Help me encourage my horse to eat...

seoirse

seoirse

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Currently he has soaked hay, which he loves, and fast fibre/speedibeet/linseed + vits and probiotics morning and night. I'd only just transitioned him onto this diet following his cushings diagnosis and he'd been tucking into it happily for nearly 2 weeks before disaster struck and yesterday he decided he doesn't want it anymore. I REALLY need him to eat this food, its got everything in it that he needs if he stands even the faintest chance of getting better. We are onto day 12 of 1mg prascend daily (he has this in a piece of carrot, so I know he is still eating this bit!). I know this can make them to lose their appetite, but would that not have happened a bit earlier rather than on day 12?
Any ideas? I don't want to change the food, I just need some ideas of how to encourage him to eat it/make it more appetising? He is getting poorer by the day. He's only 15. :(
 
Could you add a bit of fruit juice or something, that might appeal to him? My gelding is used to getting a bit of cranberry juice, so even when we had to give him bute in his feed, we just mixed it with a bit of cranberry juice and he didn't object, didn't even need much. If he's still happy to eat carrot, then perhaps a splash of carrot juice, or blend some carrot in a blender & mix it in? (so he can't just fish out the carrot!).
 
apple juice
pieces of apple
molasses
few choccki biscuits in feed
polos
shredded carrotts
jam
apple purree
carrots soup (one you add water too)
 
He's never had lammi but of course he is now at risk and the new food is lammi safe, which is why he thinks its boring I guess? He ate it just fine for almost 2 weeks though before deciding he didn't like it which is annoying. He's never been a brilliant eater, so I thought we'd struck gold when he took to this new food with such gusto, I'd never seen him clear his bowl like that before. I will try some apple juice tonight and see if that makes any difference and if it doesn't I'll work my way through the suggestions! Thanks folks. x
 
A small spoonful of black treacle in hot water for a couple of days is not going to affect the horse. This was suggested just to get her back into eating her feed. I would suggest apple juice, chocolate biscuits etc also suggested are far worse for the poor horse. They are totally full of sugar. I joined the forum to be helpful not to be slated on my first suggestion!
 
Horses love fenugreek - reknowned for encouraging fussy eaters ! same composition as codliver oil apparently so will do some good ! Feed as per packet instructions - available from pro-earth (I think) on ebay !
 
Bumblebee08 said:
A small spoonful of black treacle in hot water for a couple of days is not going to affect the horse. This was suggested just to get her back into eating her feed. I would suggest apple juice, chocolate biscuits etc also suggested are far worse for the poor horse. They are totally full of sugar. I joined the forum to be helpful not to be slated on my first suggestion!
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I really appreciate your suggestion, and all the others. Frankly whatever works will be what I go with because its so important he eats at the moment! :(
 
hi,
Apple juice worked for my oldie when he had to eat his feed with bute in. He also liked honey, same principle as the treacle/ mollasses suggestion.
current horse has a very dull bland diet so I give him a handful of dried peppermint to make it a bit more tasty/ smell abit more appitising.
could you grate an apple or carrot and mix into the feed, so he can't just pick the bits he likes?
Kx
 
My mare hates the texture of fast fibre, calm and condition etc. Every Allen and page food I tried with her she would initially wolf down then point blank refuse to eat after a few weeks. I was at my wits end trying to find a non mollassed high fibre no alfalfa diet. I bowed to marketing hype and tried pure feeds and never looked back! 1 year on she's still eating it and looks fab.
 
My mare is really fussy with what she eats and I changed her buckets to the black rubber ones and she refused to eat it! Must of been the taste of the rubber but I swear by fenugreek like someone else has stated amazing for encouraging fussy eaters! Smells a bit like curry!
 
Second the suggestion of fenugreek - mine go mad for it. I grind it before feeding since I noticed the whole seed was "passing through" unchanged. :rolleyes: You can buy it ready ground. It is high in oil so also conditioning in itself.

Mint is another good safe option if sugar intolerance is an issue, but mine don't go quite as mad for that.
 
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