Feeding supplement to a fussy feeder.

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lamlyn2012

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I've been feeding forage plus powder balancer with a handful of linseed for a while now. Using different carrier feeds in small amounts. He's a very good doer. Problem is whatever feed I use to put the supplement in, he's ok with for a while, then stops eating it.
Currently trying a mash (Allen and Page fast fibre) which he was OK with for a while now stopped eating that. I like this as it only needs soaking for one minute.
Thinking about sugar beet but it's something I haven't used before. He has hay and Top Chop Zero at night because of his weight which he prefers over his hard feed.
If I have to swap the balancer can anyone recommend a good substitute please. I like the FP but pointless if he's not eating it. I'll leave it out tonight and see if he eats the feed without it. I'm worried he's not getting his vits and mins.
Thanks for reading.
 
The only thing mine will eat with various things in is Saracen re-leve mix. Its smells sweet and he loves it but its actually low in sugar and starch as designed for horses with ulcers. I suspect its not the best feed but horse is so fussy that I really have no choice if I need to give him any medicine, supplements etc.

ETA it does need soaking for 30mins but I feed it sloppy so use it to make sure he gets plenty of liquid. He sucks it up like soup!
 
I gave up with mine as he refuses to eat his very expensive joint supplement. Like yours, he will eat something for a few days then turn his nose up at it. I tried everything - chaffs, every mash I could get my hands on, FibreBeet, Sugarbeet - right up to the 'tastiest' feeds I could find like Saracens Re-Leve. In the end I decided I'd rather he was at least eating his balancer and getting something than nothing at all so ditched the joint supplement.

What about Spillers Speedy Mash as a next resort though? It's apple flavoured so a lot tastier than Fast Fibre.
 
I have had recent success with the baileys keep calm mash. It is a complete feed but I only use a small handful and since the feed rate for full dosage of vit/mins is like 2.5kg 😂 I don't think I'm unbalancing the balancer!

I tried so hard with speedi beet. Soaked grass nuts, various chaffs, mint, herbs, apple juice, starting with tiny tiny volumes of balancer and got nowhere but with the Baileys I can throw in a whole scoop of nasty dust and she slurps it up and leaves a clean bowl. No idea what they've put in it!!
 
I usually think that if they won't eat it, they don't need it. I certainly wouldn't stress about feeding a balancer he doesn't want over the spring and summer months, while the grass is growing.
 
Would he eat a pelleted balancer from your hand easier in the summer as no other feed needed. Spillers (lite and lean) is pelleted and I just hand feed mine - they think it's a treat but thenneither of them are super fussy .
Might be worth a try if you could get a sample or borrow some to try out x
 
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