Does your horse randomly go off food?

Michen

Michen

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Boggle is driving me up the wall. I finally thought I’d found something that works really well for him- Barley rings.

He thought they were THE best thing ever and suddenly- bam. Nope, now he will chuck his entire feed out of his manger to sift them out.

He is really tricky to keep weight on in winter when hunting but looks absolutely brilliant at the moment and I’m so cross he’s decided he now dislikes them all of a sudden.

Do you pander to horses when they do this? I think I’ve created a monster is being so quick to change feed when he goes off something to avoid him dropping off. I’ve tried so many different feeds and the barley rings had been working so well :(. He’s now happily tucking into a barley free dinner... so glad I had bought three bags 😂

Pic of the little princess🙄🙄






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Yes, I am also staff to a princess :rolleyes:

I've got something that has worked for 9 months now, which is an all time record, but I absolutely understand how flipping irritating it is. I've tried not pandering but she's very resolute when she's decided the food is no longer to her liking.

At least mine is a blood horse though...yours is supposed to be a native pony...
 
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My dustbin of a welsh d not keen on the tubtrug of top chop zero but happily tucks into chop rape straw bed. Other welsh scoffs down straight down. Just want them to nibble through night.
 
DabDab said:
Yes, I am also staff to a princess :rolleyes:

I've got what something that has worked for 9 months now, which is an all time record, but I absolutely understand how flipping irritating it is. I've tried not pandering but she's very resolute when she's decided the food is no longer to her liking.

At least mine is a blood horse though...yours is supposed to be a native pony...
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It’s SO annoying. When I think what he was when he arrived and he was simply grateful for a handful of chaff.

Now I have this monstrous diva who can’t bear to look anything less then racehorse lean and fit.

And it has to be my fault as he wasn’t like this when I got him off the truck!!

Boggle would object to being referred to as a native 😂😂

Ps what are you feeding that works so well? He’s still liking his equerry conditioning mash but I’m sure that’s only a matter of time.
 
😂 yes the evidence does suggest that you've taken a perfectly rustic pony and made him vain.

Alpenmash (agrobs) with linseed and a handful of rice bran pellets. And has to have salt. The alpenmash and salt are the bits she loves.
 
Millie is a complete prima donna like that, what a pita. Fortunately I don't have to feed her any more 🤣
Of the fed ones kira hoovers anything without question but Darcy just wants to eat nuts. He's mad about nuts. I think he'd eat just about anything in pellet form 🙄
 
DabDab said:
😂 yes the evidence does suggest that you've taken a perfectly rustic pony and made him vain.

Alpenmash (agrobs) with linseed and a handful of rice bran pellets. And has to have salt. The alpenmash and salt are the bits she loves.
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Oh yeah tried that. Hates it. Also gets annoyed with large quantities of linseed. Rice pellets impossible to feed a pony who chucks feed everywhere.

Yup- I’ve ruined him.
 
The Beast would eat any tasty food offered her I'm sure but what she has to eat is Speedibeet... Which sometimes is fine then Bam, she's suddenly off it! I've given in and switched to fast fibre for a bag because she needs her stupid supplements. Just after I bought 2 bags of Speedibeet of course.

Awkward creature will happily trough a few scoops of Topchop Zero in one go but Speedibeet is a no at the moment. Even with apple juice in.
 
Yup, for a fat greedy cob she is ridiculously fussy! She was eating pink mash, re leve and chaff, but only so long as the ratio was exactly right. The last 2 days shes eaten a mouthful and left it. Today shes eaten it grudgingly as I left the pink mash out.

And its really not a case of not giving her anything else and making her eat it. I've tried it. It doesnt work! She drives me up the wall, but she doesnt need feed to keep the weight on, just to carry her supplement, so its easier for me. Still really infuriating though!
 
Yes, my Arab can be very picky! The face she pulls when she's decided she no longer likes a feed is one of the most irritating imaginable - she will look in the bucket, then look at me and heave a resigned sigh, as though to say "why are you trying to poison me". Aaaaagh you ate it yesterday you baggage!! I never used to feed her through summer as she was such a good doer but she doesn't hold her weight that well anymore so needs something as well as the grass. She is currently on Veteran Vitality which she seems to like and has been eating quite well for the last 3-4 months. However, you have to make sure it's not too wet or that there's not too much in her bowl or she won't eat it. Quite frustrating when she wanders off halfway through and leaves it (and the remains of her danilon) to be hoovered up by the walking dustbin she shares a field with!
 
Yes I think when the grass is not so tasty and everything probably to them just goes a bit bland, yes one of mine definitely goes off bucket there bucket feed I find throughout the year if they loose a bit of interest I put them on global herbs restore which really perks them up,or maybe add some soaked grass nuts I think it's just like a bit of spring grass in a bucket sometimes.
 
Are you sure he’s not actually a cat? Going off food just as you’ve bought 3 bags is very feline. ;)

Mine is picky with unmollassed feeds but we’ve come to an agreement with Pure Feeds balancer and easy chop mix.
 
Yup the first year of having my Horse was a nightmare. He would randomly stop eating sugarbeet, grass nuts, anything soaked or anything pelleted and would only eat sugary mixes but he needed the weight so he got whatever he would eat. Now he won’t eat anything but 16+ but he gets literally a handful to put his supplements in. He gets chaff instead of a haynet in the morning cause he doesn’t need haynet then a day of grass but he won’t eat the chaff so it’s just building up in his manger lol trying to get meds into him is a no go he won’t even eat the mix if anything but his salt or turmeric is in it. For being so fussy I’m highly surprised he even eats the turmeric.
 
Oh yes that’s Tatts to a tee.
But only in winter in summer he eats anything even when the grass is good as soon as the autumn chill starts it’s time for the random food madness to begin .
Atm he eating only straight oats .
Today I bought a bag of mole valley conditioning cubes as I have never tried those before the list of healthy mixes and cubes he’s cast aside is long .
The thing that works best is D and H competition mix but I need to keep that on hold For when things are really bad .
I do withhold hard food for twenty four hours sometimes that helps .
He lived feral for two years until shortly before he came here over a decade ago he is as mad as a box of frogs .
 
Yep 😒 he was eating the Top Chop Zero. Yay I thought...didn’t last long. Have now mixed small amount of Speedi beet in but nope still won’t eat it. Purely to put his powder balancer in as he doesn’t need calories...other chaff suggestions much appreciated 🙄
 
sherry90 said:
Yep 😒 he was eating the Top Chop Zero. Yay I thought...didn’t last long. Have now mixed small amount of Speedi beet in but nope still won’t eat it. Purely to put his powder balancer in as he doesn’t need calories...other chaff suggestions much appreciated 🙄
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Apple chaff 🙈🙈🙈
 
He was looking so good in your last pic Michen so that must be beyonf frustrating for you, Mine’s a hoover so can’t help with recommendations I’m afraid,
 
She ate sugar-free chaff when it was somebody else's. As soon as I bought a bag - nope!

She ate speedibeet when it was somebody else's. As soon as I bought a bag - nope!

She's just about eating her revoltingly sugary chaff, but only if her hay is soaked enough to be unappealing in comparison. She definitely doesn't need the weight, but she needs her supplements, so gets whatever it takes to get it down her. I'm considering trying some mint in with it, which helped persuade my old share horse to eat up.
 
When my mare was hunting and eventing she was like this. I tried everything.
The only solution to keeping weight on her was to turn her out 24/7 on good grass.
 
My sister's mare was like this, 3/4 TB. Absolute nightmare to feed but lived to well over 30. We didn't have stables so couldn't just leave her with it. My sister used to spend what seemed like hours in the field trying to persuade her to eat while the other horses had scoffed theirs and were hovering hopefully.
 
Auslander said:
Michen - have you tried Ulsakind cubes? They are my go to for fussy horses who need to keep weight on.
Also had success with Cushcare Condition
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Hey Aus, no I haven’t- I’m using the topspec cool conditioning cubes at the moment, will have a look at the difference..

Thanks!
 
SEL said:
The only time my mare rejected her food is was an emergency vet call out!!
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lol, I'm glad you said that - I didn't want to be a gloom & doom merchant. As most of my horses are Irish Draughts, almost ANY case of not eating gets a vet call (unless I'm sneaking bute or antibiotics into a feed.) And that's the only time most of them get 'feed' other than grass, haylage and mineral licks. I would be a bt worried about ulcers - stomach or hind gut. The symptoms (and loss of appetite one of the first) can go up and down with stomach acidity.
 
doesn't sound like a loss of appetite though if he's still eating the rest of his feed without the barley rings.

I knew a stressy connie x tb for about 10 years of his life through eventing and hunting, and he was such a fuss pot he had different things in different buckets so he could choose what he was eating that day :p
 
JanetGeorge said:
lol, I'm glad you said that - I didn't want to be a gloom & doom merchant. As most of my horses are Irish Draughts, almost ANY case of not eating gets a vet call (unless I'm sneaking bute or antibiotics into a feed.) And that's the only time most of them get 'feed' other than grass, haylage and mineral licks. I would be a bt worried about ulcers - stomach or hind gut. The symptoms (and loss of appetite one of the first) can go up and down with stomach acidity.
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He does eat... he just switches between what he likes/will eat. If I had a horse refusing to eat anything I would of course be calling the vet!

Ulcers may be a possibility, he’s also fed protexin as standard, but he looks fantastic and has no other symptoms.
 
You should try owning mine! He’s now 26, and despite being a native pony, he’s a poor doer and an absolute princess (sound familiar, Michen?). In late spring, summer, and early autumn, he won’t touch anything but grass, so good grazing is a must. When he finally deigns to have hard feed, his tastes change frequently, or they did until we discovered his one weakness: TopSpec High Fibre Mash. He’s a PPID pony to boot, so low sugar and low starch is a must, but this he wolfs down - you’re even allowed to add Fast Fibre to bulk it out a bit! If he starts to look like he’s getting bored with it, we invest in a naughty (in terms of sugar) bag of TopSpec Linseed Mash and mix the two together, which usually gets him eating with absolute gusto again.
 
Michen said:
Oh yeah tried that. Hates it. Also gets annoyed with large quantities of linseed. Rice pellets impossible to feed a pony who chucks feed everywhere.

Yup- I’ve ruined him.
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Im amazed he didn't like the Agrobs Mash - I mix mine with hot water & smells so divine I could eat it myself!
He does look a stunning horse!
 
Yep, Polly is a nightmare. She will eat a feed for a while and then go off it, just when you’ve bought a bagful, usually. She doesn’t like soaked feeds and won’t entertain something unless there’s chaff in it. Unfortunately she can’t have alfalfa as it makes her itch terribly.
She doesn’t like mollases or anything sweet. Give her a polo and she spits it out.

Millie won’t entertain chaff at all anymore. So they have very similar dietary requirements but eat totally different feeds.
 
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