pasture feeding

[mightyhijames]

you were all so helpful about the skin irritation, i thought i'd give this a shot. i borrowed a gelding as a companion horse who is a maniac when it comes to eating his grain in the pasture. i've tried a tub (knocked it over), a hard plastic feeder (knocked it over), and putting the tub in a tire (pawed it out, somehow). so he's (a) not getting all his grain and (b) what he is getting is off the ground. a fence feeder isn't an option since it's high-tinsel (sp?) wire. his yearling pasturemate won't go near him during feed time but he still attacks the feed tubs like he's possessed. he eats calmly in his stall in the evening but has to eat outside in the a.m. i lease pasture and barn space so i'm limited in what i can do as far as anything stationary goes.

any suggestions?

[madelyn]

His message seems to be "feed me on the ground"... so if you put a flake of hay on the ground and top it with his grain, maybe he won't paw into it so bad.. worth a try. Another idea (much more costly) is to get some portable corral panels and create an outside "stall" because his message could be more "I'm not secure eating in an open space".

[mightyhijames]

madelyn, that's a good idea. i'll give it a try tomorrow a.m. and let you know how it goes. thanks.

[aurora]

I have some Rubbermaid feed tubs (ground feeders) and it is very difficult for the horses to knock them over. I've had them for a long time so I am not sure if you can still buy them. If you can find one, that is what I would recommend.

[KamiBrooks]

Another way to give him security like madelyn suggested might just be rig up a way that they can be tied to posts while they eat. Probably not the easiest with high tensile (since some lines are probably hot). Maybe insulate the first 3' of a low break strength rope with garden hose and elect tape or a knot at the bottom of the hose to keep the insulator from slipping down... so if the lead touches the fence they don't get nuked.. then tie them at feed time...

of course, you'll need to get someone to test the rope before you use it on the horses... that part could suck.

[mightyhijames]

well, i tried the rubbermaid tubs, the hard plastic ground feeders, and feed in the hay. none have made any difference, the grain is just going everywhere. i must say i'm amazed at the tenacity of this guy to get that grain onto the ground. and now he's got my yearling doing it, too. enough is enough, from now on they'll be fed in the barn, in their stalls, before turn out. makes my day a little longer but that's part of the game.

thanks for all the response.