Control Feeder FAQs

Over the past couple of years, I have looked at many different slow down horse feeders. I have not seen a perfect feeder for every horse . Even a pasture can give them colic or founder. The fence or a hole in the ground can injure or cripple. That being the case, we have tried to produce a feeder that addresses as many horse related feeding problems as possible. The following are some of the ways we found to make our feeder slow down meal time and work better for certain horses or special situations.

Dennis Bryant, President
Warm Springs Products LLC

1. How does the Control Feeder compare to other corner stall hay feeders on the market?

The Control Feeder helps solve one of the biggest problems with domestic horses, providing a way for horses to consume their feed at a slower rate. Our feeder has no motors or springs, works off gravity and is virtually jam proof. It is made of quality materials to last many years and is simple to load and clean. It will let you feed your horse hay and grain in one feeder and allow you to regulate how fast your horse consumes his hay and grain. It is hand adjustable (no tools) from mini’s to drafts. It will occupy your horse for hours each day. It cuts down the amount of hay and feed your horse wastes. Our feeder has more features than most other feeders on the market today. We are “patented” and Warm Springs Products provides a manufacturing warranty that you and your horse will be happy or we will refund every penny plus shipping. The Control Feeder is a serious piece of equipment for horses and owners, not a gimmick.

2. My horse will tear that thing apart. He tears up everything!

We hear this a lot. The fact is, when those type horses spend 2-3-4-5 times as long spinning a disk around to eat what they used to eat quickly with no work involved, they are more inclined to stand still and relax for a while. This observation is just that. We don't claim your horse will stop his bad habits, but we are getting feedback from our customers that support our feelings that this is the case. One more thing is when the problem horse wants to tear something up, he now has that disk that makes noise and moves and surely if he attacks it for a couple of hours a day he thinks he can destroy it rather than his stall rails.

3. Can my horse get the disk out of the feeder?

The disk will not come out without the lid being unlatched. We have designed the spring loaded latch to be simple yet strong and tucked away in an area that is very difficult for the horse to reach. To date we have not had a horse that can open the lid if the latch has been properly engaged.

4. My horse is afraid of the feeder.

Most horses are not. If your horse snorts and backs off, just take the disk out and feed him some grain or treats in the hay well by putting them on top of his hay. With our feeder you can place treats and grain anywhere in the hay . We have found that if we put grain in the bottom of the hay well, our horses can smell it and they seem more anxious because they can smell it so close and can't get to it. We top dress our hay with our grain.

5. How much hay will it hold?

Approximately 10 lbs. Give or take, 3-4 flakes from an average square bale, depending on the hay type and density. We feed loose hay from round bales to save 50% on our hay costs. I have found the best way to pack hay in the feeder is to keep tucking it in around the outside rim of the hay well. This pushes the hay to the center and you can get more hay in the feeder than you think. If you want maximun hay in the feeder, fill it with wet, loose hay and leave the drain hole open. You may have to adjust the rod spaces to make it a little easier for your horse to get out the heavier wet hay.

6. Can you make a feeder to hold more hay?

We spent 2 years designing and testing our feeder. It is designed to take up as little space in a stall as possible and provide adequate feed capacity for all sizes of horses. The ratio of feeder size, disk size, depth of the hay well and lid opening size is very crucial. If any one changes, this concept will not work. Believe me, we tried them all. For people that need more grazing time for a stalled horse or horse on a dry lot, you can install 2 feeders. Your investment has doubled, but so has the amount of hay you can feed. The fact is, a feeder like this that could hold twice as much hay would cost over twice the price of our feeder. Another problem is shipping. If our feeder were 1" larger in height, width or depth, UPS rates over double.

7. Isn’t that a lot of money for a feeder?

Think about this. What would you pay for a product that: can help your horse avoid colic, founder or choke; entertains him for hours a day; and saves money in wasted hay? The savings in feed/forage loss and labor will pay for itself in short order. If you feed your horse twice a day, 365 days a year, he will graze in our feeder between 1,500 and 3,000 + hours per year. Compare the price of a Control Feeder to stall mats, a nice complete bridle or a vet visit for a horse suffering from colic, choke or founder. We believe our feeder is competively priced for it's quality and unique function.

8. How long will it last?

The feeder is made of polyethylene plastic, stainless steel, and zinc coated parts. If it is not chewed apart or crushed, it can last a lifetime. We would love to make our feeder out of a nondestructive material, but that is cost prohibitive. We have priced the most vulnerable replacement parts (lid and disk) very reasonably. We also offer an optional rubber chew ring you can attach to the lid to protect it from scraping teeth.

9. How do I start my horse off with your feeder?

We suggest that you feed your horse for the first couple of days with the rods set so that you feel sure he will be able to get his food with little effort. Then every couple of days, add a rod or some beads until he knows food comes from the disk opening. You continue to do this until you are happy with his consumption rate. All of our horses feeders have all four rods and anywhere from 6-10 green beads. They get real good at getting the hay and feed out!

10. My horse has learned to push down on the front edge of the disk and is eating his food faster than I want. What can I do?

For the few Control Feeder owners who experience this problem, we have noticed that sometimes our horses cheat and find a way to bypass the disk feeding opening. We have noticed that our horses push and shove the disk some days and spin it slow and gently others. Since seeing this in our testing trials we are working on some simple inexpensive solutions for that horse that can figure out anything. If you have this happen with your horse, just give us a call or email and we will let you know where we are with our R&D. We are searching for the best/easiest and least expensive solution.

11. Can I just place the feeder on the ground?

Warm Springs Products recommends that the Control Feeder be mounted at a height allowing easy access for your horse to eat comfortably. As every horse owner knows, horses will push and pull on anything not firmly attached within their reach. It can be tipped over and a horse could possibly get their hoof caught in the disk feeding opening with certain rod configurations. In the mounted position our personal feeders are about 40" to 42" from the ground to the top rear of the feeder. One more thing, the stainless steel plate that holds the rods in place is attached to the disk with screws fastened into molded in metal inserts. This is strong enough for pushing against the rods with a horse muzzle, but not strong enough to support the weight of a horse that stands in the feeder. If the feeder rods are stepped on from the top of the disk, the weight would bust out the insert and the rods then could not be held in the proper position. We do have customers that place the feeders on the ground and have no problems. It depends on the horse that is doing the eating!

12. My horse has scratched the lid. What can I do?

If horses are introduced to the feeder slowly and learn that the food always comes through the disk opening, they tend to concentrate on the disk and stop or reduce their boredom related habits. But, all horses are different. Our optional neoprene rubber chew ring attaches to the inner octagon of the lid with stainless steel screws and will protect it from scraping teeth. There are 16 - 1/4 20 screws that hold the ring on and to date no horse has tried to get the ring off. Again they seem to concentrate all the efforts on the movable disk.

13. Do I have to mount my feeder in the corner of my stall?

The feeder is designed to mount in a corner and is very stable when mounted that way. Our optional 45 degree stainless steel bracket allows you to mount it on any flat surface. They work great mounted on wooden fence rails near posts for stability. Alot of people want to know if the feeder can be mounted on round pen pipe. You can mount 2-3/8"x1 1/2" eye bolts with the eye on the outside of the feeder and the nut on the inside reccess. Be sure and place a washer on the inside and outside of the feeder. Now you have a place to tie a cord and that has been wrapped around anything you like. Also, cargo tie down straps will work, U-bolts or hose screw clamps will attach the 45 degree bracket to round pen pipe rails.

14. What size horse can eat from the Control Feeder?

Mini’s to Drafts. Just adjust the rods, add or take away rods, add beads or spacers to fit your needs.

15. Are horses the only animal that can use the Control Feeder?

The potential use of the Control Feeder has not been tested beyond horses and goats. We see no problem with other grass eating barnyard animals using it.

16. If a screw or knob loosens and falls in the hay well will my horse eat it?

We reccomend checking the 6- screws, 2-thumb screws and 2- acorn nuts on the hinge rod to make sure they are snug before using your feeder. Our feeders are assembled when they are cool enough to handle from the molding process. When they cool completely some many hours later, some screws that once were tight can now be loose. Testing experience has shown that horses are very careful about what they put in their mouths. Place an asprin in your horses grain and see if it is gone in the morning. Watch your horse eat grass and spit out the roots that have some dirt on them. We recommend you take a quick look at the 2 captive screws on the bottom of the disk when loading the feeder. Snug down the 2 thumb screws every now and then to make sure they are not loose. All missing parts so far, have been found in the feeder, on the ground or pushed in the mud around the feeder. This is not to say it can not happen. Check with your Veterinarian and get his opinion if you have this concern.

17. We live in a cold winter climate and worry about our animals’ tongues sticking to the cold stainless steel rods.

The rods can be covered with 1/2" ODx 3/8” ID polyethylene plastic tubing. This opaque tubing can be purchased at any home improvement store for about $8.00 for 25'. With the rods installed in your disk in the position you chose, mark the exposed area of the rod in the eating space with a magic marker and cut a section of tubing that length. Place tubing pieces in hot soapy water for about 2 min., then slide tubing on rod. Line up the tubing ends with the marks on rod and let dry for a couple of hours. Note: the green beads will not fit over the tubing but, 1/2" PVC coupling will if you want to give your horse something to play with.

18. My feeder will be in the hot sun. Will it get so hot it could burn my horse?

Warm Springs Products recommends the feeder be installed in a covered or shaded place. We feed in the morning and afternoon and have not had any problems. Feeders in sunny areas like a paddock seem to be fine with this feeding schedule when the sun is not directly overhead. If the rods are getting to hot you can cover them the same way as in the above cold weather question. A easy inexpensive way to give your horse a shady run in is to buy one of the very reasonable metal car covers that you see everywhere.

19. Can I get the feeders in any other color?

You can get any color for a minimum order of 10 feeders plus a $50.00 setup charge for standard colors and $150.00 setup charge for custom colors.

20. Can I get a quantity discount?

Yes! Since our customers could want so many combinations of feeders, stands, and accessories, we have chosen to judge each order individually. If you would like to combine orders with friends or stable mates, that is fine. We only ask that the entire order is placed and paid for at one time. If the order is large enough to ship LTL to one location, you may save money over UPS.