The FeedingMaster uses 2 times to divide the roughage into hundreds of small portions over 24 hours: the eating and the non-eating time. In practice, the eating time for horses in a horse box is 1 minute and the non-eating time is somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. For horses in a paddock, the eating time is usually 1.5 minutes to give the horse some time to walk to the FeedingMaster when the eating time starts.
Finding the non-eating time is quite simple by adjusting it slightly for a few days in a row depending on whether your horse has eaten too much or too little. In practice, many users do not change the no-eating time, but this may still be necessary.
For example, in the autumn the nutritional value of the grass changes, and more roughage is needed to compensate for this. Also if the roughage changes, for example longer hay, it may be necessary to adjust the non-feeding time. The AutoTune function of the FeedingMaster can take care of this. This function continuously monitors your horse's eating behavior and then adjusts the non-feeding time slightly every 24 hours so that the desired kilogram of roughage per 24 hours is distributed as best as possible.
In order to use the AutoTune function, it is important that the FeedingMaster is placed in a horse box and is used by one horse. If a FeedingMaster is part of a number of synchronized FeedingMasters or is shared with multiple horses, the FeedingMaster cannot keep track of which horse eats and when. It is not necessary for the horse to be in the horse box all the time, but the horse must eat from the FeedingMaster for at least 6 hours a day so that there is enough roughage consumed in order to make adjustments.
In order to use the AutoTune function effectively, it is advisable to have the non-eating time already roughly adjusted for the set eating time. Check whether the eating behavior sensor is on, so setting S3 in P4 must be set to 1. Set the desired amount of kilograms of roughage per 24 hours in the setting S4 in P4. Finally, enable the AutoTune function by setting setting S5 in P4 to 1.
From that moment on, the FeedingMaster monitors your horse's eating behavior. Every 24 hours the non-eating time is adjusted depending on how much roughage is consumed compared to the desired amount of roughage. Is there little difference? Then it is adjusted for a few seconds. Much difference? Adjustments are then made for a maximum of 2 minutes to prevent excessive variations.
The new non-eating time setting can be checked daily by reading P2. You can do this by selecting and setting P2. The current value of P2 then becomes visible, do not adjust it at that time, the time disappears again after 2 seconds. If you do (accidentally) adjust the value of P2, that is not a problem in itself. However, the non-eating time will only be adjusted after 24 hours, this is also the case if other settings are changed.
