Feeding a mixed herd in one field fails when the horses sort the rations out among themselves. The confident ones eat two breakfasts, the shy ones get walked away from theirs, and the owner only discovers the truth from the weight changes weeks later. Order and stations fix the problem at its source: every horse eating his own ration, in his own space, at the same predictable time.
More stations than horses
Set out one feeding station more than the number of horses, so a horse pushed off his bucket always has somewhere spare to go. Space the stations generously, at least a good horse length apart and ideally far more, in a rough line or wide arc so no horse can guard two at once and every horse can leave without walking past a kicker. Put hay in several piles or nets spread even wider than the buckets, because forage stations are where a herd spends most of its feeding time.
The order that keeps the peace
Horses settle fastest into a routine they can predict, so feed in the same sequence, at the same stations, at the same times each day, with each horse learning which spot is his. Have every station filled and in place before the horses arrive at the gate, rather than carrying buckets through a hungry herd. Feed the bold horse who patrols at a station he can be kept busy at, and give the lowest-ranking horse the most protected position, ideally a corner or the far end of the line with a clear escape route behind him. Within a week or two most herds walk to their own stations and wait, which is the surest sign the order has taken hold.
Separate the ones the system cannot protect
Station feeding has limits, and a horse who is chased off every station or a horse who injures others over feed needs his own answer: a temporary pen of electric tape in the corner of the field where he eats alone but can still see the herd. Use the same pen for a horse on a special ration, a slow eater who needs time to finish, or one whose feed carries anything the others must not share. Ten quiet minutes apart beats a daily battle at the buckets.
Practical details that prevent trouble
Weigh each ration into labelled buckets before you go out, so feeding order never gets muddled, and feed hard feed in shallow tubs on the ground or on mats rather than on sandy or muddy ground, which horses pick up mouthful by mouthful. Keep the water trough away from the busiest station so drinking never becomes another contested resource, and stand back to watch the first few feeds at any new arrangement until you are sure every horse finishes his own ration. Recheck the whole setup whenever a horse joins or leaves the herd, because one arrival rewrites the pecking order. Setting each horse's station, ration and any separation arrangement as KinsLe Care Teams duties means a helper feeds the herd exactly the way you do, order and all.