The grain slow feeder in the link (above) provided by Deserthorsewoman is not a bad idea.

Below is some of what it says:

GRAIN SLOW FEEDERS:
Grain slow feeders are not as well-known but have the same benefits.

They are designed on the same principle as a forage slow feeder; to slow down the eating process. With holes, obstacles or divets in the bottom of the feeder, the horse has to use his lips and work around this, much like he would in the wild.


For the record, I am on the other side of the fence regarding salt or mineral blocks in the feed pan with the feed. I tried that once and my fast-eating horse refused to eat.

Plus in the heat/humidity, those salt and mineral blocks gather moisture and pretty soon there is so much excess salt and minerals in the horse's feed they don't want to eat it. Pretty much like someone loosening the lid on the salt shaker

I got that horse to stop gulping his food and it only took me under a week. He's now 20, has been with me all his life and hasn't gulped his food since his table manner lessons.

Anyway, that grain slow feeder might work IF there's enough room underneath for all the feed the horse in question gets fed

Um....maintenance.........?

As Walk already Point out the horse may refuse to eat.

The second is the horse can develope a taste for salt then you may be looking at kindney trouble! seen it happen a few times, well meaning owners puting salt block in the grain for a Young colt thinking it would stop up the diarea, it just made matters worse, the colt died a year later of kindney failure.

Makes me wonder where people get their ideas from.

When I worked with Steeplechasers horses rarely ever touched the mineral blocks or salt licks if they were on the floor or in holders.
They had a large chunk of rock salt and a brick sized mineral lick in their mangers. Some would go for salt and others the mineral.

Certainly didn't do them any harm as they were winning races including Aintree Grand National.

I have no doubt that some of these horses had ulcers though it was never thought of of back then.

The mineral/salt block idea and possible problems - its called monitoring on an hour to hour/day to day basis
If the horse appears to be eating the block then you remove it, if it refuses to eat because of it you remove it. How hard is that?
Then you go to Plan B
Bigger rocks. I eventually found one rock that was so heavy my mare couldn't hurl out of her manger. Problem solved

Thanks guys. I'll tell my friend. Its her horse and she can decide if she wants to try the salt blocks. Or use a feeder to slow him down.

Maintenance - my horses won't touch anything, if there's a salt or mineral block in their feed pan, 30 seconds after I scrubbed it --- and I do scrub all four feed pans twice a day

We have so much humidity this time of year that I have to rinse all of the indoor and outdoor salt blocks & holders every single day ---- and best not forget to lit those 50 lb blocks out, and flip the holders over to be sure Black Widows haven't decided to take up residence

Interesting feeder, must be a ****** too Clean.

I thought the same thing. I clean feed pans twice daily. Stall buckets once because my horses only come in at night.

Outside water tubs, as needed which is several times weekly in this weather. Salt blocks and holders get a daily hosing and the holders flipped 2 - 3 X/weekly to check for Black Widows

Then there's the cat bowls in the barn and the dog bowls in the house.

I already have too many "one more thing" to do, with these metabolic horses. Having to pull that apart and clean it, twice daily would just about send me over the edge but, I still think it's a good idea - lol lol

Portagrazers work for both hay and pelleted feed (not sure if they work for textured, but I suspect they do). Easy to load; easy to keep clean; slows the horse down. But a little pricey.

Our elder gelding (RIP Dusty) learned to pull out large rocks when we put them in to try and slow him down. Objects in his feed dish never worked.