My then 3 year old used to scoop his feed out of the feed tub (round, black rubber, clipped to. the wall) with his nose. He’d put his nose in the tub at the 12 o’clock position and then go round the edge of the tub, scooping the food out at the bottom. I found a rounded rock, about grapefruit sized, and put it in the feed tub. The next time my horse scooped his feed he banged his nose, hard! on that rock. I took the rock out a couple of weeks later, and had to put it back when he resumed scooping three days later. The next time I removed the rock he was fine and didn’t scoop again.
Until many years later. He likes to spread his food out, and if he can’t clear a space at the bottom of the tub he will push some feed out - not scooping, but just pushing it over to one side and continuing to push until it falls over the side (4" tall sides). Given a larger feed tub he doesn’t do it because he has room to make his little line/row of feed and then eat that line before making another line.
Younger horse always hoovered his food. Until he didn’t. He started shoving food out, pushing the tub and jerking it around, and occasionally flipping it when he developed ulcers. He would take tiny nibbles or shove the feed around with his upper lip in between the abuse of the feed tub. He clearly wanted the feed, but at the same time didn’t want to actually have to eat it.
