# Input on Automatic Horse Feeder?



## rascalboy (Feb 24, 2013)

Hey all! I'm new here, so hello. 
Anyway, I've got a horse that is on pastureboard, meaning she chills out in a pasture 24/7. I go up once a week to the county to visit/refill hay/water. However, she's got some arthritis and I have some medication that will make her more comfortable. Sadly, I've yet to find a good way to give it to her. I originally had an automatic dog bowl feeder, which had compartments I'd fill each week and it would rotate once a day to expose a compartment. It did work for awhile til my horse decided it was a soccer ball. It isn't very useful when thrown into the water trough... Also my horse has a large nose and had trouble getting at her food.
Then I decided an automatic fish feeder was a better idea. Sadly, there wasn't an easy way to secure it and, again, it became a soccer ball that got thrown into the water trough. Plus it wasn't large enough to accommodate her medicine very well. 
I've come to realize that what I need probably isn't easily available right now, so I'd like to build it. 
I'm thinking vending machine style would be best. I can shove all her drugs into an apple, and the corkscrew can turn once a day to dispense an apple. I know there are a lot of timers on the marker I'm hoping I can rig up to work. I can put the contraption inside a wooden box I can lash to the backside of the fence so only the tip of the machine is actually inside the fence, so my horse can't destroy it. I need to have it run on some kind of battery, as there's no electricity in the middle of the cornfield. 
I, myself, will not be able to do this. My father, however, can, if I can get all the pieces to him. (Broken leg...). I don't actually know all the pieces I'll be needing though. Any ideas?


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## md2lgyk (Jan 6, 2009)

Have you tried looking in farm supply stores? There may already be something that you can use. It seems like there should be as it's a pretty good idea.


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## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

think this would solve the electricity problem.


http://www.quickfeed.com/products/detail/solar-powered-automatic-feeder.aspx


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## Westies (Feb 22, 2013)

*Input on Horse Feeder*

Tractor Supply etc. has timed game feeders but they dump bulk pelleted feed or grain on schedules. FarmTek.com also might have some choices.

The other option is to go back to the dog feeder but put it out of horse-reach (up in a tree) and at a steep angle so that it drops your medicated treat on the ground, I am sure your horse will find them and eventually learn to check that spot daily.

Maybe the craftsman there can figure a way for you to drop it down on a pulley etc. so you don't need to lug up a ladder to the tree to re-load.


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## rascalboy (Feb 24, 2013)

I appreciate the attempts everyone, but they don't actually address the issue and/or solutions to my particular problem. I mentioned that my horse is getting medication, not feed, not a treat. So, being that she has several medications, I can't just dump them all together and hope the machine can count out two of this kind and three of the other when dispensing 1cup each day. 
Also, there are no trees to attach anything to. As I said, she's in a cornfield. Cornfields generally aren't located within a forest. That would make it hard to harvest. We have a fence, though, so that's cool.


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