I’ve been using 14" black rubber feed pans to feed my horses their supplements. Just wondering if anyone makes something similar but in different colors. I just gave the wrong horse the wrong buckets again…and I think having each bucket a different color would help. I just have 3 horses. It doesn’t have to be round or rubber…just about the same size and suitable for feeding on the ground.
Little Giant (Miller Mfg) makes bigger pans in red, blue, and black…
http://www.coastalfarm.com/product.cfm?pid=527
Smaller 5 qt pans in 9 different colors - I swear there used to be at least 12 color choices, because I wanted 12 different colors - one for each horse - to eliminate confusion…
Don’t know if horses would flip these pretty easy, but they do have a variety of colors
can you not label the pans somehow?
mark them with a number or name or color dot or something.
[QUOTE=Diamontaire;8364618]
http://us.tubtrugs.com/
Don’t know if horses would flip these pretty easy, but they do have a variety of colors[/QUOTE]
We used these to feed when I worked in NZ (and as water buckets at shows), and they were awesome. Super easy to carry. Not the small pans, but the medium or large sized ones. They are my all time favorite buckets for everything, and especially for carrying water.
[QUOTE=2miniB;8364577]
I’ve been using 14" black rubber feed pans to feed my horses their supplements. Just wondering if anyone makes something similar but in different colors. I just gave the wrong horse the wrong buckets again…and I think having each bucket a different color would help. I just have 3 horses. It doesn’t have to be round or rubber…just about the same size and suitable for feeding on the ground.[/QUOTE]
We use the colored plastic buckets to work out the feed for each horse. Each of course has its own bucket and color.
Feeding involves carrying the stack of buckets to the stalls and dumping into their “feed” bucket which is the rubber pans you have. The colored buckets go back to the feed room where they are refilled for the following meal.
As long as you don’t need more than 15 colors, this system works.
I worked for someone who used colored duct tape to mark them. Each horse had a color and it was also used on their blankets/ halters etc.
Do you have a place to hang them, by any chance? These are awesome, and a great price! I too am a fan of having multiple colors (even just pink for girls and blue for boys!). I use the small hard rubber ones for small quantities, and the hanging ones for large quantities. The size in the middle,which seems like what the OP is using, only comes in the soft black rubber. While I like those for their indestructibility, I don’t like the surface – it never seems to come clean. And no pretty colors!
You can get a Sharpie Paint Marker for a few $ and just label them:
http://www.michaels.com/sharpie-oil-based-paint-marker-medium-point/M10288086.html?dwvar_M10288086_color=Red#q=sharpie+permanent+markers+&start=27
I would think the white oil paint version would work on the black rubber pans. Or you could use a different colour paint for each horse to make it really easy.
[QUOTE=Highflyer;8364684]
I worked for someone who used colored duct tape to mark them. Each horse had a color and it was also used on their blankets/ halters etc.[/QUOTE]
You could probably also use a light color tape, and use Sharpie to write the name on the tape piece as well.
I use the colored feed pans for my horses, too. Each horse has its own color (down to just two now, but have used this system for years when previously owning more). Since the feed is dumped from the pan through the opening in the stall wall over the cast aluminum corner feeder, this works much better than a bucket (which wouldn’t fit easily in the opening).
My horses are easy-keepers, so there is not that much feed put in these pans per meal, so no problems stacking and carrying multiples. It is possible to feed out of these on the ground (and there is no bail to catch a foot, as with a bucket), and I’ve done it, but they can be flipped by an enthusiast eater. Not a major issue if the horse is just getting a little something that is quickly gone, IME.
[QUOTE=JoZ;8364724]
Do you have a place to hang them, by any chance? These are awesome, and a great price! I too am a fan of having multiple colors (even just pink for girls and blue for boys!). I use the small hard rubber ones for small quantities, and the hanging ones for large quantities. The size in the middle,which seems like what the OP is using, only comes in the soft black rubber. While I like those for their indestructibility, I don’t like the surface – it never seems to come clean. And no pretty colors![/QUOTE]
You and I must shop at the same places. I use all of the same, mostly the mini colored pans because my horses are predominately fatties who only get handfuls. Each of my girls has her own color.
If I’m not using feed bags for larger quantities of food, I also use the hanging feeders or the rubber pans on the ground. But I feel the same way about the rubber pans. They last forever, but after awhile they just get nasty.
Dans Saddlery also has really great feed tubs. If I had more horses eating larger quantities, I’d invest in them. But they’re a bit overkill for feeding a couple handfuls!
[QUOTE=Texarkana;8365170]
You and I must shop at the same places. I use all of the same, mostly the mini colored pans because my horses are predominately fatties who only get handfuls. Each of my girls has her own color.
If I’m not using feed bags for larger quantities of food, I also use the hanging feeders or the rubber pans on the ground. But I feel the same way about the rubber pans. They last forever, but after awhile they just get nasty.
Dans Saddlery also has really great feed tubs. If I had more horses eating larger quantities, I’d invest in them. But they’re a bit overkill for feeding a couple handfuls![/QUOTE]
Yup, sounds very familiar! I have two fatty draft crosses whose meager ration fits nicely in a mini pan. I have also, however, inherited a hard-keepin’ TB mare who has a big hanging pan. The yearling and 2-year-old could really use something in between, not only because their meals are getting less “mini”, but because they think it’s great fun to step on the rim and dump the carefully-concocted contents. Boys! Until now I’ve had them in stalls for meals but now they are outdoors so that dumped pan goes in the mud. I think it’s time they graduated to hanging pans even if they need to look hard to find their dinner in them!
I have been using the Tubtrugs for over a year and I really like them. They are sturdy and horses can step on them and not do any damage. I like them for traveling as they flex and fit under my trailer managers well. I use the large one for watering when traveling because I can get 10 gallons of water in it and again, it is flexible unlike a traditional muck tub.
[QUOTE=cutter99;8365300]
I have been using the Tubtrugs for over a year and I really like them. They are sturdy and horses can step on them and not do any damage. I like them for traveling as they flex and fit under my trailer managers well. I use the large one for watering when traveling because I can get 10 gallons of water in it and again, it is flexible unlike a traditional muck tub.[/QUOTE]
Can you find a link? I think there are a variety of sizes? I’m just trying to picture how it stays open with food in it, especially as they get close to the end of the meal. I’ve seen them used for water, and I’ve seen them as a carry-all… never for feed but you’re the 2nd person to mention it so I’m curious!
[QUOTE=JoZ;8365336]
Can you find a link? I think there are a variety of sizes? I’m just trying to picture how it stays open with food in it, especially as they get close to the end of the meal. I’ve seen them used for water, and I’ve seen them as a carry-all… never for feed but you’re the 2nd person to mention it so I’m curious![/QUOTE]
Are you just looking for a link that shows the different sizes?
This is first hit on google.
[QUOTE=Simkie;8365357]
Are you just looking for a link that shows the different sizes?
This is first hit on google.
http://us.tubtrugs.com/[/QUOTE]
I was just wondering which type/shape for a feed pan. Some folks have said they are easy to carry which makes me think of the big one, but the small pan-shaped one is more like what I’d imagine for grain – just wanted specifics for this particular usage.
These make cute gifts for boarding barn mates, you can fill them with peppermints or whatever you want to.
http://us.tubtrugs.com/collections/more-products/products/microtub
The only problem with the duct tape or sharpie method if everybody has the same black tub is that you cannot very easily tell who is eating out of which pan once the pans are on the ground. You have to lean way over or back up so you can see the name on the pan… It’s a PITA. If each horse has it’s own color then you always know who is eating what… It is way easier. And much more husband-and-farmsitter-proof.
Could you buy a few cans of spray paint in different colors and spray the outsides of the tubs? I think there are different spray paints for plastic, rubber, metal ect… there is probably ones for flexible applications.
I buy terra cotta colored plasic flower pots and spray the outsides in various colors. (For my deck flowers not for feeding horses) I just flip them upside down to spray them so I don’t spray the inside. I get about 2 years out of each spraying before it begins to fade from the sun. I would think that you would be fine for longer for identification purposes.
