On average it took horses about 30% longer to eat from both slow feeders compared to the ground, researchers found.. | Photo: iStock

As the concept grows within the industry, so does the selection of slow-feeders. That’s why scientists in Switzerland recently tested two popular slow-feeders and compared them to each other and to ground feeding. They found that both work equally well—and that both were much better in slowing consumption and increasing chewing than ground feeding.

“In the feeders we saw with our study population, the positives and negatives essentially evened out,” said Margaux Reboul Salze, MSc, researcher on internship at the Agroscope research center at the Swiss National Stud, in Avenches. “While slow feeders have definite advantages over ground feeding, the best choice of slow feeder will really come down to whatever criteria matter most to the handlers.”

In their study of eight horses (seven stallions and one gelding), the researchers fed horses their daily hay rations in three ways: on the ground and via two commercial slow-feeders. The “B&M” slow feeder dispenses feed through a metal grill-like structure lying over a metal trough attached to a wall. The “HeuToy” feeder releases hay through several 5-inch-wide holes in a metal half-cylinder distributor attached vertically to a wall. Under the direction of Anja Zollinger, BSc, scientific collaborator at Agroscope, Reboul Salze, and Vera Hofer, BSc, presented their work at the 2017 Swiss Equine Research Day