Slow Feeder Review & Experience

If you are new to slow feeding, you can learn more and follow the steps in our guide on How To Introduce Slow Feeding. But what about when you are actually going through the process of switching to slow feeding, as each horse is unique in personality? How do you adjust if things don't go according to plan? Read below to hear about the personal experience of Riding Warehouse crew member Alison, who transitioned her two food-aggressive horses to eat from slow feeders—ones that we carry here at Riding Warehouse!

Meet the Reviewer and Her Horses

Meet Alison

I (Alison) have grown up riding horses my entire life on the Central Coast of California, and we have always fed the horses twice a day; we understand that there are pros and cons to this feeding method, as well as to slow feeding. Needless to say, my Rocky Mountain Horse Bellizo (pronounced bell-e-z-o) was used to his feeding habits after sixteen years of life. Newer to our horse family is Scout, a four-year-old Rocky Mountain Horse, who also was trained to eat twice a day. My incentive for switching these horses to slow feeding was to try to ease their anxiety around feeding, due to their food-aggressive tendencies.

Meet Bellizo

My horse Bellizo entered my family's ownership at the age of three. He has been a hard keeper from the beginning, as he was underfed as a baby due to being turned out with adult horses that easily pushed his small frame away from the hay. His food intake was not closely monitored, and he simply did not receive enough feed on a daily basis. Bellizo has high energy and a fast metabolism and is generally a mouthy horse. He will pin his ears back and sometimes threaten to kick or bite you if he believes you are not feeding him quickly enough or trying to take his food away. Therefore, Bellizo's food aggression is a survival instinct of, "If I don't fight for my food, I won't eat." His small mouth and narrow jaw naturally slows down the pace at which he eats.

Meet Scout

Our boy Scout was purchased from a ranch that housed around 200 horses total on the property. As you can imagine, feeding all those horses in the mornings and evenings took a lot of time. Scout was stalled individually; however, he commonly had to watch the other horses get fed first. He endlessly paces while waiting for his food, then foams at the mouth with salivation. He eventually resorted to chewing the wood fencing to shreds in anticipation. Scout too will pin his ears back and generally be agitated during feeding time. Once he starts eating, he wolfs down huge bites like it is his last meal in this world! Scout overall has a chill personality and is an easy keeper with his weight. He is obviously very food motivated!

Initial Introduction

Upon the initial slow feeder introduction, both horses received a portion of loose hay for about two weeks. Alongside their loose hay, they received feed in the Tough 1 Large Slow Feed Double-Sided Web Hay Net. The 2" x 2" hole size of this feeder was ideal for the horses to eat from at first, to prevent them from becoming too frustrated. With their destructive behaviors, I was impressed by how well these hay nets held up to being banged around by Bellizo and Scout. I will admit that both horses stuffed themselves and got porky, as they did not yet understand the idea of hay always being available to them!

The Experience

Their loose hay portion was taken away to further slow them down. With being exclusively slow fed, the Tough 1 feeder was replaced by the Shires Greedy Feeder Slow Feed Hay Net 1" and Freedom Feeder Single Day Slow Feeder Hay Net. Having more feed always available to them, they did begin to slow down a bit. Over time, both horses showed that they preferred to eat from the 1" hole size. Bellizo and Scout continued to express some agitation while watching the rest of the horses receive their morning and evening feedings. They still thought they were on the same schedule!

The Behaviors

Bellizo is a particularly intelligent horse, and he figured out after about a month that he could walk away from his food and it would still be there when he came back. He has especially slowed down to now enjoy the mental stimulation slow feeding provides him! I noticed Bellizo was more trusting with me around his food; I could safely go in and out of his pen with the slow feeders without him really being bothered. He chews on the fence less and can instead burn off energy and boredom grazing from the feeders.

Scout is still devouring his food; at the rate he was eating, he burned through an expensive amount of hay trying to figure out the concept of slow feeding. Being quite young, he psychologically is taking longer to understand that he does not need to stuff himself and can safely eat in peace! On the other hand, Scout paces less and has luckily stopped chewing the fences. The slow feeders themselves have given him a more productive outlet for his anxious energy and have helped him eat at a healthier pace.

The time invested into filling the slow feeders took longer than expected. It is easier to have a few feeders on hand to provide several grazing positions for the horses, but also to prep ahead of time—ready to replace any empty hay nets. The bigger the hay holding capacity, the less frequent refilling is, although a larger hay capacity also means a heavier weight. Depending on how your horse is stalled, it might be a bit difficult to maneuver a heavy slow feeder around. Durable hardware makes a big difference in helping secure the feeders.

Overall, transitioning my horses to slow feeding was a wonderful learning experience that I would go through again. If it is approached with an open mind, knowing time and money will be spent, slow feeding is a great way to address your equine's nutrition or eating habits. Being flexible and listening to what your horse is telling you will result in an improved equine relationship!

We hope this feedback has shed some light on what the experience of slow feeding horses is like. We highly recommend consulting an equine nutritionist to ensure your specific horse's needs are being met. Also, please feel free to reach out to our customer service team via phone or email if you have any questions. We are always happy to help!