I could honestly smack her (hard so it hurts)

0ldmare

0ldmare

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For 11 months my mare has been happily (nee enthusiastically) eating her titchy feed with crushed Pergolide in it, so I know it can't taste bad.

Now, however, we don't want it :mad: Nope not one little bit. Despite adding gorgeous tiny titbits of apple (forbidden) she still isn't interested.

We go through a ritual of her putting her nose in the feed and twiddling it about so the food shoots over the side and nothing goes in the mouth.

Then with infinite care she plucks the tiniest morsel of the bits she loves (question: how can they pick out a single flakelet with that daft long nose is beyond me).

Then we go through the bored stage where she looks at me with a dozy expression

Then finally we imagine the hunt is coming and grow to 18hh.

By which time I've gone from gentle cajoling, through to wanting to punch her :D (don't worry I won't..)

How frustrating!

Pills are already disolved in syrup and do not taste of pill (I know, I've tasted it)

Sorry, pointless post, but frustrated and need mild vent!!
 
our big fellow is on this and i am sorry to say...... he doesnt even notice it! he is half cob tho ;-) umm hollow out her fave fruit or veg and do abit of pill at a time. i think you may be making her abit on edge by watching. yes i know.. i know.. you have to make sure she eats her pill. like my ole mam says 'theres more than one way to skin a cat'.
 
Have you tried extra garlic?

Or are there any nuts ie high fibre nuts that you can soak until they become a mash and mix it in that?
 
i would suggest dont feed the horse anything in a bucket for between 24/48 hrs just grass (if having grass) and hay if having hay. i have 2 oldies on prascend, one toughs like mad, the other will leave the carrot containg pill (but eats the other little bits of carrot) he only needs to miss one bucket feed and the pill goes down in the next bucket. i havent found missing the odd day (very occaisionaly) makes much difference.
 
My mare happily ate the prascend in a feed for 3 weeks then refused food. I scewer a hole in a piece of carrot and there is no drama now :-)
 
Jam sandwiches work quite well hiding medication. The inside of a Jaffa cake or crushed up pills suspended in apple juice and syringed into mouth.

Some times you just have to be one step ahead !!
 
My shetland ate his happily in apple for months, then suddenly decides he won't eat it anymore.
Had the odd success, but mosty of the time he kept spitting it out.
I now buy very crunchy carrrots, break the tablet in half and insert them into 2 slits in half a large carrot... et voila!!! he's currently eating his tablet again - although I do have pestle & mortar plus syringe on standby just in case.
 
Did you not know you're poisoning her????? ;)
My mare used to take her pergolide like a lamb in the middle of two polos - however she sifts aside the polos spits out the tablet and crunches the mints. HOW, I don't know!!!
K x
 
my horse would once eat anything you put in front of him but he's slowly going off all his "special treats" since i've been sneaking this into them!
i tried hiding it in sandwiches, now he won't touch them - tried hiding it in carrot, won't touch them, tried sneaking it into his sugarbeet and now he won't touch sugarbeet! The current method is hollowing out a triangle in an apple, grinding the pill up, putting it inside and sealing it back up - i then give him 2 quarters of apple to "trust" me, then he has his "poisoned" one and then 2 more quarters of normal apple - i'm hoping he's just assuming the 3rd apple slice is a bit dodgy but i'm sure he'll catch on soon!
No help i'm afraid, these horses are far too clever for their own good!
 
Girl on my yard grinds them with coffee grinder, and mixes with warm water and gives with a suringe.

I find spearmint (can buy in large amounts from ebay cheaply), 2 x 50ml scoops, and water, disguises most things and smells lovely.

Also diet coke might work (vet in France recommended it for disguising bute.

Sugar free apple juice?
 
Thanks for all the suggestions :)

We've been through the hollowed out carrot and apple until she figure that they actually tasted horrid. She thought I was trying to kill her with molasses and marmite.

Which is how we ended up with syrup, which has always worked til now. She's just gone up from 1 to 1 1/2 pills so I've been adding more syrup. Wonder if I've overdone the syrup :confused: Going to try reducing it again tomorrow.

Soaking the nuts sounds like a good plan, at least she wouldn't be able to be so selective.

Darn it why can't I have a greedy horse?

PS. I try to look as though I don't care, I don't stare at her, honest. She's such a canny old bag :D
 
I licked a pergolide and it tasted of nothing? My pony got wise and wouldn't touch anything she remotely (and usually correctly) suspected contained a tablet. Nothing. Nonchalent whistling and averted eyes make them even more suspicious IME ;)

In the end, it was foul means over fair.

Cushing's is cr*p, end of.
 
I feel your pain, my newly diagnosed veteran's been on 2 x Pergolides for only a week and already, today, he's decided he's not going to eat his folded over slice of plain bread with them in. Why I have no idea since, all summer, he's had Cavalesse dribbled onto his slice of bread and, despite it being bitter (I tasted it) he never ever refused it. I think it might be linked to the fact that loss of appetite is a common symptom in Cushings. You could try apple sauce for babies - Tescos or Heinz. That's my next stop {sigh}.
 
I just hand feed in, she happily eats it out of my hand in some chop. But put it in a bucket, no way!
They're annoying things these cushings ponies!
 
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