Any method to get horse to eat hard feed or just persevere?

[Fat_Pony]

I have just taken on an unhandled 8 month old feral pony. He obviously needs worming as has never been done, but since I can't handle him at all yet it needs to go in his feed (he will get panacur 5 day guard anyway which is designed to go in feed). But he has zero interest in hard feed. He is getting a but more confident and will come and sniff and investigate everything, but doesn't seem to realise feed is edible. He isn't interestd in carrots, apples or mints to tempt him. So any tips to get him to realise you eat feed?! I haven't yet tried it with wormer in obviously as want him happily eating from a bucket first and don't want to put him off with yucky wormer!

 

[Highlands]

Peppermint essence? Sprinkle a little sugar on ? Herbs?

 

[FlyingCircus]

Borrow a greedy pony. Feed greedy pony infront of yours.
This was the bingo moment for a pony I looked after a few years ago. He just had no idea he could eat it..until he saw his friend doing so!

 

[Fat_Pony]

He just seems to have zero idea that things other than hay may be edible

 

[Arizahn]

Very watery sugarbeet or other soaked feed. In a large shallow container to make it less scary to investigate.

 

[khalswitz]

Things like apple juice on feed etx helps... But just worn him via syringe in the meantime, saves associating buckets with wormer!

 

[Sukistokes2]

Had a very similar problem, my little Moses had no idea about food in buckets and would not touch it. I used my mare to show him what it was all about. Once he clicked he has never looked back.

 

[happyclappy]

molasses, sugar beet etc.

 

[Fat_Pony]

Things like apple juice on feed etx helps... But just worn him via syringe in the meantime, saves associating buckets with wormer!

He's totally unhandled and that isn't currently possible. I want him done ASAP obviously. Plus the safest thing to use atm is panacur 5 day guard as he has never been wormed so will have a burden. That normally goes in feed

 

[Fat_Pony]

He had a try of some fast fibre tonight, but didn't eat much. Guess it tastes quite bland though. So will try some herby chaff in it tomorrow

 

[Shady]

i mixed a load of honey in ,worked really well

 

[blowsbubbles]

Put carrots, apples etc in hay nets so he gets familiar to eating those, and put hay in his feed bucket with some hardfeed etc and slowly reduce the hay?

 

[crystalclear]

I use solution mash they love it and very tasty!

 

[khalswitz]

He's totally unhandled and that isn't currently possible. I want him done ASAP obviously. Plus the safest thing to use atm is panacur 5 day guard as he has never been wormed so will have a burden. That normally goes in feed

You can mix it up with water in a syringe - that's how we used to do the horses that came into our rescue, especially when not eating great. Saves them eating around it! But if he's totally unhandled you might struggle. Personally, if he won't touch a feed and you can't get near him, I'd re-prioritise and worm him once you can get close...

 

[MDB]

One of my rescues is the same. I ended up blending some apples and carrots into warm water and mixing it into the hard feed until it was mush.

 

[fawaz]

Give him some Lucerne hay and just tip a bit of Lucerne chaff through it. Slowly decrease the amount of Lucerne hay and increase chaff till he is eating just chaff.... Then slowly add tiny amounts of other things till he gets use to the taste and smell.... Maybe try feeding off the ground too. It could be that putting his head in a feeder makes him nervous.

 

[Jnhuk]

Youngsters don't know what hard feed is. Pop feed in a low wide bucket and feed him at same time as another older horse so he can watch and learn from other horse. May take a couple of days before they do catch on but once they do there is no turning back.

I would be feeding him something specific for youngstock like suregrow rather than fast fibre

 

[GinaGeo]

Mine watched his greedy friend eating, and soon learnt that bucket feeds were an exciting and yummy thing

 

[NZJenny]

Foals learn to eat hard feed by copying their mothers. I purchased a yearling awhile back and she had never been hard fed, but learnt pretty quickly by watching my others. Keep the feed simple to start - he hasn't "learnt" to like carrots or apples or any other strange thing yet. A couple of mine don't know about carrots, because I never feed them.

 

[Cat&Mouse]

You actually have two issues. 1) The bucket he will never have seen one let alone associate it with food. 2) What is hard feed.

If he knows what hay is I would start by giving him hay in a bucket to get him used to that and then move onto adding bland chaff the type advertised as hay replacers like Hi fi lite etc in the bottom of the bucket so when he finishes his hay he eats that. Do not try to give him strong new flavours or too much sugar he needs things to be kept simple and basic.

But as people have said the bucket issue will be easier if you had one to show him the way as well.

 

[lelly]

I would give him soaked grass nuts. The smell might tempt him as he will have been eating grass in the wild. Then soak it with sugar beet to bulk it up a bit. Like others have said, he will learn from another horse.

 

[Goldenstar]

Another horse is the answer .

 

[Dry Rot]

Most animals will only eat a new feed reluctantly. I use carrots as rewards (no, NOT, as treats! That's something different!) and youngsters will often refuse them. I have noticed that older horses can become "carrot shy" when carrots have been used to help catch them a few times. They become wary because they suspect your motives! With youngsters, it is just reluctance to try something new. (Remember your first taste of alcohol?).

Presumably yours will eat hay in which case introducing hard feed should be simple. We feed soaked sugar beet pellets and just sprinkle some on chopped hay in a shallow feed bowl. Then, when they are happily eating this (leave it with them, the bowl will be empty in the morning!), mix in some carrot scrapings using a grater or knife, gradually increasing the quantity of the new feed.

 

[[100323]]

Would he eat some fresh grass from a bowl, if he will you could add a bit of feed to the grass and increase it as he gets used to the feed.

 

[joulsey]

Molasses work with ours

 

[SarahWeston]

I'd say tame first and then worm second. If you do it very carefully then a pony can be tamed in just a few days and then you can just worm him in the normal way.

 

[KatiM]

If it's feral, it has probably never eaten anything but grass, so all other foods are going to seem very strange, and buckets would seem scary.
Sarah is the best to listen too as she has a lot of experience on feral foals, and even has a book No Fear, No Force written specifically about feral foals. This is from her experiences teaching on Exmoor, Dartmoor and the New Forest, all with feral and semi- feral foals. I can vouch that all of her techniques work having used them myself.