Some horses are nervous about eating and scatter their oats all over the box with vigour. Although they then try to search for the crumbs on the floor, they still lose a lot of their valuable feed.

 

Behind the behaviour of scattering oats is often food envy. Even if the horse is alone in its box, it will fend off potential food rivals and thus inevitably reduce its own ration.

It is quite difficult to exorcise the primal instinct of feed envy and thus oat litter. Instead, measures should be found to limit feed loss.

You can divide the feed ration into several portions so that the oats are not distributed generously. A proper manger can also help. There are feeding troughs with a protruding part that largely prevent the feed from spilling over. Feeding troughs that are divided by bars make it impossible for the horse to throw the feed directly out of the trough by wildly tossing its head.
In general, round feed troughs are more suitable, as the shape is more likely to prevent gruelling than a rectangular shape.

Another option is to feed the horse directly on the ground in a clean area. It can then easily find the oats that it scatters. However, it must be ensured that the horse does not pick up any dirt, sand or wood splinters with the feed.

Horses that tend to demolish their feed trough can be helped by a concrete feed trough or by feeding on the floor. Feeding directly on the ground reduces the risk of injury and, after all, it is natural for the horse to pick up the feed from the ground.

Finally, there is the option of feeding the feed in a feed bag. The feed bag is hung directly on the horse's mouth and makes it impossible for it to throw out its feed. However, a feed bag must be removed again after eating, as otherwise too much moisture will be deposited inside through the horse's breathing.