A friend came up with a great idea for her horse’s supplements - a small parts organizer. She puts each days supplements in individual drawers, then the staff feeding simply dump the contents of a single drawer in the feed bucket and return the empty drawer. They come in different sizes, are widely available and not too expensive.
The one she uses is similar to this - about 2 weeks worth. I’m not sure I would want to prep more than that.
I used to use small Tupperware cups/lids. Airtight and stackable.
Now i have Horsetech make me a custom blend - no more measuring required!
I use empty Trader Joe’s yogurt containers. I can’t get my Horsetech stuff adequately in synch to start a custom blend.
It wouldn’t work here - there is too much humidity too often to have supplements in open containers.
I use the reusable containers that KFC puts mashed potatoes in for their $5 boxes, since I grab lunch there at work sometimes. They are the perfect size for a couple supplements & they seal. I get the buckets from smartpak, so it’s still free shipping & keep the buckets in the climate controlled house.
Good idea.
Simple idea. Certainly convenient for someone feeding.
Also, simple to knock over and have drawer contents spill 
Also, humidity will be a problem for some powdered supplements.
Individual containers with screw tops are hard to mess up. They are easy to open even with gloves on, and for all but the most moisture-sensitive supplements, a week or even 2 maybe in a sealed container shouldn’t have most of them clumping even without a desiccant pack. Some clumping is fine, but those drawers with their 90* corners would leave a lot of the “wet” powders stuck, I’m afraid
My yogurt containers have clear plastic lids.
I use Rubbermaid red 10 ounce screw top containers. They are very durable and not terribly expensive.
I left a 3+ week supply at the barn about 12 days ago because I had hand surgery on the 21st and knew I might not be able to make up the containers for a while.
Oh, no, I meant the OP’s little drawer thing.
I use little containers with lids from the dollar store for my boys. And even then we sometimes have humidity clumping.
Got it. I’m not sure my containers would work well in a less fortunate climate—either humidity or freezing temperatures.
Pill bottles (the big 40 dram ones) have been my favorite and do a good job keeping humidity out. We chuckle, calling my basket of pill bottles redneck smartpaks, since they sit in a feed room surrounded by real smartpaks
Yes, I understand that for some supplements and in some parts of the country/world this wouldn’t be a practical solution, but I thought I would put it out there in case someone else could use the idea, since I hadn’t seen this suggested before.
Or maybe it sparks another creative idea for someone.
Small screw-top ziploc containers. Stacked in a large(~10g) tote. Best solution I have found so far. Mine can fit about a month’s worth of containers.
I have labeled mine “Holden’s Drug Kit”. I am only partially joking :winkgrin:
Yep, this is what I use as well.
I use those exact containers - they work great! I got 2 packs so I have enough for 12 days at a time (she gets them 2x a day instead of the barn’s grain). I love them because they can be undone easily with gloves and are easier to re-use than plastic baggies. It holds 1/2 lb of ration balancer and supplements perfectly.
The Dollar Tree near my house has these in Betty Crocker brand for 3/$1. I have a set of 30 for each horse. Didn’t want to use snap-on lids because of the potential for them popping off and spilling. They last longer and are easier to load than ZipLock bags. I can put 12 of them in a SmartPak drawer (or 24 of I stack them).
I found these at Winn Dixie today. In a 3 pack for $2.99; buy two packs get one free!
For other people who live in moist climates, I’ve had very good luck with throwing a desiccant card in with clumping-prone products.
(Also a pack or two of Container Dry plunked in the feed bin/tack locker really go a long way to keeping an area a touch more arid)
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