Ensuring healthy horses by using HIT group feeding
The key to health and wellbeing is horse-appropriate feeding. Besides good quality feed, horses need regular meals spread evenly throughout the day. Communal trough feeding, which involves long periods of feeding, is very beneficial in terms of the high nutritional value as well as the sustained activity which it provides the horses with. Furthermore, the hourly portioning of concentrated and mineral feed triggers increased physical activity.
On the basis of current scientific findings, the HIT automated feeding systems provide both transponder controlled feeding-on-demand, as well as time-controlled interval feeding. The respective system components can thus be used to develop the ideal, individually tailored feeding concept.
HIT group feeding at a glance
a) Transponder-controlled HIT automatic feeders for roughage and consolidated and mineral feed.
Each horse in a group receives the individually appropriate amount of roughage as well as consolidated and mineral feed, distributed throughout the day with the aid of transponder technology.
After feeding, the horse leaves the station forwards via an exit door making way for the next incoming horse. There are also selection gates located beside the feeding stations, through which certain horses can be guided to the hay loft for the open intake of roughage, or led out to the pasture.
Every automated feeder in the HIT Active Stable system is controlled by a user-friendly main feeding computer, equipped with an easy to use program structure and touch-screen interface. There is even the additional option of linking the feeding computer to a PC or smartphone, in order to gain remote access at the touch of a button.
For animal welfare reasons we do not use electric prods in the feeding stalls, relying rather on the layout of the feeding units and one piece of ingenious software in particular to ensure the horses leave the feeding station of their own accord. In order to give all the horses in a group the opportunity to satisfy their need to chew at any given time, additional bundles of straw combined with the fine-mesh slow feed hay nets are always included during the transponder-controlled hay feeds. The following design configurations are utilised in particular for groups of horses with individually differing feeding requirements:
time-controlled HIT hay-dosing units (for all horses in a group)
plus
transponder-controlled HIT hay-dosing units (additional hay for poor eaters)
plus
transponder-controlled HIT concentrated feed stations (for all horses in a group)
or
time-controlled HIT hay-dosing units (for all horses in a group)
plus
HIT selection system (with access to the hay loft for poor eaters)
plus
transponder-controlled HIT concentrated feed stations (for all horses in a group)
b) Time-controlled HIT automated feeders for roughage
The time-controlled HIT hay-dosing unit lends itself well to horses required to eat their hay together at the same time but in limited amounts. All feeding stations are opened or closed simultaneously by using a feeding computer or a timer. Different sized hay-dosing units can be used depending on the size of the group and on-site conditions. The smallest unit is the HIT “SINGLE” hay-dosing unit which has one feeding station, followed by the “DUO” model which has two feeding stations, whereby the largest unit “MAXI” has 4 feeding stations.
The time-controlled HIT hay-dosing units are primarily used for groups which have similar feeding needs. When using the time-controlled interval feeding system, rather than being set up in a row, the feeding stations should be positioned in several places around the roughage feeding area (also known as the marketplace), or along the trail way. When planning our products we put great emphasis on always having more feeding stations available than horses (by at least 25%), which has a calming and harmonious effect on the feeding ritual and accommodates the needs of lower-ranking horses in particular.
c) Combined transponder and time-controlled automatic feeders
Combining both the transponder-controlled and time-controlled automated feeders is a commonly used feeding concept in HIT Active Stables. All of the horses of any given group are able to satisfy their own basic roughage needs together at the time-controlled hay-dosing units.
What is more, should certain horses have particular requirements, the transponder-controlled automated feeders supply them with the additional feed they need. The following combinations have proven effective in practice:
time-controlled HIT hay-dosing unit (for all horses in a group)
plus
transponder-controlled HIT hay-dosing unit (additional hay for poor eaters)
plus
transponder-controlled HIT concentrated feed station (for all horses in a group
or
time-controlled HIT hay-dosing unit (for all horses in a group)
plus
HIT selection system (with access to the hay loft for poor eaters)
plus
transponder-controlled HIT concentrated feed station (for all horses in a group)
As a rule, our Active Stable consultants will advise you on site as to which feeding concept is the most appropriate for your existing, or planned group husbandry concept in your equestrian business.
Our experience has shown us that the issue of feeding has taken on considerable importance during the planning phase of an Active Stable. The more thoroughly everything is planned in advance, the more you will reap the rewards of a fully functioning group husbandry in the day-to-day running of your business.
Products
HIT feeding stations for concentrated and mineral feed and roughage
HIT concentrated feed station KOMPAKT
- 2 types of concentrated feed, each with 150 litre storage containers
- 1 type of mineral feed in a 25 litre storage container
- Guide-system (made of spruce wood) with side exit
- Detection electronics
- Drip-stop or rubber swing door
- Stainless steel trough
- Operates at 12 volts
HIT concentrated feed station EASY
- 2 types of concentrated feed in a 150 litre storage container
- 1 type of mineral feed in a 25 litre storage container
- Guide-system (made of spruce wood) with straight duct and transparent exit-door
- Detection electronics
- Drip-stop or rubber swing door
- Stainless steel trough
- Operates at 12 volts
HIT concentrated feed station KOMPAKT-SELEKT
- 2 types of concentrated feed, each with 150 litre storage container
- 1 type of mineral feed in a 25 litre storage container
- Guide-system (made of spruce wood) with side exit
- Selection door with inlet sluice
- Detection electronics
- Drip-stop or rubber swing door
- Stainless steel trough
- operates at 12 volts
HIT single hay-dosing unit EXKLUSIV
- Single station for max. 4 horses, guide-system (made of spruce wood) with side exit
- Detection electronics
- Drip-stop or rubber swing door
- Operates at 12 volts
- Ideally suited to large bales
HIT double-hay-dosing unit EXKLUSIV
- Duo station for max. 8 horses, guide-system (made of spruce wood) with side exit
- Protective screen in feeding area
- Detection electronics
- Drip-stop or rubber swing door
- Operates at 12 volts
- Ideally suited to large bales
HIT combi-station EXKLUSIV
- Concentrated feed and roughage in one station
- 1 type of concentrated feed in a 150 litre storage container
- 1 hay-dosing unit
- Guide-system (made of spruce wood) with straight duct and transparent exit-door
- Detection electronics
- Drip-stop or rubber swing door
- Stainless steel trough
- Operates at 12 volts
HIT selection system EXKLUSIV
- For individual access to the hay loft or pasture
- Guide-system (made of spruce wood)
with selection door and side exit, as well as detection electronics - Drip-stop or rubber swing door
- Separate entry door
- Operates at 12 volts
HIT feeding computer HOCO
- Centralised feeding computer for all stations in the HIT Active Stable system
- Suitable for stables (no extra heated room necessary)
- Touch-screen interface
- Network-compatible
- Can be operated on PC and smartphone
- User-friendly operation
- In-depth analysis via HoCockpit – Software
- Remote maintenance via HIT active service
HIT transponder
- Use of breakaway halters with click-release or clamp catches
- Transponder tags to be woven in to the mane
- Fully tried and tested and horse-friendly
Time-controlled HIT hay-dosing units at a glance:
HIT hay-dosing unit SINGLE
- For group husbandry / integration bays/ night bays
- 1 feeding station
- Width: 80 cm
- Height: 200 cm
- Operates at 12 volts
HIT hay-dosing unit MAXI
- For group husbandry / integration bays/ night bays
- 4 feeding stations
- Width: 295 cm
- Height: 240 cm
- Operates at 12 volts
Time-controlled HIT automated concentrated feed unit:
HIT automated concentrated feed unit K 1 – 40
- For integration bays/ night bays
- 40 litre capacity
- Galvanized sheet steel housing
- Includes feed chute and fittings
- Operates at 12 volts
HIT feeding rack
HIT feeding rack SAFETY FIRST
- For non-automatic straw and hay feeding
- 4 feeding stations
- Width: 300 cm
- Height: 240 cm
- Various installation options (modular system)
- Can also be used as a gate
- Often used in combination with slow feed hay nets
