patmeyers
New User
my eight-year-old rescued gelded pony came to me in may with good health, normal behavior, good appetite. sweet, friendly, no problems we could see. vet checked him out, vaccinated, and put him on one cup per day of Strategy by Purina-pelleted-and all the hay he wants. he runs with a pet cow on our eight acres here in texas. drought has been difficult on pasture, but have had a bit of relief lately. in late august he began knocking his feed bucket (hangs on rail in corral) around after i dropped the feed in. didn't pay attention at first, as he was always a good eater. then started noticing feed remained from day before. he acts as though he is nervous about the deep bucket, so i began trying flat, open troughs. no luck.shakes head,trembles approaching feed,snorts,paws. vet came out, sedated him, and checked for any teeth, mouth, digestion problems. all is good-she has watched him and also believes it is behavioral. it's as if he was frightened by something in the original bucket and now he's afraid of the feed. we've changed to a sweet feed (usually irresistible), but no dice. i add chopped apple, and chopped carrot. hand feed and cajole, but still no luck. considering a youtube so others can see this and advise. please help if you have any ideas. thank you.