Additions to feed to make it more palatable?

[Cash]

Can anyone recommend something I could add to my horse's feed to tempt him to eat it all? He quite often just loses interest half way through his feed (especially in the morning when yard is busy, he'd rather be looking over the door saying hello to everyone who passes!!) or starts sifting through to find the bits he likes (He is a very non-food-orientated TB).
Oh and I'm pretty certain I'm not over-facing him in terms of how much he has- he has 2 feeds a day, neither of which are really massive at all.

Have heard mollasses (sp?) is good, but without being picky, I'd kind of rather have something a bit quicker and easier to serve that I can just chuck a handful of into his feed when I'm in a rush before school!

Thanks

 

[Puppy]

What are you feeding him at the mo?

I had a little gelding who would NEVER eat his breakfast in the stable in the mornings as he just wanted to go out. I had to give in and just feed him in the field.

 

[HumBugsey]

Perhaps you could feed him where he can see around him?

sugary and syrupy things are good for most but without know your TB.... could be a disaster, or go real old school and a bit of ale?

 

[LaurenM]

I feed applechaff although only through winter as our horses are out 24/7 so don't really need it.

Does he need to be fed twice a day? If he's not interested you can either drop it down to one feed a day (if he's out) or leave it in his stable if he's in to eat later on.

 

[Bowen4Horses]

my friend swears by some oil with garlic and parsley in it. made by carr day & martin (or one of their sidekick companies). she's getting me some to try (she's their sales rep) so i can let you know if it's any good. apparently her fussy mare can't get enough of it, and it adds lovely sheen to their coat etc too.

 

[Spyda]

I'd find something he likes, rather than trying to add something to the current ration. You'll probably save money in the long run too, even if the new feed is a little more expensive.

I don't know what you're feeding but mine (who's VERY fussy and edgy too, when concentrating on eating up her ration) just loves D&H Pasture Mix. It's the one thing she will bother to hoover up, regardless of what else is going on around her.

Her dam (a fussy TB) used to love Spiller's Happy Hoof for some strange reason. It was the one thing she would consistently eat up and never ever tire of. I used to have to base her hard feed around it, adding a Feed Balancer to the low cal Happy Hoof year round and add mollassed SB in the winter to boost energy.

Does your chap eat up a decent quantity of hay/haylage it it's offered?

 

[Bowen4Horses]

p.s. raff can lose interest in his feed if it's not wet... do you dampen yours?

 

[Spyda]

I feed applechaff.......

Wish you lived closer! Mine likes the Vetran Mollichaff so I tried the Applechaff version and bought two bags of it thinking she'd like it. Nope! She wont touch it. *Deep sigh*

Now I've two bags sat here totally wasted. Bl@@dy horse

 

[Cash]

Puppy- At the mo he is on 1 Stubbs scoop of Winergy Senior (he is only 8 but his old owner found after lots of research that this is a good feed for him- high fibre and non heating) and again at night, only with half a scoop of Speedibeet as well. Oh and some carrots.
Up until fairly recently he had pony nuts as well, but he seems to be keeping his weight well now that the grass has come through and it's warmer.
(BTW, off topic a little but does this sound OK? I'm always trying to check that he's getting the right thing- although RI and other people are very helpful )

I mostly feed in the stable, and then he waits while I muck out, then I turn out- but also sometimes in the field, as he will usually have a run around as soon as he is turned out, and I am paranoid about feeding immediately before letting him gallop around as I'm scared he'll get colic- so I turn him out, let him race around, then feed in the field once he's settled back down again. TBH he seems more easily distracted in the field, if anything.
Humbugsey- have tried feeding on the yard, but this makes it worse I think!- as he's always either spraying his entire feed round the yard (he has learnt to pick up his bucket and throw it ) or trying to get himself tangled in his rope (another thing i'm paranoid about..) unless he is basically not tied up, which hasn't proved a good option when yard is busy in the morn. Apologies if feeding on the yard is not what you meant? I was also maybe considering one of those buckets that you hang on the door? (should be harder to pick up and throw, too! )
Ooh ale, never heard of that, might give it a go. Hmm yes he is a little hot headed already so not sure something really sugary would be great.


LaurenM- I think he does need the two feeds (for the near future at least) as he is quite a typical TB and came to me looking quite poor, am eager to keep his weight up. Not sure if putting two feeds together would just be too much??
I leave him with his evening feed (as I figure me hovering doesn't really help either! ) but quite often find it sprayed round stable or half of it uneaten the next morn, seems more interested in his haylage.


PS. Wow sorry that's a v long post

 

[Holly Hocks]

Add some runny honey, they love it...

 

[Cash]

clipcloppop- thanks will have a look would be good if you find it works. and yep, I do dampen his feed as I am cautious (yep, another thing I get worried about I am worse than a new mother..) about choke having had a previous horse suffer from it. Especially as he. eats very enthusiastically and quickly at first (which I assume means he likes his feed? He does usually give a little whicker when he sees it coming, anyway).

Spyda- I'm not *really* desperate to completely change his feed, I have had him around 2 months, and (IMO anyway!)he looks good, and evidently feels well, on current diet.
Yep, he has a net and a half of haylage overnight, which he now generally eats all of (he didn't for the first 4 weeks or so that I had him- would come down in the morning to find both nets of hay untouched, I'm guessing due to it being 'different' and him not having settled. So changed to haylage as he was already lean and didn't have much weight to spare whilst he grew accustomed to our hay. So now he is on haylage full time, which he now eats with little fuss).


Thanks everyone. Woops another long reply.

 

[toomanyhorses26]

My tbs were both a bit picky with their food and have found one of them prefers a mix over a pencil and basically the more cereals the better thankfully not a heating type so he gets an endurance mix as it has there energy levels he needs but is based more around long fibre,sugar beet etc so I can increase his fibre intake that way. The other one hated alfa a but loves the good doer(little bit softer in texture perhaps) and he gets this with balance horse feeds show mix and is doing really well on it as well .

 

[Spit That Out]

Mint
Garlic
Honey
Cider Vinegar
Orange juice!!!

Or i use the juice/water off someones sugarbeet to moisten the feed.

 

[SO1]

Powdered mint is good.

If that does not work then I would look at changing to a feed he does like - maybe ask a few friends on the yard what they feed and if you can try a small sample to see if he will eat a different brand.

 

[Cash]

To those who've said mint...I tried a handful of powdered spearmint that another livery has..he liked it, I think...at least, he tipped out his feed, then licked the his bucket..?

 

[Puppy]

Just a thought, but I know SpottedCat has used with her eventer with success when he won't drink:

http://www.horsequencher.co.uk/

Perhaps you could mix this with water and then into his feed.

 

[jodie3]

I think mint is actually sold as being good for tempting fussy feeders.

Apple juice might be worth a try or have you tried using warm water to wet his feed?

 

[mja]

Be careful of molasses as the sugar content will fizz him up.

I have a very fussy TB and most things suggested to me like apples etc made no diff as she ate them and not the feed or apple juice etc etc and I was at my wits end when needing bute to go in via feed so now I use some honey and this is good for horses too or syringe it!

She hates anything mint flavoured and destested appple cider vinegar and although loves apples apple juice didnt work!!
Oh she had winnergy and went off it so had to change her feed........

 

[hairycob]

A teaspoon of marmite melted in boiling water gets my lot to eat their feed when they aren't interested. Mine are oldies on bute so even though it's a tiny feed it needs to all go down even whrn they would much rather be eating grass.

 

[JenHunt]

we've used apple squash before to tempt fussy eaters, just slosh a little in when you're making up feeds, and stir in. It's stronger apple flavour than juice and cheaper too!

also, Fenugreek or mint or honey or garlic are all good for tempting them. Experiment with them to find out which works best for you. One of ours doesn't like garlic but like the slightly curry flavour of the fenugreek!

 

[Bosworth]

My TB's are living out on grass- and nothing else and their weight is good. In winter I gave them ad lib haylage - and 1 feed a day- at night so they had somthing to occupy themselves with.

If he were mine I would forget the morning feed, and just turn him out, increase his haylage by one net at first and see if that all gets eaten, if it does add another net until he has some left in the morning. Fibre is definitely the way to go with TB's - not hard feed and under no circumstances add molasses as that is a sure fire way with a TB to loose their mind.
with the feed I would forget the chop, just give a feed, just the winergy if necessary - but put both feeds in together as an evening feed, add beet if you want to but to be honest increasing the haylage would negate the beet. I would also look at adding micronised linseed as that is highly palatable and is a fantastic way to gain condition naturally. Don't use garlic as that destroys the gut bacteria which can lead to wet sloppy poo and potentially if he is an ex racer he is likely to have ulcers and garlic causes serious irritation to ulcers.
Fibre, fibre and more fibre, is your answer

 

[EmmaJaneWilliams]

Honey
Mint
Grated carrott (50p a bag from supermarket)
Apple juice (cheap from lidl's)
Garlic


As an alternative to sugarbeet try fibrebeet!
Good luck!