In recent years, the market place now is offering the equine community quite a few automated horse feeding options that were not available five years ago!
The Stable Grazer
One such product is The Stable Grazer. The Stable Grazer can automate hay, pellets, grain and some dry supplements up to six programmable times per day. You can feed flake hay, chopped hay, and pellets. There are very few moving parts on the feeder to wear resulting in mow maintenance. Under normal conditions, the batteries (“C” Cell Batteries) should only need to be changed once a year.
The feeder can be loaded at any time, even when it’s not completely empty. The Stable Grazer is designed to feed flake hay often and consistently in both indoor and outdoor environments. The enclosure is protected from the elements until the horse pulls hay through the gratings to the manager. You may need, however, to drill drain holes in the manager to allow rain water to drain out. Pricing is at $2,195 per unit. More information on the Stable Grazer can be found at www.stablegrazer.com.
Competing with the Stable Grazer is a product from High Noon offered at a price of $1,899.00. This battery-operated system is made with 20-gauge galvanized steel and comes fully assembled with a programmable timer that dispenses feed of all kinds, up to six times a day. The feeder can be mounted in a stall, oral or pasture. High Noon have been providing Automatic Horse Feeders to the equine community since 2004.
High Noon Automatic Horse Feeder
On June 17, 2013, Zucchetti Centro Sistemi, an Italian leader in IT and robotics, recognized as one of the most innovative and technologically advanced companies, presented the Groom Robot! The Groom Robot is a completely automated feeding system that simulates natural grazing by allowing horses to eat hay and feed in regular and personalized doses. With an operating autonomy of one week, Groom Robot frees the owner from the obligation of going to the stable several times a day to feed the horse, while allowing them to continue monitoring the animal’s condition. The unit holds up to 70 kg of hay which is inserted through the rear loading door. The programmed automatic opening of the moving door allows the horse to access the hay from the front part of the trough. Each time the door is opened, a light spray of water is released onto the hay which cools it down and removes dust to prevent and treat respiratory problems that often afflict horses. The number, hour and time of the daily openings can be programmed based on the most suitable diet for your horse.
Groom Robot, the complete feeding system.
The hopper contains feed in pellets, flakes or any other type of grain, even mixed. The dispense supplies multiple does of 250ml for each ration programmed in the span of one day.
The drinking trough can be monitored to make sure the horse drinks water regularly. Click here to watch a video on how this system works. Equipped with hi-tech optional extras that allow constantly updating of operations, the remote alarm sends an end of day report via SMS messaging to the owner’s mobile phone with information on all the operations, immediate notification of any problems, a video camera for visually checking the functionality of the Robot and condition of the horse. If you love your horse, and money isn’t an issue (5,800 Euros), then think about the Groom Robot!
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