Horsey wont eat his hard food!

Daisychain

Daisychain

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My 16.2hh Belgian horse has gone off his food, first he stopped eating his chaff so i stopped giving it him, then he decided he didnt like his s. beet and leaves that, and he isnt that fussed on his mix either...

He has currently been having 1 mix and beet a.m. 1and 3/4mix plus beet for tea. He has ad lib haylage and looks 'well'. He is fine and healthy and great to ride, any ideas to get him to eat up!
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Perhaps try cubes instead of mix, as some horses prefer them. He may just not be hungry or prefer his Haylage, if he's holding his weight, I wouldn't worry.
 
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Perhaps try cubes instead of mix, as some horses prefer them. He may just not be hungry or prefer his Haylage, if he's holding his weight, I wouldn't worry.

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I agree
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Perhaps try cubes instead of mix, as some horses prefer them. He may just not be hungry or prefer his Haylage, if he's holding his weight, I wouldn't worry.

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I agree
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Me too. If you are worried that he does need his hard feed then maybe try putting some cider vinegar or apple juice in with it?
 
Mine are having ad lib haylage, and are looking superb atm, but they do seem to have reduced appetites for the hard feed.

Vitamin/mineral lick and very small token feed, keep an eye on how he is looking?
 
Have you changed his buckets? Might sound strange, but if so, it might smell different to him.

How are his teeth?

Some horses are more fussy than others. If he is holding condition and his happy - dont worry. Molasses or mint can tempt fussy eaters. It might also be an idea to reduce the amount in his bucket as too much might be putting him off.

Does he have an diarrhoea?
 
How much work is he in just now? One of my liveries has a lovely little 15hh TB who has gone off his feed. Absolutely fighting fit,nothing wrong with him but we've found over the past few winters when he goes from being v.active and fit in the spring/summer/autumn to being in light work over the winter he goes off his feed- i think because he isnt doing as much. Still munches down his hay but we have cut his feeds from whole scoops of s.beet/alfalfa and calm and condition to a 1/4 of each with a good slosh of water. We also cut his supplements out for a few weeks until hes eating up and we make sure every feed is freshly made up with any leftover being thrown away/fed to a greedy school pony!
This may not help you,but if the workload has changed then it might be that...
 
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