It doesn't sound like a bad idea to me, but also doesn't sound revolutionary :lol: I think that anything that allows the horses to be out and about for a large portion, if not all, of the day is healthiest for them as well as herd interaction.

That being said, it would not work for my horse since she does not interact with others well and would probably do nothing but stand guard over one feeder all day

 

I would think a smart horse would coax all the other horses to the feeder so that the dispenser keeps dumping grain. You would end up with one very fat horse and lots of very skinny/unhappy ones.

 

Yes, that's always the problem with feeding in a herd. I like to separate horses for their feeding times and then have them out on pastures with grass for as much of the day as possible. When I clean up hay from around the storage area and spread it around the pastures, I make sure there is at least one more pile than there are horses so everyone has a chance at the feed. But this is just a snack anyway and they are stalled for feedings.

 

I wouldn't call it revolutionary either. Granted I'm in America (and a very backyard, cowboy method/mentality type of place at that lol), but we sort of do that. The microchip thing is cool but for me overkill. My horses would break the feeder in 2 seconds and pig out on the goodies. :lol: I think being outside most of the time is what makes them healthy/happy in the end.

 

Not revolutionary here either. I've always spread out the hay, and it's away from the water trough, so horses are constantly moving around (like in the natural state) and no one horse can guard ALL the piles, so the horses at the lower end of the totem pole still get goodies.

But maybe it's new in Europe?

 

The automated/customized feeding is used on dairy farms around here (I thing they use ear tags instead of microchips).
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What stops horse #2 from chasing horse #1 away from his grain and supps, eating those then eating his own?
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Exactly! I don't know if they have worked out all the kinks with this system yet, but many boarding facilities are now offering this set up as an alternative to stall or pasture boarding.

 

I am all for horses living out 24/7 and having to move about from feedspot to feedspot, from a water source to a salt source, over different terrains, etc. Healthy for their minds and bodies. Grain dispensers and microchips? A little over the top, imo.

 

From someone who lives in Germany, and has seen all manner of yards... I have never heard of this

Sure, a lot of places have the feed areas spread out and they make the horses move... But you very rarely find horses on grass outside the months of May to October. Mud paddocks is generally all that is offered, and most yards I have been at, or around don't use them as they get deep..really deep.

But the microchip thing? New one for me. I wonder how easy it is to change your horses programmed feed... And how the containers work. Going to speak to a friend who will know more about this than myself!

 

A lot of places I've been to put the feed out in multiple piles, and the horses have to walk around, but the microchip thing, I don't think is a good idea. Like people said, horses can and will figure it out, and then start running each other off the food, and stealing the other horse's grain. We made sure that the horses each had their own pile of hay, and then would put down their buckets of feed. I did have to run other horses off when I fed my mare though, as she was the bottom of the herd, and was always getting run off her grain, and was getting skinny. Same thing would happen with the micro chip idea. The horses that live in the most natural of settings are the ones that are on HUGE acreage, with grass, hay supplemented when necessary, and not fed anything else. But that's hard to find in a lot of places, so it's not really a "natural" way of doing things. I have a friend who lives in Germany, I'm gonna ask him for more details, cause I'm interested to see where this is coming from.

 

I've often pondered an RFID/microchip setup, but mostly for managing letting the horses in and out easier. I'd have RFID gates that only let the specified horse through (so horses can go in and out of their stalls- and only their stalls- at will). The BM could then just feed in the stalls (or they could do an automatic dispenser, going with the current theme ) without having to bring the horses in, could lock the horses in the stall if desired by turning off the RFID reader, turn all the horses out again by turning the reader back on, etc.

Putting multiple food sources out in the paddock is a good idea, though not a new one. Encouraging movement is great for the horse's health but I don't think it makes the arrangement any more natural. Horses in a natural environment go through periods of plenty and periods of scarcity, and I've yet to meet an owner who wants their horse to get skinny and ribby in the winter just because that's what horses in the wild do.

 

Most of the info on "Aktivstall" I'm finding is in German but I found one in English:

HIT Aktivstall® - HIT Offenstall - Products/Services for group horse keeping in open stable

 

Read this about two years ago.....interesting concept

 

Ahhh. Thanks for sharing Sarahfromsc!
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I've been doing this all along, with the concept of keeping my horses moving around in between feed times....In winter, I have numerous places I place flakes of hay in the snow, (my horses aren't fed grain, but a handful of hay pellets in the a.m. with a scoop of loose minerals), and the other 3 seasons I do the same, but in bins/nets... I really like the fact that they're moving around all the time to 'find' their feed, as my mares are easy keepers.

 

That sounds almost like a track system, where a raceway of hottape made around the pasture and the horse has to walk right around the track to reach all the different hay/water/shelter 'stations'. I guess the question if... does it work?


Ps: Maybe as soon as the correct microchip moves away, the grain is sucked back up out of reach?
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I've looked into that when it first came out. Computer- run and programmed so every horse gets a specific ration, split in several small meals, at specific times, and once horse had it's portion, it can't get more until it's his" turn" again. They apparently learn quickly that bullying others away doesn't get them anywhere, and standing around waiting is equally senseless. I suppose it's possible also for hay feeding. I can see that larger facilities would appreciate a set up like that, if they wanted to stay "natural". I personally would want to feed myself, to be able to overlook my horses really quick, to see if one is off, has troubles, feels good.

The set up of these facilities is somewhere along the line of a paddock paradise, with feeding areas, rest areas, different surfaces, all made to encourage movement. One also has to keep in mind that, in general, Germany doesn't have the large acreage available like here in the US, so smaller spaces with more horses need to be used to their full potential.

 

My horse is on grass year round. Even in the bad seasons where there isn't much feed there is still enough to nibble on all day. I wouldn't want it any other way.

The hay being kept in different locations isn't a bad idea though. Not just because of getting the horses moving, but also to allow ground to dry out etc. I find if you always feed in one place the horses are always there and tear up the ground.

The microchip feed thing sounds a bit overboard for me.

 

It looks like this place in California is in operation

An Active, Natural Horse Boarding Facility

 

that place in Tehachapi is about 40 - 50 miles from me. A lot of pastures in that area, and used to be some very Large cattle ranches, and some TB and ostrich ranches.
Does get some light snow. But again, it is no tnatural as in how the Mustangs live.
It is more natural , being in a herd and on pasture.
I dont think the micro chip to drop feed to one horse over another is not a good idea. That will start a fight. The other horses will hear that feed drop . If a horse has to have special feed it should be kept seperate or with horses that require the same type of feed.
I have pastured horses, and they get hay with the pasture, less in summer when the pasture is in full grass and less when the winter grass is up . It is put out in flakes, tossed in different areas so all the horses have a chance to eat, and only horses that can co exist and no horse is skinny .

 

Doesn't really sound like "boarding" to me. More of a scientific set up.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2dtA7y0_mk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

Thanks for sharing - now I see how they keep the other horses from hoarding feed.

It's amusing how these horses have figured out to work with modern technology - like the horse waiting by pasture gate.

Now they just need to invent something that retrieves the horse, grooms and tacks it for you

 

I'm pretty sure somebody out there is working on that lol

There are several clips on YouTube, if you search "aktivstall offenstall futterautomat". Dinner amazing stuff they came up with. I found my favorite hay feeder...

 

Yogiwick--Boarding comes in all shapes and sizes xD Almost all at a pretty penny.

I think there are lots of issues with traditional boarding (even pasture board)--it doesn't very well simulate a "wild horse's" life... But, then again, these aren't wild horses. I think it works well enough for now xD