WARNING about homemade feeders..

[littlesteppers]

If anybody here making feeders Please be sure to make them SAFE!!

Consider that horses/Foals will do anything to get to that last

piece of feed or hay. If you like go to our website and read about TROOPER.

The page is called Feeder WARNING.

Little Steppers

 

[Cathy_H]

It appears that the wires extend on the outside of the bucket, an obvious warning!........... Anyway I am glad to hear that you got him so his wounds would be taken care of. Thank you for the warning..................... I look at our horses surroundings the same way I view our grand babies. If the grand kids can get hurt on it then so can the horses, so make it safe.... Best of luck with the little fella!

 

[whitney]

Littlesteppers thank you so much for posting. I had considered making something like those but decided against it because of the "pokey" parts.

I'm really glad your little one is getting better.

 

[littlesteppers]

Please don't make these..you might safe a few bux..BUT you or your horses will pay in the long run...

 

[Margo_C-T]

Anyone who would put a horse of any size or any age in the same enclosure with something as dangerous as the thing pictured in the 'feeder warning' on littlestepper's site should not be allowed to own a horse--period. How stupid and unthinking can someone BE???????

Littlesteppers, he is lucky to have come to YOU....

Edited to add: I do not believe in feeding off the ground,ever, unless you are placing hay out onto a well-grassed area. Horses can(and will)ingest ANY kind of soil; it's just that sand is probably the worst for accumulating in the gut/causing digestive problems. I DID make my own (individual)feeders, out of 30 gal. plastic barrels,using my skil saw and a plywood blade, a drill, some heavy flat steel strapping,screws, and galvanized conduit-they have no sharp edges/points anywhere that the horses can contact,and hang on the fence, so are quite portable.( Cattle or hog panels are made of 1/4" steel rod, which is brittle and nearly impossible to bend at more than a right angle, at least without being heated. IMO, it would be VERY difficult to 'cap' so as to be safe; even the rod ends of the panels as they come from the manufacturer can be,and often are, very sharp-edged!)

My 'homemade' feeders have now been in use approx. 16-18 years, mostly outdoors and exposed to the elements, and only one has 'busted' and had to be tossed. The 30 gal. plastic barrels came from a guy who got them from a dairy, where something non-toxic had originally been their content-back then, they cost me $7 each-I'm sure they could still be found if you just ask around. I hang them low enough that the horse's heads are below horizontal as they eat-this enables them to be in a more natural position, for sinus drainage, etc., yet keeps 'most of' the feed off the ground. In their runs, I have a mat under where they eat(which I sweep twice daily)-and when they are moved inside to eat, the stalls floors are fully matted where they eat. In my large, multi-horse lot, I have a great 8' long metal (welded rebar and the metal innards of an old water heater tank)hay/grain feeder, originally made for goats, that I lucked out and bought for $50, again, about 16 years ago. My son who welds put extensions on the legs to raise it a bit, but it is still low enough for the horses to lower their heads to eat. It is VERY heavy and completely stable, and one of the best investments I ever made relative to the horses!

The 'muck buckets' can be used as feeders just by setting them on the ground; I use two, tied together and then tied securely to the immovable fence, as feeders for several of my horses. For my horse who cribs, I use a 14" deep HD plastic water trough for feeding; it moves too much to crib off of, but is roomy and too heavy to easily be overturned, and has absolutely no sharp anything.

 

[DakotahMoon_Ranch]

I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that whoever made this feeder left those long pieces sticking out on the ends??? Of course I don't know if they contributed to him losing his eye because it was said that his head got stuck IN the feeder (which isn't where those pieces are) but still...that's an accident just waiting to happen!!!

I'm glad you got him home Christine, it appears not much had been done for him in the meantime

 

[Marty]

I"ve seen these feeders somewhere before. I think posted here on the forum, but not possitive.

They look like an accident looking for a place to happen.

Good luck with Trooper Christine. I'm sure you're going to have him on the mend real soon in your care.

 

[Marnie]

I ditto Margo, why would anyone even think that would be a good feeder is beyond me. Bless you for taking him in, the poor little guy, I hope he is ok now. Or as good as he can be.

 

[chandab]

So sorry to hear about your little Trooper. Thank you for the warning.

I did try to make one of those feeders, but... I bent over all the wire ends, so they were flush with the bucket or poking back into the plastic. I didn't use the right kind of bucket, so it was a dismal failure and I made a couple out of wood without any protruding wire, that seem to be working fine.

Here's the second feeder I made, it hangs on the fence (it better be a sturdy fence, cause the thing weighs a ton). It holds about two flakes of hay.

Here's the first feeder I made, the wire racks are former freezer shelves.

My stallion is working on destroying it and then I'll have to come up with something new.

:

 

[Little Wee Horse Farm]

I dunno if I'm reading things wrong, but my question is this: What type of care did that little boy get between when he was hurt & when you picked him up??? Sorry if I'm reading it wrong, but it sounds like he arrived at your place with puss & infections, not to mention a terrible loss. Am I reading this wrong?

I would not have sent a horse out of here in this condition. That's JMHO, but he'd stay home until he looked/felt/really was better. The seller, IMO, should be responsible enough to make sure the horse you've purchased had been cared for and attended to. Again, maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like that didn't happen.

Nope, I went back & read it a 3rd time................this horse would never have left our farm in this condition!!! The seller owes you an explanation and also vet fees, as far as I can tell.

I don't usually come on so strong here, but this is an exception. I feel very bad for that little horse. And for you. Again, forgive me if I'm wrong about his condition.

It's so wonderful you took him regardless his wounds. Best of luck to you & hoping for his full recovery.

 

[minih]

That is just heartbreaking to see, poor little guy. I am so glad he is with you to take care of and love him. :no: Please give him a love from me too, please.

 

[littlesteppers]

So sorry to hear about your little Trooper. Thank you for the warning.

I did try to make one of those feeders, but... I bent over all the wire ends, so they were flush with the bucket or poking back into the plastic. I didn't use the right kind of bucket, so it was a dismal failure and I made a couple out of wood without any protruding wire, that seem to be working fine.

Here's the second feeder I made, it hangs on the fence (it better be a sturdy fence, cause the thing weighs a ton). It holds about two flakes of hay.

Here's the first feeder I made, the wire racks are former freezer shelves.

My stallion is working on destroying it and then I'll have to come up with something new.

:

PLEASE..check them..is the standing feeder top heavy?? Check IF a horse gets stuck in there..can it fall over and crush it?? Guys PLEASE..I am justt trying to point out what COULD happen..these wee Ones will get into stuff and we are suppost to protect them from themselfes. I would have paid for 10 feeders if Trooper would not have to get through this ordeal.!!

 

[Wally]

Poor perrie fellow! :no: how dreadful for you all,

On a brighter note one eyes ponies manage remarkably well, I know a one eyed Icelandic mare who competes, even jumps.

I make my hay and feed fedders from old Mussel floats, My husband is a mussel farmer and we have one or two lying about, so I recycle them into feeders.

 

[McBunz]

Gee whiz, Christine..I thought you said his owner/breeder was a veternarian. Why did he

have puss and open sores five weeks after the accident??" I am so glad he is doing

much better in your care. :new_shocked:

 

[littlesteppers]

Gee whiz, Christine..I thought you said his owner/breeder was a veternarian. Why did he

have puss and open sores five weeks after the accident??" I am so glad he is doing

much better in your care. :new_shocked:

That is correct..thats why I left him there for 5 weeks.. :no:

:

: I don't know why ..I was Not there. :no:

 

[bfogg]

Reply removed by me!

bonnie

 

[chandab]

Here's the first feeder I made, the wire racks are former freezer shelves.

My stallion is working on destroying it and then I'll have to come up with something new.

:

PLEASE..check them..is the standing feeder top heavy?? Check IF a horse gets stuck in there..can it fall over and crush it?? Guys PLEASE..I am justt trying to point out what COULD happen..these wee Ones will get into stuff and we are suppost to protect them from themselfes. I would have paid for 10 feeders if Trooper would not have to get through this ordeal.!!

Yes, it is a little top heavy and therefore it is secured to the fence, so it can't tip over. It will come apart if someone were to get caught in it.

 

[user 488]

Anyone who would put a horse of any size or any age in the same enclosure with something as dangerous as the thing pictured in the 'feeder warning' on littlestepper's site should not be allowed to own a horse--period. How stupid and unthinking can someone BE???????

Littlesteppers, he is lucky to have come to YOU....

OMG! You've got to be kidding!!?? The never ending stupidity of some just amaze me.

: Absolutely not one ounce of common sense. Margo, I couldn't agree more.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

If I read this right he received no Vet care, even though his breeder is a Vet??

I'm sorry but, over here, the guy would be struck off for this.

And then prosecuted for owning an animal and causing undue suffering.

I hope this colt was free!!

I too could not understand why anyone would use such structure in the first place, but I can understand less why the breeder was allowed to get away scott free (if this is the case)

 

[Jill]

Thank you for sharing this with us!!!

Like a lot of others, I just cannot imagine letting that be around one of my horses. People really need to have the attitude / knowledge when considering horse equipment and housing that IF there is any kind of way that a horse can hurt himself in, on, with whatever in his enviroment, it will happen.