Feed advice for super picky barefoot cob

PoppyAnderson

PoppyAnderson

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 January 2008
Messages
3,546
Visit site
I'm at a bit of a loss. He pulls his face at micronised linseed, pink mash, posh chaff, including the ones with herbs and veggies in and my equimins supplement. He's not really that bothered about his hay either. I tried him with a handful of nuts (with molasses in) and he wolfed them down, so there's nothing wrong with his appetite. He just doesn't appreciate my organic, hippy dippy sugar free diet! Any advice? What else can I try? Please don't suggest no feed at all! He has to have his supplement and I need to disguise it and tempt him.
 
I was about to suggest Pink Mash. Have you tried the Agrobs museli and cobs? I found that mixing the supplement in with the cobs then sprinkling museli in worked for mine. Mine also really likes cinammon, so its worth trying something like that.
 
I'm using 100g of bran with a bit of oat straw for mine, also a cob. I know potentially the phosphorus levels are an issue but it's a tiny amount of bran, so I'm hoping I'll get away with it. It's the only non molasses, non alfalfa thing he will eat his minerals in.

Have you tried adding fenugreek? That can be quite successful.
 
hmm F was always a bit tricky, I think he was too atune to sugar really.

I can send you an envelope of agrobs aspero if you like? Approved by F and the guinea pigs! No additions really ever worked, he'd eat fast fibre reluctantly, and half of his sugar beet and aspero was truely a revelation, previously if he had to have meds I had to nick some pure feeds from a friend which seemed to be like smarties again!

Agrobs do seem to be having supply issues again atm though.

Pro_Earth and lots of others do fenugreek, I suspect equimins do too :)

eta yup
http://www.equimins-online.com/all-products/741-equimins-straight-herbs-fenugreek-seeds.html

they are quite competitive on some of their straights currently getting milkthistle from them :)
 
Fenugreek on ebay, sold by the kilo in either powder or seed form. . I soak the seed, or use the powder dry in a damp feed.

Cheaper on ebay than in most horse packages :)

PM me your address and I'll stick a bit in an envelope.
 
Last edited:
Thank you so much for your lovely offers. How kind are you. I will take you up on it for sure. Have spent a fortune on mr fussy chops and am loathe to keep chucking money away. Would you like a handful of pink mash to try in exchange?! I'll pm tomorrow. Bed beckons me right now.
 
ester said:
I think that one was already answered in the first post in anticipation!
Click to expand...

Didnt explain what the supplement is or needed for though.

When my boy was out in summer, he would not eat any meal cause he gets too anxious being alone on the yard, so i totally sympathize with OP. But if the feed is not needed in any way, there can be other ways to get supplements in like baking them into a treat of some form, or in an apple core, possibly an ice lolly if the horse would eat it. Sweenter might help.
 
The only thing I could get my old cushings tb to eat last winter was GWF fibregest no starch. Small pellets than can be fed dry or as a mash, based on sugar beet, hemp meal and copra. Very low combined sugar starch but high oil.
 
equi said:
Didnt explain what the supplement is or needed for though.

When my boy was out in summer, he would not eat any meal cause he gets too anxious being alone on the yard, so i totally sympathize with OP. But if the feed is not needed in any way, there can be other ways to get supplements in like baking them into a treat of some form, or in an apple core, possibly an ice lolly if the horse would eat it. Sweenter might help.
Click to expand...
The whole point is that the OP is trying to keep sugar down and enable the horse to have the best hooves he can, it is rare to have forage that is perfectly balanced so you are lucky if you have it!
 
Would you be able to add a small amount of oats? Mines a lot more enthusiastic about his dinner with speedibeet and high fibre nuts when it has oats in.

Have you tried high fibre nuts, they're a bit more starchy than other feeds, but my bf boy is OK on them x
 
Oats frank can be quite blah about height fibre nuts he does go silly for and most bf seem ok on them and you can soak them
 
Mine is really liking the new Dengie Meadow Grass. He also wolfed down Graze=on and damp grass nuts, separately or together. Relatively high sugar being grass, but no processed stuff. This is the base of my barefoot cob's bucket feed, and he is rock crunching :)
 
It's odd how all grass seems not equal too, I had F on D+H just grass on basis that is one of the ones that isn't just rye and he was ok with it but still picked at it.
 
A sprinkle of garlic powder has helped me with the nastiest meds and the pickiest eaters. A bit of warm water can really get the smells wafting and they gobble it right up! It's cheap enough to be worth a try- just make sure you use powder or a horse-product garlic because fresh garlic isn't great for them.
 
Have you tried fast fibre? I've a bit of a fussy one that needs her forageplus balancer (barefoot rehab). I had her on a cup of soaked agrobs meadow cobs for a few weeks, then she started turning her nose up at that. I moved to fast fibre and she wolfed that down for a couple of weeks. Annoyingly, she is starting to leave some of her feed now, but it might be an option worth trying for yours? I tried her on some of my other mare's calm and condition last night, this is now her new favourite (!) but she doesn't really need any condition! I may try half and half, fast fibre and calm and condition, as a next plan! Not ideal but it's a pretty small amount and she needs her balancer.
 
Waves at fellow owners of fussy cobs - so many people don't believe that they exist! Mine likes Agrobs Aspero and Trident Equibeet, so I use those to hide his salt ration in. God help me if I get the consistency wrong; you'd think it was arsenic by the faces that he pulls! He does not like change :D
 
FlashyP said:
Have you tried fast fibre? I've a bit of a fussy one that needs her forageplus balancer (barefoot rehab). I had her on a cup of soaked agrobs meadow cobs for a few weeks, then she started turning her nose up at that. I moved to fast fibre and she wolfed that down for a couple of weeks. Annoyingly, she is starting to leave some of her feed now, but it might be an option worth trying for yours? I tried her on some of my other mare's calm and condition last night, this is now her new favourite (!) but she doesn't really need any condition! I may try half and half, fast fibre and calm and condition, as a next plan! Not ideal but it's a pretty small amount and she needs her balancer.
Click to expand...

I've had previous horses on FF but not tried him on it.
 
Kaimar said:
Waves at fellow owners of fussy cobs - so many people don't believe that they exist! Mine likes Agrobs Aspero and Trident Equibeet, so I use those to hide his salt ration in. God help me if I get the consistency wrong; you'd think it was arsenic by the faces that he pulls! He does not like change :D
Click to expand...

I merrily put some salt in his feed, thinking nothing of it, as who doesn't like salt right but he wouldn't touch it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top