# PET PEEVE: Feeding 'scoops' vs pounds



## Shosadlbrd (Nov 3, 2013)

I am a strict by the pound feeder of grain. (not so much with hay, though I have a scale)
But when a barn or person says scoop or can, I of course wonder what is there version of scoop/can?
I do know in most of my feeds, a regular size red folgers can is three pounds and the larger size holds four pounds. 
So am I to assume (hate that word...lol) that when they say a scoop or can, that they are feeding three pounds?

What is the average amount your boarding barn feeds your horses? And mention if its once or twice a day, per feeding or split into two feedings.


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## david in md (Jun 13, 2013)

When I switched feeds I took the new feed to work, weighted out the proper amount on the postage scale, and dumped the weighted feed into my feed scoop and marked it.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Shosadlbrd (Nov 3, 2013)

I have my scale in the barn set to where when the folger can is sitting on it, its at zero. So then it only shows me how many pounds of grain I am feeding.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

I'm the same way with weighing my feed. I used to do evening feed at my boarding barn and they used Folger's coffee cans as a scoop, too (but they have the old metal ones which have convenient seams every 1/4 unit up the sides). For the senior feed (which was a custom mix by a local mill) it was pretty much 1 lb for each quarter increment (so 4 lbs for a full can) but other feeds varied sometimes quite significantly. Beet pulp pellets were more like 5 lbs, and oats closer to 3, for example. The 'average' horse got 1/2 can of senior feed twice a day, but there was a lot of variation.

I'm at a different barn now and I provide my own feed, weighed at home with a kitchen scale and bagged for each day's feeding so I know my horse is getting the same amount every time.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Ah well... I can see this being important when a horse is in training or has health issues, but for joe-blow people like me, it truly doesn't matter. My horse gets her 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups of oats every day and her bale (or so) of hay every day. Every bale is a different size due to different suppliers and one of them being inept at baling. I just judge it. If all the hay is gone from yesterday and it's winter, she gets 1-1/2 bales today. If the bales are roughly the same size. If today's bales are smaller she'd get two. If larger than only one.

In the summer, on grazing, who weighs the grass?


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## Blue (Sep 4, 2011)

When I have to write out instructions for feeding when I have to be gone, I've already weighed what I want fed. So a small Folgers can which is actually only 10.3 oz of coffee, is very close to a pound of my pellets. I try to convert everything so when I say a scoop of pellets 2X a day I know how much they're getting. 

What people forget is that different feeds have different density and so a "scoop" will weigh out differently.

Aaaahhhh, the internationally accepted, scientifically proven, inter lingually spoken method of measurement..... the coffee can.


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## Shosadlbrd (Nov 3, 2013)

Blue said:


> When I have to write out instructions for feeding when I have to be gone, I've already weighed what I want fed. So a small Folgers can which is actually only 10.3 oz of coffee, is very close to a pound of my pellets. I try to convert everything so when I say a scoop of pellets 2X a day I know how much they're getting.
> 
> What people forget is that different feeds have different density and so a "scoop" will weigh out differently.
> 
> Aaaahhhh, the internationally accepted, scientifically proven, inter lingually spoken method of measurement..... the coffee can.


When I leave and have my non-horsey son to feed for me, I have enough folger cans and lids that I just fix the proper ration in that and set each one on top of the hay they get for that feeding. They are perfect for that. :lol:


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I don't feed my gelding grain, but my best friend grains her three horses. She is a "scoop" feeder and it drives me up the wall. Especially since my "scoop" might not be as full as her "scoop" or vice versa. It doesn't _really_ matter since her horses aren't performance horses and only get the grain to help them maintain weight, but it still drives me batty.

If I ever do decide to grain my gelding, I've already told my BO that I will provide his grain already weighed/measured out. lol


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

Yup, the scoop or 'quart' method drives me up the wall. Especially if someone is asking for help on what to feed their horse, but it is what it is and I've got a chart (somewhere in my pile of papers) that has the weight of each feed per quart, so that does help me figure things out sometimes.

Another pet peeve of mine is seeing/ hearing someone say they wormed their horses. (I'm a VA so it just bugs the daylights out of me) it's dewormed. Wormed implies you've put worms into your horse, not removed them! (Ok deworming rant over, LOL)


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

You know, while feeding my horse the other day, I thought of the whole scoop size thing. Yes, we all have different sizes of scoops that we have or have not weighed/measured accurately. Some people mentioned that even using the same size of scoop, we might feed different amounts. My coffee can is completely full, your coffee can is 3/4 full, his coffee can is "mostly" full... If I don't use a full "scoop" size, I draw a line with a marker, but if its a bit over or a bit under, I don't care. Even my "one cup" of oats for my mare is anywhere from 1 acutal, measured cup to almost 2 cups. There are lines on my scoop, but meh - even *I* don't stick to it. If I scoop it and it comes up over a cup, then she gets over a cup that day.

What I wonder is, in the grand scheme of things - just how much does this matter? Last week, my friend told me to give a scoop of feed to her mare. So I dipped the scoop, came up full and fed it to her. The scoop is about 4 cups. If we both use a full scoop of the same scoop - just how far out can we really be and how much does 1/4 or 1/2 cup difference matter to an 1100 lb animal?

I can see an effect on special situations, or special very intensive feeds, but generally???


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## Shosadlbrd (Nov 3, 2013)

NorthernMama said:


> You know, while feeding my horse the other day, I thought of the whole scoop size thing. Yes, we all have different sizes of scoops that we have or have not weighed/measured accurately. Some people mentioned that even using the same size of scoop, we might feed different amounts. My coffee can is completely full, your coffee can is 3/4 full, his coffee can is "mostly" full... If I don't use a full "scoop" size, I draw a line with a marker, but if its a bit over or a bit under, I don't care. Even my "one cup" of oats for my mare is anywhere from 1 acutal, measured cup to almost 2 cups. There are lines on my scoop, but meh - even *I* don't stick to it. If I scoop it and it comes up over a cup, then she gets over a cup that day.
> 
> What I wonder is, in the grand scheme of things - just how much does this matter? Last week, my friend told me to give a scoop of feed to her mare. So I dipped the scoop, came up full and fed it to her. The scoop is about 4 cups. If we both use a full scoop of the same scoop - just how far out can we really be and how much does 1/4 or 1/2 cup difference matter to an 1100 lb animal?
> 
> I can see an effect on special situations, or special very intensive feeds, but generally???


For me, measuring in actual pounds lets me know how long a bag of feed will or should last. Lets me keep up with how cost effective my feeding program is. 
Also I am trying to fatten up a hard keeper and feeding TC Complete. I have her on four pounds twice a day. It says not to feed over five pounds in a single feeding. So measuring tells me how much is working or if I need to add or drop a pound. 
I actually bought a scale to weigh my hay, but have not even tried it yet. 
My pasture horses either get a round bale or several square bales at at a time. And my hard keeper gets 2 sections of alfalfa plus about a third of a square bale twice a day if in the stall or I put almost a whole bale in her feeder if she is outside right now.


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

I use a cup measurer from Science Diet lol. I have weighed it out and 2 cups of my RB is 1 pound so it makes it nice and easy. Since it's a RB if they get an ounce or two more/less it doesn't make much of a difference to them.


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## jenkat86 (May 20, 2014)

I have boarded at three different boarding facilities over a 7 year period. Every single place gave EVERY horse in the barn one "scoop" of feed. I didn't matter what type of training the horse was in, if any. It wasn't until I recently started "rough boarding" my horses and took control of their feed that I learned how incredibly ineffective that method of feeding was. I weigh all my feed out now and my "naturally fat" horse is nice and trim and my senior mare doesn't struggle to maintain her weight anymore.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Most people who board have no idea how much their horse eats. I've only had one new boarder who knew exactly. I don't even ask anymore. Now I ask what weight they would like their horse at & adjust accordingly.
I know exactly how much each horse gets in pounds.


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## Shosadlbrd (Nov 3, 2013)

natisha said:


> Most people who board have no idea how much their horse eats. I've only had one new boarder who knew exactly. I don't even ask anymore. Now I ask what weight they would like their horse at & adjust accordingly.
> I know exactly how much each horse gets in pounds.


Natisha
I am thinking about offering boarding in some extra stalls I will have available when I finish my new barn. I am stumped as to how much to charge per horse, if I buy theh feed. 
What feeds do you feed your boarders and what is the general rule you go by on how much each horse gets?
Please share your experience there.
Also I was planning on $75 per month for hay, if hay costs as much as it did this year. That is 15 bales per horse per month. How do you charge for you hay?
I appreciate any advice you can offer.


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

NorthernMama said:


> In the summer, on grazing, who weighs the grass?


I do for my job! Not kidding. I get to do range and pasture inventories and can tell you how many lbs/acre are available.

Sorry, fftopic:



I weigh what I give the horses in hard feed (alfalfa pellets, really) and then mark on the scoop so it is easier for DH.
I also weigh my hay once it's in nets about once a week, or else I have a habit of thinking it weighs the same, but really I get used to the weight and soon they are getting 20# per net instead of 10#.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Shosadlbrd said:


> Natisha
> I am thinking about offering boarding in some extra stalls I will have available when I finish my new barn. I am stumped as to how much to charge per horse, if I buy theh feed.
> What feeds do you feed your boarders and what is the general rule you go by on how much each horse gets?
> Please share your experience there.
> ...


Rates will depend on your area & amenities offered.
I feed a pelleted feed, a pelleted fat supplement & Sho Glo vitamin/mineral supplement. I don't have a general rule, each horse gets what they need- some a handful, others pounds. The price is the same regardless of how much they eat.

Hay is also included. I feed 4 x a day, so every 6 hours (yes, in the middle of the night too). Some need more than others, sometimes twice as much. To do that the horses come in every night & get hay twice inside, individually. Outside they share. I have the big eaters & light eaters in separate turnout so it is easier to give correct amounts.

The big eaters seem to balance the light eaters.


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

Well, I would drive you bonkers.

I feed by the scoop and by the flake. Always have, probably always will.

When you have been feeding horses everyday for about 45 years, you kind of get a feeling. If they start looking a little fat, I cut back on their grain, if it is cold then I give another flake.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

I feed by scoops and flakes too, but then, it's just my own horses and on the rare occasion someone feeds for me, I make sure they understand how much each horse gets.

The old Arab and the TB get two quarts of feed per feeding, while the younger Arab gets one quart per feeding. I feed 1/2 bale of hay more or less per feeding, depending on the size/weight of the bale and the weather.

All of mine are in decent weight, so whatever I'm doing is working.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

It's always a good idea to weigh your feed and then for your own use mark that on whatever measure you use. I keep a list of what each horse has just in case something happens and I need to rely on anyone else coming in to feed them
When people ask for feed advice on the forum it really does help if they give actual amounts by weight


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## Saranda (Apr 14, 2011)

I use a "scoop of oats", but I have actually weighed that it means 0.5kg or approximately 1lbs in case of my scoop and my oats. Weighing feed is actually not a common practice around here, so I just weigh how much my horse needs and then say the amount of scoops to my BO. Makes life easier for everyone.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

http://www.poulingrain.com/resources/Whats_in_a_can_or_scoop.pdf

weight of some common fed stuffs near bottom of chart


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## Chasin Ponies (Dec 25, 2013)

I have yet to see a scale of any kind in a boarding stable and at the 30 stall stable where I board, some people have scoops, other coffee cans in their feed bins. Of course, we all provide our own feed and have labels stating how much
we want our horses to get. The BOs have no financial interest in it at all.

The metabolism of all horses is so different that most of us watch our horse's condition and add or subtract from there. We also feed hay the same way (also provided by us boarders) and I am constantly throwing down an extra flake to keep mine happy and occupied.

Weighing feed is just not something I would waste my time with. I carefully observe my horses. know what's normal and feed accordingly. In this day and age of complete feeds, they sure aren't suffering!


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I feed my horses flakes of hay and scoops of hay pellets - about 50:50 of each. How much does any of it weigh? Beats me. If they are losing weight, I increase food. If they are getting fat, I decrease food. For winter, I start increasing early, and in spring I'll start cutting back some.

I buy hay when we are getting low, and sacks of pellets when we are getting low. I have no clue how many pounds they each eat, but they all are looking pretty good right now...


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I have this one that I use for chicken feed: 









It's a 3 quart scoop, I don't weigh my chicken feed since they are free fed. 










This is my horse feed scoop, it's a 5 pint scoop. 2 of them really full hold roughly 4 1/2 lbs. I make my hubby weigh the feed because he gets going fast, not paying attention and pretty soon, he's giving half scoops and shorting the horses. By making him weigh, then I know each horse is getting their 4 1/2 lbs/meal.


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## PartialToGray (May 28, 2014)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


>


I have this scoop, and it holds roughly 3.5 lbs of our 12% pellet feed. My horse gets one in the morning and one at night, with supplements mixed in with vegetable oil at night. So he gets about 7 lbs of grain per day .

Hay is little bit more complicated, as he gets 3 5lb flakes in the morning and 3-5 5lb flakes in the afternoon. The reason it differs in the afternoon is it goes in his hay net feeder, and how much he gets depends on who fills it.


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

I feed by scoops. Probably always will. Where I work we have about 28 head at a time, if I would weigh grain and hay then the horses wouldn't be fed in time to work. (And I probably wouldn't keep my job as the day would half be spent on feeding.) I don't see a problem with either method. When my horses drop off I up their feed appropriately, when they need to be weaned off grain I do the same. We use buckets at our barn, typically a horse will get one to two buckets of grain or a half bucket. Really doesn't leave too much room for error with measuring. Also makes my job easier as when I go to the back fields I just have to throw a scoop over the fence and call it done. lol


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

I remember the first and so far only time I fed 'by the scoop'. My first instructor (Barrel racing.) asked me to scoop up some alfalfa pellets for her gelding, she said ' to the first line'. She had marked the coffee can with four lines, okay easy enough. Well I scooped it to that first line and came back out, she glanced in the scoop and went 'Nope, the first line, the top one.'
I looked at her like 'Huh? the bottom one was the 'first' line to me. Haha, not only was her scoop a coffee can, but her line was different than what I would have thought of as the 'first line'. -_-


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## Shosadlbrd (Nov 3, 2013)

Horseychick87 said:


> I remember the first and so far only time I fed 'by the scoop'. My first instructor (Barrel racing.) asked me to scoop up some alfalfa pellets for her gelding, she said ' to the first line'. She had marked the coffee can with four lines, okay easy enough. Well I scooped it to that first line and came back out, she glanced in the scoop and went 'Nope, the first line, the top one.'
> I looked at her like 'Huh? the bottom one was the 'first' line to me. Haha, not only was her scoop a coffee can, but her line was different than what I would have thought of as the 'first line'. -_-


I am with you! The first line is the one you come to FIRST!


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread, and this might have been said a dozen times.....

I know exactly the weight of feed that my scoops hold. Therefore, when new people come to the barn, I will tell them how many scoops to feed. It would be crazy to tell them, being just barn helpers, how many pounds to feed.

It is simply a shortcut to get things done. A person can know approx. how many "scoops" it takes to feed the desired amount/weight of food. I see no problem with this, personally.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Feeding with a scoop each time isn't the issue. The real issue is when people ask for feed advice and only know their horse is getting "2 scoops" of feed currently without knowing the size of the scoop or how much a scoop of that feed weighs. It doesn't give any indication of whether or not it would make sense to change the amount of feed before looking at other alternatives. (Then there's the other pet peeve of only describing it as "pellets" or 12% feed...)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DarlaPony96 (Jan 5, 2015)

I like to know exactly how much feed my horses are getting. So I will weigh the feed the first time, but then I will just feed them the amount I weighed in scoops. So, say they got 4 lbs of feed a day, that might equal 2 scoops of feed (depending on how big the scoop is). When the feeding rations change for the summer, I'd do the same thing. I do the same thing with hay. I have round bales so it's a bit harder to weigh, but it just stuff a hay net to the weight I want and then continue to fill the hay net to the certain point where the correct amount was.


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

Shosadlbrd said:


> I am with you! The first line is the one you come to FIRST!


 That's what I thought , I was so confused for a while. :-| LOL.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

When I first started using a ration balancer I weighed it so that I knew what a single pound looked like and also what a third of a cup looked like. Pony gets a third of a cup. The big horse got a lb and the middle size one slightly less.

I had to weigh it. It was so much more concentrated than what I was used to I would have been way off.


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