Getting him to eat his food!

StormyMoments

StormyMoments

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Rio the dopey stallion has decided that his is no longer interested in eating his hard feed... which if it was any of the others I would be like fine don't have it but Rio has to have supplements in his feed which means that he needs to eat the food for them to be of any use!

His supplements are as follows:

Ulcer Guard
Equivite
Glucosamine

He is currently fed on 1/2 a scoop of fast fibre and 1/3 of a scoop of top chop lite (very exciting I know) this is what I have had him on for the last 9 months and he has been fine with it up until the last 2months or so

Now he cant have anything with sugar in it (well at least not high amounts) as it sends him loopy also it needs to be good for his feet and not be fattening as he blows up like a balloon!

He is on Ulcer Guard because if he is in a particularly stressful situation or is being handled by someone he takes a disliking to he crib bites but when hes on it he only does it once in a blue moon when hes in a foul mood!

He is on Equivite because he doesnt get vitamins anywhere else

And he is given Glucosamine as i was recommended putting him on it by the vet and physio due to previous strain on his joints so just to keep him moving freely really..

I dont mind changing him onto a balancer and taking him off Equivite... really I'm okay with changing any of his feed/ supplements as long as everything is covered and he eats it! (obviously it will be done gradually)


But anyway if anyone has any ideas that would be wonderful!

Oh yeah his details (if this makes any difference to what hes fed) are:

10years
15.2hh
Stallion
Andalusian
Weighs approximately 495kg
Medium/light work (just coming back into work after 4 month break) ridden 4 days a week building up
Ad lib hay (last years)

Thank you!
 
feed the equivite as a treat from the hand, should have up to 5 a day to get the benefit of them. Replace fast fibre with speedibeet and you can soak the water and then drain away and soak again to get max no sugar intake. I would just put on a joint suppl you can get them with apple juice mixed in or honey.
 
Could you put hay in front of him pretty much all day, chewing/eating keeps the level of acids in the stomach, if they don't have something in their stomach acid builds up then he gets stressed and that's when the ulcer occurs... so that way maybe he wouldn't have to be on the UlcerGuard all the time?

I would try to find a ration balancer to put him on... is the joint supplement pellets or powder?
 
He has more hay than he could possibly ever want as he gets stressed when hes not eating... well not so much stressy as really grumpy and skittish... I prefer not to feed him by hand as he has previously been very nippy... i will if he wont eat but as hes usually thinking with his stomach i dont know why he isnt eating his food... unless hes stuffed him self silly with hay... his joint supplement is a powder and i must admit he doesnt seem all that keen on it and he has turned into a complete fruit loop recently although im not sure if that's because the mares are coming into season, changes in his hay, slight change in feed, grass coming through or he is just feeling very well...or a combination of them all as hes spending a large amount of time with all 4 feet off the floor!

Thank you!
 
Is he being turned out, if yes and good pasture he is probably full and full of spring grass, put on magnesium, feed him the equivites during the day as a treat, just one for reward, not to make him behave, given because he behaved
 
yes hes turned out for about 9 hours although its not a huge field and hes been on it all winter... its probably about half an acre and I'm feeding him hay while hes out as its fairly muddy and hasnt got all that much grass in it and if he hasnt got hay hes a demon to handle when bringing him in! Okay I will give him a go on magnesium.. cant hurt! :) thank you!
 
StormyMoments said:
Rio the dopey stallion has decided that his is no longer interested in eating his hard feed... which if it was any of the others I would be like fine don't have it but Rio has to have supplements in his feed which means that he needs to eat the food for them to be of any use!
Thank you!
Click to expand...

Had exactly the same problem last week and bought some nice minty pasture mix, think it was Dodson & Horrell, it has carrot in it and smelt blooming lovely - could have eaten it myself!! He is wolfing his tea down now. Also don't give him too large a feed or split the supplements so he has some in the morning and some in the evening.

You can always try melting strong mints in mug of boiling water or even liqorice and adding that to his feed to encourage him.
 
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