Is there a certain height that you need to place the feed trough (or, bowl..which is it called?) I wondered if it was too low, if horses are likely to get air in their bellies. Where do you usually put it? Does it attach to one side of the stall wall?

Horses are designed to eat off the ground, but to avoid the chances of them eating dirt or anything besides feed (which can cause colic) a feeder should be attached to a stall wall at about 3 feet high. Be sure to get a feeder large enough to allow them to spread their hay around a little, otherwide I find mine just throw it all out on the ground and then sift through it. Wach out for feeders with a narrow opening, like the old metal ones with a wide brim, they can lose a lot of skin around they eyes if they are startled while eating and lift their heads too quickly. Also, if you feed any grains or supplements, beware of buckets! I've had a couple of horses require stitches after catching their nostrils on the turned up ends of the handle. There's a new product out to solve this propblem - its a small piece of neoprene that velcros around the turned up part of the handle. It works great.

I use 55 gallon plastic barrels. We cut out a large opening on the side of the barrel. Then on the opposite side of the opening we drilled small holes for water and dirt to fall through. Our barrels are then placed on a cinder block (1 at either end of barrel) to raise them up so the dirt and water can drain out and then they are hooked to the fence. The openings are large enough for the horse to put their heads in with no problems. We also fluff the flakes of hay so they fill the whole barrel and they tend not to through the hay out of the barrel. Our old horse is unable to eat hay so he is on a grass pellet and senior. We add a little water to his to soften the pellets so the extra water drains out the bottom keeping the barrel clean. Our feeders are mounted pretty much on the ground since this is the natural way for a horse to eat and keeps dirt, mold, etc, from being inhaled. Keeping their heads down keeps the airways clear.

Thank you so much for the information!

I see horses grazing all of the time on grass but wasn't sure if they needed to eat their grains and such out of a bucket on the ground or raised up.

I will be sure to watch out for sharp edges and other things that could catch on a horse's face. I am hoping to visit some stables before I get my own horse so I can really see some of these items "in action" to make a decision about what we want to use.