Freedom Feeder Update

The Freedom Feeder is still working well, although Sydney has started to outsmart us a bit.  He's learned how to avoid using his remarkable prehensile lips by instead wildly shaking the FF to dispense his hay.  Yes, that's right.  He grabs the bag and shakes it violently until hay rains down into the feeder.  He then nibbles and eats until it's gone.  Once he has shaken most of the hay loose, and I have no idea how long that takes, he then proceeds to shimmy and scoot the feed tub around his stall until it too is empty.

In an effort to foil his shake and rain routine, we have made some modifications to how the Freedom Feeder hangs.  I looped the top edge of the net around the top rail so that it clips back onto itself.  This eliminated the gaps.  RM also tied the opening to the next rail to make an open slot for sliding in flakes of hay.  It also makes the net slightly harder to shake.  And finally, the bottom of the net is tied to the fourth rail.  Here's a photo.

Nikki, a reader who has used the Freedom Feeder, shared this experience with me,  "The other mare, who has historically not been a huge food hound, got a good-sized sore on her upper lip from reaching thru and pulling at the hay.... it took a couple of days for it to show up, but was about quarter-size when I noticed it, and obviously quite tender."  Hmmm ... something to keep in mind.  So far I haven't noticed anything, but I will certainly keep an eye open.  Thanks for sharing, Nikki.