Feeding trough for daily feeding in the outdoor area

Situation

The Schmitt family’s Erleinhof in Bavaria is home to 45 horses. Following the conversion of two paddocks into open stables, the operators of the livery stable were looking for an alternative solution for feeding the horses outside the stable. Purchasing a large wooden hay rack or a feeding stand for up to 12 horses was out of the question due to the high costs involved.

Solution

To enable the horses to be fed outdoors on a permanent basis, the Schmitt family opted for an automated feed rack in November 2020. The rack stands out thanks to the round design of the feeding grids, which ensures the horses have easy access to the roughage. The four fabric doors of the rectangular rack can be opened and closed up to 20 times a day using the automated timer, allowing the horses to be fed at regular intervals whilst also ensuring feeding breaks. Filling is carried out via a swing door, which eliminates the need for time-consuming manual feeding. “This has resulted in significant time savings,” says Mrs Schmitt with conviction, and she commissioned two further feed racks in the spring. 
Since using the time-controlled feeding rack, the Schmitt family’s hay requirements have been significantly reduced. In the open stable with three horses, one bale of hay now lasts for about two weeks. The large bale in the open stable with a total of seven horses is replenished roughly every four days. Furthermore, the horses eat all the remaining roughage that is pulled out of the rack. Hay wastage is thus minimised and the area around the feeding rack is automatically kept clean.

Advantages

The use of the automatic feed rack leads to considerable savings in labour and time, as daily roughage feeding is no longer required. With space for up to 12 horses, all animals can be fed evenly throughout the day. Furthermore, the flexible time control allows for individual adjustment of feeding and break times. The high feeding rack arches and the narrower bar spacing of the steel cuboid rack prevent horses from stepping inside and their hooves from becoming trapped between the bars.