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Discussion on Automated horse feeding in a training barn
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 12:18 pm:
Ok folks now I am excited, I think I found the solution to a problem that I've had / and or been having related to 1) slowing down my horses when they eat and 2)making sure they eat several times a day even when I am not there to feed them. It means a total change in the way I've been doing things but I think it will be healthier for my horses.
And it came from of all places a deer hunting site and it not very expensive $70 (a welcome relief).
This came about as I was looking for a naturally managed ulcer solution for my horses. My colt is starting to act like he has ulcers even though he is not being stressed a lot. There is a proclivity to ulcers from his sires part of the family and I had another horse by the same sire that was plagued with ulcers most of her racing life. I want to be proactive rather than reactive, so I am constantly looking out for things that will help from the feed management point of view.
I would prefer that my horses eat several small meals rather than eat 2 large ones, so there is something in their stomachs at all times. However, sometimes feed schedules are not as perfect as we all would like. In my present situation, I do not want to impose on anyone to deal with my horses, so if I can find a way to deal with it myself that's a plus.
So what I found was a 5 1/2 gallon hanging automatic deer feeder with a timer. I would most likely get two of them one for the pasture and one for the stall allowing me to feed up to 8 times in a twenty-four hour period (horse is stalled 12 hours and outside 12 hours).
I also want to mix his Triple Crown roughage with the feed so he is getting mini-meals of both his concentrate and his forage at the same time ( I am not sure if doing it this way is a good idea). I also will be providing grass hay separately.
If anyone has used this type of set up before or can offer any suggestions, I'd like to hear them.
Thanks
Rachelle
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 12:41 pm:
Huh, I think we have one of those! Not sure where, but let me ask hubby about it! Won't have feed back on using it for horses, but I bet he can give a deer report, lol!
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 12:45 pm:
Sounds interesting. I just saw a similar system but it was for small dogs or cats.
It was designed to be used if the person is away overnight.
Does it have a trap door that opens so the horse can eat hay?
Is the food kept in the dispenser of does it DrOp it out?
Does it have multiple timers for several times a day feeding?
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 1:29 pm:
Thanks Angie, Any info at all will help me decide.
Lori,
It does not have a trap door for flakes of hay, but I am hoping ( with Angie's husbands help)to find out if there is a problem with combining my TC chopped forage and my feed concentrate ( How much can get released at the same time?).
I would think that it would DrOp out and that you could put a feed tub under it instead of letting it DrOp on the ground ( as you would for the deer).
It has a multiple timer that can be set for 4 times a day.
Just thought of something, this might be useful in a paddock paradise setup. Can you imagine having a few of these scattered around a track, hanging from trees and going off at different times during the day. What a hoot that would be. The horses would get so much exercise running around from feeder to feeder waiting on the next food DrOp. I wonder how long it would take them to figure out the timing schedule.
Rachelle
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Member:
kpaint
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 1:34 pm:
Rachelle that's a great idea on the track! The one vacuum cleaner I have would probably figure it out in three days. 
I asked Hubby about the deer feeder and he told me to look at Cabelas.com that he had seen them before but hasn't used one.
I'll go look.
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Member:
kpaint
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 1:48 pm:
www.moultriefeeders.com
This holds 5 gal of feed and has a spin/spreader on the bottom which would have to be modified not to sling feed in the stall. It's $70. I was wondering if you could hang it outside the stall and rig up a funnel around the spreader and small chute to DrOp feed in bucket/grain bowl in the stall? Have to horseproof the chute so horse wouldn't knock it around and out of the bucket...Hmmm. Pvc pipe comes to mind fixed between stall bars? I'll get engineer husband thinking.
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Member:
kpaint
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 1:59 pm:
I would probably only put one days' worth of feed in the hopper in case the release mechanism malfunctions...for 70 bucks...ya never know!
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 2:14 pm:
Vicki,
The Moultrie one was the one I saw. It has a 25lb capacity that just right. The one on Cabalas is too big I think. It has a 100 lb capacity.
Yes, that was what I was wondering to, maybe a piece of PVC pipe with a large funnel on the top to catch the feed and deposit it in the feed tub.
And I would only put in enough for one day. I wonder how big the opening is where the feed comes out is.
Rachelle
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 2:31 pm:
I've seen something like this put out where hunters were baiting for prey and it did sling the feed (corn) outward in all directions rather than just DrOp it straight down if I recall correctly.
Also, you would have to hang it high enough so that the horses could not reach it, which might be tricky.
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Member:
kpaint
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 3:35 pm:
https://www.moultriefeeders.com/catalog.aspx?catid=hangingdeerfeeders
This page shows the feeder and details. It shows the spinner/slinger thingey. It also will collapse for storage. Probably plastic which would not be great for outdoors. Coons and other critters would chew thru that in a NY minute. I would think a pvc elbow glued or screwed to bucket and then glued to a pvc pipe would work fine. Give the spinner room to sling in the elbow pipe and there are couplers which will connect the bigger elbow pvc diameter to a narrower pvc pipe so the pipe will fit between the stall bars.
Something could be made to hang the bucket from--even if you use a Box Fan Mount which you might already have--on the outside of the stall. If you have permanent grain bowl/bucket screwed the stall wall it might be close to idiot proof as the pvc pipe would be between stall bars and shouldn't wiggle much.
Only thing I would worry about is the release mechanism wearing out.
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Member:
kpaint
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 3:37 pm:
I did see on the site that replacement parts could be ordered but I didn't check on what or how much.
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Member:
kpaint
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 3:39 pm:
Be sure to put enough fall in the pipe so the feed slides down and doesn't just stick and lay in the pipe. We have one grain auger leg that constantly plugs because the fall (pitch) isn't steep enough... PITA
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 3:59 pm:
Vicki,
Thanks! I can hang the feeder high externally outside his stall, his feed tub is on the inside of a very sturdy full no yoke gate. I can make the PVC pipe as long and as wide as I need to capture the spinning feed and have it fall into the tub, every thing but the last few feet of PVC pipe would be outside the stall.
Outside might be a different story, but totally doable. He has a run in shed that's high enough to where I could mount it high and protect it from him pulling it down plus all the weather elements.
Rachelle
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 4:18 pm:
If there are multiple horses eating from this won't they fight over it? Mine would kill each other and only one would get all the grain.
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 5:24 pm:
Melissa,
At this time I am only dealing with one horse, a stud colt who is by himself all the time. I think with multiple horses, you would need one for each horse set far enough apart to not interfere with the other horses and set at the same time, so everyone was eating together.
With me its a timing thing. I like to give my horses an hour to eat and at least partially digest their meal before they have to go jog. They get hay when they get back to their stalls after they jog. I have to be at work at 11 am, and I don't want to impose on anyone to feed my horses lunch (for one reason, my colt bites, although he is getting much better after a little schooling for his respect issues, I don't want any one to get hurt). This way he'd get his lunch and a snack later on in the after noon and then when I come home from work, he can get fed again.
I'd like to set it up so they can eat something every 3-4 hours whether in the stall or out in the field.
Rachelle
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Member:
kpaint
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 7:53 pm:
rachelle, do you have any coons, squirrels, woodpeckers in the turnout lot? I was wondering how safe the feed would be. I've had coons take lids off trash cans to get cat food/dog food...
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Member:
rtrotter
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 8:10 pm:
Vicki,
Guinnea hens and chickens. No coons, squirrels that I've seen and no woodpeckers.
Rachelle
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Member:
kpaint
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Posted on Sunday, Dec 13, 2009 - 8:19 pm:
Well the hens and chickens may roost in the rafters and poop on the feeder but they won't take the lids off.
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Monday, Dec 14, 2009 - 7:45 am:
Hubby didn't give me much useful feedback. He did mention "us horse woman need to go and feed 6 times a day so we can scratch our horses noses and whatever it is we do." And he mentioned horses under a deer feeder would make them fair game, right?
For what it's worth, his hangs up only, and doesn't have the tripod set up like the one in the picture. He set it to feed twice a day, but he thougth it could feed 4 times a day. He didn't remember the settings for amount at a time though. I am not sure even if it's in the barn here, or up at camp. I do know it came from Cabelas, where else?
So if you live amongst hunters, make sure they know the difference between a horse and a deer, lol!!
I wish I had trees in my "paddock paradise track" that would be a fun idea to spread some feeders out like that.
Let us know what you come up with, and how it works out.
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Member:
kpaint
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Posted on Monday, Dec 14, 2009 - 7:49 am:
Angie you could always have hubby put up poles to hang those feeders on the track.
Diva mare should be safe as a palomino but the sornut Haffies might be in trouble.
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