5 Reasons to Use a Slow Feeder

If you’ve spent much time with me you know that I am a fan of anything we can do to simulate natural behaviors in our domesticated horses. Slow feeders are one of the simplest and most effective ways to do this. If you need some convincing to change your feeding routines, here are five reasons to love slow feeders.

1. Behavior

   Horses in the wild spend 16 hours each day eating, while our domestic horses spend as few as two. By keeping our horses eating for more of the day we can minimize boredom, which then will reduce vices like cribbing, weaving, and pacing. Our horses will also be more level headed and experience less anxiety in their work.

2. Digestion

   Ulcers are rampant in domesticated horses but nearly obsolete in wild ones. Why might this be? When a horse’s stomach is empty between meals the stomach acid corrodes the stomach, leading to ulcers. Keeping small amounts of feed in our horses’ stomachs and intestines at all times helps to stabilize this effect, reducing ulcers, colic, and even laminitis.

3. Movement

   Back to wild horse…they walk an average of 10 miles every day. Our domestic ones often only get movement when we get them out for a ride or lunge. By using a moving slow feeder or placing feed far from the water source, we can increase movement for our horses.

4. Weight

   Slow feeders have been shown to help both overweight and underweight horses regulate their weight. This is honestly one of the coolest arguments I have heard for slow feeders because they really are a fix for all kinds of horses.

5. Metabolism

   By helping our horses to eat more steadily throughout the day we can even out their blood sugar, preventing spikes and dips. This can help prevent and manage horses with metabolic illnesses, laminitis, and even explosive energy.