Best grain bucket for a tipper

[Anna.m]

Hello,
My Gelding and my mare are outdoor boarded, and get fed grain 2x daily outside. Currently they are fed from the flat-back water buckets placed on the ground. There is nowhere to safely mount buckets on the walls or fences.

My gelding tips the bucket over on its side every time. He will eat a bit, then tip it over, then right it again and continue eating, then repeat the process until there is nothing left. It seems he does this to move the grain to one side of the bucket to make it easier to eat. However, when he tips there is always some grain lost into the dirt. I obviously want to discourage this behavior 1 so im not paying for the birds to eat the grain, and 2, I worry about how much dirt/sand he is consuming as he tries to clean up the grain.
So can anyone recommend a better bucket? Would the small rubber feed pans be better? My concern with the feed pans, is if he does tip it, it will all go on the ground because it does not have high sides.

Unfortunately, he is at a boarding stable and the BO feeds him, so having him fed in a stall is not possible.
Thanks for your help!

[trubandloki]

Have you tried the rubber floor pan yet to see if he tips it? They are meant for feeding on the ground. Some have higher sides. You are correct, when they tip it they do knock the grain out. Some horses do well with the lower sides and open pan, they do not try to tip it. The higher sided buckets like this are heavier too.

They come in lots of sizes.

Here is an example of a larger model:
https://www.runnings.com/little-gian…tub-hp650.html

Edit to add:
This site has many sizes.
https://www.farmandfleet.com/product…-feed-pan.html

[Posting_Trot]

The grain pan that I’ve linked to below might be a good choice. It has a “base” built in that will make it hard(er) to tip over:

https://www.statelinetack.com/item/high-country-plastics-grain-pan-feeder-waterer/E021035/?srccode=GPSLT&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9M7jhPPb6AIVRj0MCh1dGw5nEAQYBCABEgJITfD_BwE

[Simkie]

There used to be something called a mowl, which was basically a large rubber feed pan bolted down to a rubber mat. I don’t think they’re made anymore, but it would be super easy to construct…and that really is untipable!

[JB]

Food in a 5 gallon flat-back bucket is not comfortable for some horses. There’s not a lot of room to chew without banging their jaw or nose.

I agree that a low, wide ground feeder is a good choice. Rubbermaid and others make some that are in the 10-12" high range, 2’ wide or so, and 3-4’ long - they’re actually small water tubs. A “proper” round ground feeder might be a cheaper option to start with.

[stb]

Fortiflex makes a ground feeder that doesn’t tip. It has sides like this /__/
It’s made out of the same material as flat back buckets, so it is easier to clean than rubber pans.

[EventingChase]

A feed pan inside a tire is awesome.

[carman_liz]

Feedpan inside the tire.

[reefy]

@Posting Trot

The grain pan that I’ve linked to below might be a good choice. It has a “base” built in that will make it hard(er) to tip over:

https://www.statelinetack.com/item/high-country-plastics-grain-pan-feeder-waterer/E021035/?srccode=GPSLT&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9M7jhPPb6AIVRj0MCh1dGw5nEAQYBCABEgJITfD_BwE

I can vouch for this one! I have one that I use for my gelding who gets hay pellets to help fatten him up. He can move it around but he can’t tip it. Works great!

[SLStar]

I LOVE my feed bag. My horse will tip any sort of container you try to put his feed in (I guess he likes it better off the ground). Much less mess, and I know he gets all his supplements and none of it ends up lost in the stall or run.

I have the one linked. It cleans up very nicely if you soak it in water for a few minutes.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009LH41US?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

[Chief2]

https://www.cashmans.com/product/no-spill-horse-ball-corner-feeder/