

I don't have any feeder or bucket suggestions, however, could you get a rubber stall mat or something similar (I use a rubber mat that was made to put in the bed of a pickup truck, because the farm/feed stores around here didn't carry stall mats then, they do now!) and put under the area where you feed her? I had a couple of horses that just couldn't stand to eat out of a bucket or a tub even when it was placed on the ground and I put the rubber mat down and they spilled it onto the mat and cleaned it up off of the mat or I could pour it directly onto the mat if they absolutely refused to eat out of a bucket or a tub.

Edited to add: I just swept the dirt off of it in between feedings if it needed it. I have used it inside (in a stall) and outside (in the pasture). This method will also go a long way toward the prevention of sand/dirt ingestion.

 

[Leeana]

Have you tried a regular bucket (e,g, 8 qt), attached so that it swings? A few of ours get fed like that and they swing the buckets, but the feed doesn't fall out.

Now that is a really great idea! Do you have any pictures to show how yours is set up?

 

[minimomNC]

I had this problem with two geldings, one was such a good aim that he could hit his water bucket with feed. I bought the wall feeders with the lip that curls inward, so no edge to toss feed over. State Line use to carry them, I know I bought several when they took State Line out of Petsmarts, but these work great for me.

Here is another type that might work for you.

No Sling Horse Feeder

 

[Relic]

My Boogerman was really good at that kind of thing so the only thing l've found with him was to put a few good sized round rocks in his bucket hanging on the wall so he'd have to work to get his ration and not toss it around on the floor which really worked for him. l bought every kind of bucket tub and feeder available in the area for the turkey but he just has this thing about rumaging around flinging feed in every direction just like his hay..

 

[targetsmom]

For most of the buckets I just use an eye bolt in the wall and then hang the buckets with either a double ended snap or (what I prefer) those clips that look like mini carabiners (nothing to get caught on and they don't freeze).

For our stallion, who REALLY likes to swing his bucket, I use one of the bucket straps that goes around the metal bars in his stall. Sorry but I don't have photos.

Edited to add: I also use stall mats that I sweep before feeding, so if they DO spill, they can eat it off the ground safely. But as I said, most of the grain does stay in the buckets.

 

[Charlotte]

I'm dealing with one like that right now. If I feed her in a big, no tip pan on the floor she paws the feed out and of course makes a mess of it. If fed in a feeder of any kind she shoves the feed out. What I've found that works here is a deep 5 gallon bucket. I hang it from a short chain & snap, turn it sideways then tie the side very closely to the stall bars or fence. She still tries to shove the feed out, but it is too deep for that to work.

She is one of our yearling fillies that we showed this year and I'm now trying to get her adapted to pasture life but she has a rather 'hot' disposition and I think this is the reason for the feeding problem. I know just what you mean and how frustrating to see all of that feed you've spent $ on going in the ground and not doing the horse a darn bit of good!

Good luck. Please let us know what works.

Charlotte

 

[txminipinto]

Leeana,

I think it's a shetland thing. None of the client minis do this but Happy and Texaco do it. Most of our buckets are tied with strings so that I can hang them over the stall when I'm feeding (set up just like at shows). MOST of the horses just munch away, but Happy and Texaco make a competition out of who can get the most feed on top of their head. They will swing their heads up with their noses' still in the bucket and dump most of the grain on top of their heads, right between the ears!

But they don't waste it, they do end up eating all of it.

 

[Mona]

Leeana, I have 2 fillies that are doing that, and also at least one mare does.(which happens to be the mother to the one filly that does!

) I have not found a sollution, as I feed them outside, in over the fence feeders, and not separately in stalls. BUT, it has been driving me crazy, and I wondered too might stop it. I wonder about those non-spill water dishes for dogs that have the inside lip all the way around it??

 

[RockRiverTiff]

Ugh. I have a filly that does this too, and we went through a lot of feeding scenarios before I finally dragged a trough out. It's in a frame that puts it at a comfortable level for her to eat, but it's still too deep (and long) for her to push her feed anywhere but to the other side of the trough.

 

[tifflunn]

Just a thought - I have a 2 year old filly that has done this a 2x times now and it is usually when she needs her teeth done- just a thought.

T

 

[Keri]

Too funny!

I don't have a solution, but my shetland will take his hay out of his hay rack and toss it all over his stall. Hubby got so mad becuase he was out in the pasture with a couple of my minis. Hubby just got done throwing out piles of hay and then turns around and the shetland had walked to each pile picked them up and piled them into one huge pile for him! So the minis were out their hay. Hubby had to take the piles and make them smaller and more numerous so he'd stop it!

 

[Cathy_H]

A mat underneath the feeder? The feeder will have to be fixed so that it could not move around................ For my messy eaters I sweep the area several times a week. This area is underneath a run in and the ground is hard in that area so is easily done.

 

[h2t99]

Our QH gelding used to do that and we put some good size rocks in the feeder and he actually did quit after a few months once he realized he was hurting his nose more than it was worth it

!! He is 7 now and we no longer have that problem, but we did have to change the rocks a couple of times to bigger ones!

Good Luck

Heidi

 

[Royal Crescent]

I find that my messy eaters do better eating from a trough (my hay rack is over it), then a bucket. they tend to keep their head over it as they eat as there is more space. That is outside though, too big for a stall solution. In the barn, the floor is wood under the feeder, so they tend to eat everything they drop. It is, in a way, like having a drop cloth

Barb

 

[lilstars]

i use a regular mini flatback bucket (as i have many that do this) hang from the wall with eye hook and double ended snap and screw the corners of the bucket to the wall. i ususally use a 2 1/2 or 3 inch screw(be sure it does not go thru to other side) if i am against a flat wall i use a short piece of wood strapping and screw that inside the bucket to the wall or decent size washers to keep everything where it should be.. the bucket is steady not movable and they have a harder time getting food out of the bucket as there is not a ton of room for them to swish food out of it.

hope this helps

angel

 

[ruffian]

Not just a shetland problem - I have a mini mare doing the same thing. I have the small over the fence feeders, and she could hit quite a ways. I just wet the feed down good, and she can't get it out of the feeder. I have tiny holes drilled in the front corners so no water lays in the bottom. I had her in another stall with a big corner feeder, and wetting the feed kept it in nicely.

 

[Wild Women Ranch]

I was having this problem at the beginning of spring. I had at first the buckets that have the straps you can buy and attach to the handle. All I would hear after I put the feed in, would be the "Whoosh" sound and feed landed all over their heads and mostly on the ground!!

I soon bought 5 and still counting..of the hanging 14q. feeders from TSC. I wired or use twine (form the hay bales) and tightly tie to the stall gate.

I have had no trouble since.