introducing older pony as companion, how to keep horse from stealing grain from pony?

[Va Patient W/ crushes]

Horse will gobble its grain down fast and then run the pony off, even kicking it if necessary, and then eating its grain. It would be nice to be able to feed them together, but I worry that the pony could be hurt. The pony is considerably smaller, and i'm wondering if there is some kind of feeder/bucket that can use that difference in size to allow only the pony to get to the grain? Or would it stop the combat if I used feed bags on both of them instead of buckets?

 

[ziggy]

The large rocks do slow a horse eating, however it is likely the horse will leave that feed bin and then take the bin without rocks. If you put rocks in each bin to stop the horse, then you risk slowing the pony down even further and they will get even less feed.

The feed bags would be very difficult. I agree with others that the large horse would go after the pony to "take" the feed bag off them and it will cause more fights and possible injury.

I like Lilians idea of the low bar across a door. We actually use that method with calves. It allows us to put special grain down for 6 week old calves and the bigger cows can not get in and eat it all.

However I don't use the same method for feeding my ponies. Mainly because horses are a bit smarter than calves and cows, I have seen horses attempt to get under the bar or push into it.

To do this method properly you need to have a secure door way and ensure the bar is solid. You then need to teach the pony they can walk under it freely so they don't get stuck in the area.

~ To be honest I currently just separate them. Most of my ponies and horses are paddocked together in similar sizes, however I have one paddock with mixed sizes together. I place the 9hh Shetland in the round yard, I put a 10.2hh pony in a separate yard. Then I let three 12hh ponies work it out between them. This allows me to get supplements into the small ponies with no risk they will not receive what I need them to.

I then do other jobs like rugs, picking feet and feeding other horses. When I return they have all finished eating and I let them all back in together.

If I only have a couple of horses in together, then I tie the fastest eater up to prevent them taking the other horses feed which include supplements/minerals. I hang their feeder on the fence and usually they stand quietly after they finish. I also find it some times slows them down, because they are not rushing to steal the other horses food.

To use the feed bag method you will have to still wait until the feed is finished to remove it. If you have them already you can try it and supervise them closely. However if you have to buy them I would not spend the money.

Good luck ;-)

 

[Kay Lovely .]

You need to feed them in seperate areas at the same time. That way your horse will be too busy eating its grain to worry about the pony's grain. I have also heard about putting rocks in the grain bowl to slow the horse down, just like the other person said. Just make sure the rocks are big, so the horse doesn't accidentally pick one up and choke on it.

 

[gallop]

Feed bags may work, but if the aggressive horse realizes there is grain in the pony's bag, he is likely to try to rip it off.
I had the same situation with two of my horses who were kept out 24/7 with a run in shelter and one would finish her feed before the other and then go after his. I fed them hay on mats at opposite sides of their shelter, and put their hard feed in rubber bowls on top of the mats. Then I installed tie rings to the wall and tied them so it allowed enough length for the horses to reach the floor to eat but not to get tangled in. The mare would always finish first, so by tying her to eat, when she finished she occupied herself with the hay until the gelding finished his hard feed. I actually never needed to tie the gelding since he stayed with his own feed until it was gone. So, I'd first throw the hay. Then the mare would get her halter on and be tied, and be fed her hard feed before the gelding was fed his. While they ate, I filled the time by mucking the shelter and area around it, filling the trough, etc., and it worked out well. When the gelding finished his hard feed, I removed the mare's halter and they got along fine.

 

[Darcie Y]

I've heard of an old cowboy trick for this. Give your one horse (the one that eats faster) rocks in his grain. It will slow him down and will keep him from eating the grain as fast, and therefor he won't chase the pony away (or not as quickly anyway.) I haven't tested this, but I've heard it works and the horses don't have issues with the rocks unless they are too small.
What I did for a while was just tied up all the horses at their buckets, and once they were done I took each of their buckets away and left them all tied until they were all done. It really seemed to be helping, but it is a minor hassle. I also used to feed my pony in the barn when i had the same issue. My horse wouldn't bother to go around the corner and into the barn to find the pony's food and get into it.
I don't think using a bag would help, it is just a dominance issue. Your horse feels he is entitled to whatever the pony gets, so he has to make sure the pony doesn't get more than him or get something better than him.
Hope this helps!

 

[Driver]

You need to keep the horse from getting to the pony. Even if there was a different size bucket or something, she'd still run the pony off and try to get to it (they do make a foal feeder with adjustable bars but I think that wouldn't solve your problem). If you can't put them in stalls or separate areas for feeding, then tie the horse for feeding. Leave the horse tied until the pony is finished eating.