Getting powdered supp's into a fussy feeder?

floradora09

floradora09

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Any bright ideas would be very helpful! I've started my boy on Suppleaze Gold, but he often won't finish his feed/tips it on the floor so rather than mixing it in and risk wasting it, I tried sprinkling it on the top so he would be sure to eat it (like I usually do with stuff he HAS to eat).. which backfired as he turned his nose up at it! :rolleyes:

He's on the loading dose atm, so two 10ml scoops. Has anyone got a genius idea that I've not thought of? I think there's a bit too much to put in an apple..

Ungrateful hoss! :D
 
My friend, who's also a vet, swears by a drizzle of caramel syrup. She uses it for horses in serious trouble who just won't eat, and says it works every time.
 
My girl will not eat anything like that, and at the moment we are having to get antibiotics in her, I have been adding a small amount of speedy beat and she woofs the whole lot without a problem
 
Have you tried it in a handful of speedibeet?

Or, I've also used NAF Mint powder when my boy wasn't too keen on micronised linseed - it smells yum :)
 
I mix mine with water & syringe it into her with a 60ml syringe, like a wormer.
Only other thing is to reduce the dose so he gets accustomed to the taste. Or split his feed & put a bit in each :)
 
I always put a bit of apple juice on the feed and the powder sticks to the damp feed - bowl always licked clean. After a while you can usually cut down to just a splash.
 
Mine turns his nose up at anything new in a feed and is a nightmare if you have to feed antibiotics or bute. To get him to eat it I put warm water and mollases in a small pot, mix all the powder in and mix it well before mixing it into the feed. The mollases disguises everything but its not a good idea if you have a laminitic.
 
Second apple juice. Someone on here recommended it when mine was on bute and wouldn't eat his feed. Added apple juice and he licked the bucket clean :)
 
Tricks that have worked for me are:-

add black teacle in the food (from the supermarket), you might have to mix the "poison" into the treacle first & then add it to the food.

Add some sugar to the food

mix the nasty stuff into black treacle & then get the horse to lick it off my hands

Add some sugar beat - again mix the nasty stuff & the sugar beat together first & then put it in the food.

Dissolve extra strong mints in water & mix the minty water in the food

You can also buy mint cordial which is supposed to also be good - never tried it myself but I've heard that it does the trick.

Although you say he's on a loading dose you might have to reduce the dose for a few days until he gets used to it & then put him on a loading dose once he's accustomed to the taste.

Good luck, it anoys me when they turn their nose up at expensive food, I know it's not their fault but I hate waste.
 
There's loads of stuff like molasses & jam sandwiches that would do the trick if it was short term but for a supplement I think you need something with less sugar to get him to eat. Try soaking a handful of hi fibre nuts (or whatever nuts he has already) until it goes pulpy like soaked sugar beet, stir the supplement into it then mix it into his feed. I'd also give a very small feed first with the supplement in then the rest when he's ate that.
 
Things like molasses and jam and caramel are great to get medicine into a horse but not necessarily something you want to do long term and I'm thinking with a joint supplement that would be long term.

Herbs like mint, fenugreek or turmeric are good at disguising tastes and turmeric is supposed to be good for joints too.

Sprinkling on top may have made it more noticeable than stirring it evenly through the feed which dilutes it more.

I would start with a little and build up.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone :) Yes it's a longterm thing, so ideally don't want to be spreading sandwhiches everytime I feed him!

He's a nightmare to get bute down and I have to be sneaky with the wormer as when he's seen the syringe that's it... :rolleyes:

Perhaps I'll try spreading it through a bit more tonight, and reduce the feed a little so he eats it all up. Failing that it will be the route of apple juice followed by various concoctions!

Sounds weird but I don't think he particularly likes molasses, he's a funny horse in that he's happier with a bucket of cubes than sticky sweet things- he's even been known to spit out polos when we're eventing! :o
 
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