Horse keeps dumping her feed

[Phaedra1]

I have a mare that needs grain at night but can’t stay in over night. When I give her feed, she will eat a little bit and then dump it to eat it off the stall floor, and she’s wasting a lot of feed. I have tried using big and smaller tubs and have put large rocks in them, but she still dumps them. If it’s in a fixed corner tub, she will eat a couple of bites and then snob it. I have also tried putting it in an empty water bucket that hangs on the stall.

Do any of you have any ideas on how to just get her to eat?

[beowulf]

Are there supplements in this feed?

I’d try a grain bag.

[Phean]

Sometimes I use a big water trough - like a 50 gal. It can still be knocked over, but less likely from pawing

[JB]

Feedbag, or put her normal bucket on a cleaned rubber mat, and let her dump and eat, if that’s where/how she currently eats it all.

But if she’s not even eating it all when she dumps it, then that’s the issue to work on, rather than the dumping

What’s in the bucket?

[candyappy]

Do you think it is that she doesn’t like the feed ( or what’s in it) or that she is wanting back in with her herd mates? Is there a safe place she can eat it in the pasture? Or maybe feed her just outside the pasture before you put her back in?

[jvanrens]

Does she eat it well off the floor? Are you feeding in a tub or bucket?

[RhythmNCruise]

If she’s in a matted stall, just sweep a large area of the mats clean from bedding (like, half the stall if necessary) and let her eat off of the mats. If she’s not in a matted stall, maybe try putting a 3’X4’ mat down in a corner (as flat as possible) and let her eat off of that. The only drawback is the bedding will get pushed up under the mat and make it lump and a tripping hazard and they’re pretty heavy to move around. Even better would be feeding her outside (not in the rain, obviously) and just put the mat out there and let her eat off of it.

Does she like soaked/wet feed? I find some tend to sling wet feed around less than dry feed too.

[Phaedra1]

I was feeding her kelp and camelina oil but stopped that recently to see if that’s the case but she still dumps her feed

[Phaedra1]

She is getting extra feed because I would prefer to put a little more weight on her.
When she goes in, there are two other mares that come in for feed, and they are beside her stall.
She gets two pounds of soaked hay cubes, two pounds of soaked beet pulp, one pound of sweet feed, and about one yogurt scoop worth of Fat 'N Fibre.
I have tried just giving her the grain separately.
I would definitely use a feed bag, but it gets all sloppy.
I am going out right now, so I might try to move a mat over

Thank you all for your advice.

[JB]

@Phaedra1

She gets two pounds of soaked hay cubes, two pounds of soaked beet pulp, one pound of sweet feed, and about one yogurt scoop worth of Fat 'N Fibre.

so I’m curious why you’re mixing all these things, and under-feeding a fortified feed, especially since you’re trying to put a bit of weight on her?

What brands of feed can you get? A good quality feed, at 5-6lb a day (1 or 2 feedings, doesn’t matter for that amount unless she’s a smaller pony) would be a lot more calories, and she might like it all better

[cayuse]

Check her teeth if you haven’t already. She maybe slinging the feed around cause she’s uncomfortable. My older guy (who just had 5 teeth extracted) got really fussy/messy with the grain when his teeth got painful.

[Willesdon]

Teeth?

[luvmyhackney]

Check her teeth. A cracked tooth or sharp point will make them sling food around.

I would follow @JB’s advice and just try 5-6 pounds of a decent fortified feed and drop all the wet to see if that’s the issue.

[Bonnie2]

Personally, I have never had a horse that needed more food that would eat more than 2 quarts at a time. You may need to change to a higher calorie smaller volume meal. Especially if she’s in a hurry to go back out.

[RhythmNCruise]

If you can get Triple Crown Senior or something comparable, I’d try that fed at the recommended levels and soaked (especially if there are dental issues, it soaks up nice and soft). Most horses find it very palatable.

And have her teeth checked/done, if that’s a possibility, obviously.

[Scribbler]

One of the mares I feed will.dump her mash if it’s too wet, so it drains. Now if the mash comes out too wet I put a handful of hay in the pan first which drains the mash and then she eventually eats the wet hay too.

[JB]

Feeds I know are in the highest calorie range:

Purina Ultium - 1900
Triple Crown Sr Gold - 1800
Triple Crown Perform Gold - 1700
Triple Crown Complete - 1700

You still need MINIMALLY 5lb, preferably 6, for an average 1000-1100lb horse, but you also get more calories.

[Phaedra1]

Shes a 5 yr, 15h tb that I am planning to do 2.3 2.6ft eventing this year, and we just bred her. She’s not skinny, but I prefer my horses to have a little more weight than she does.
We had the vet out last month for teeth, and she got a small float.
The vet is very experienced and knows what she is doing.
I have had a fussy baby before, and it turns out she was just losing her teeth, so because shes young and has a couple teeth to loose, I have been checking her.
We were using Sharps Fat and Fibre, but we can only get Shurgrain, so we are transitioning over. Last month, I soaked her feed and then took all the water out so it was dry, and she wouldn’t even touch it.
We have two other mares that are about the same weight and are on almost the same feed. They are seniors and have definitely gained weight over the winter.
They will be going out to pasture in a week or two.
I will try to get some pictures of her

[clanter]

@Phaedra1

I would definitely use a feed bag, but it gets all sloppy.

I just throw it into wash then air dry the feed bag

We have two. one mare who is on daily SmarkPak stuff and then the other just is a pig

[RedHorses]

You could try putting a feed tub into an old tire. If you get the sizes matching, the tub sits snug in the middle of the tire, but is easy to lift out for cleaning.