Ideas on how to tempt horse to eat hard feed?

lialls

lialls

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Sorry not very good title -

Yesterday morning my mare only ate half of her breakfast, not sure why, she seamed fine in herself and happily munched on hay. She was left with her breakfast for a few hours befor i turned her out.

She then had an accident yesterday evening involving a gate. Vet cam and injected her with a painkiller and anitboitics and said to feed bute in the morning. Once vet had gone i gave mare her tea, she was left with her tea for the night, this morning she still had most of it left!

So tonight iv put a hand full of feed in her bucket (instead of her normal amount) with the bute in the hope that she will eat it all as she really needs to get the bute in her.

If this plan fails do you have any ideas of how to tempt her to eat? She will eat hay fine, not sure why shes stoped eating her hard food - shes quite a greedy horse so very unlike her! :S

Comments on all that iv said please in the hope that soneone will be able to help me
 
with regard to getting your horse to eat bute I find adding apple juice really helps - seems to hide the smell and the taste! Grating carrot can be good too but the apple juice is a fail safe
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How long have you had her? If you had her last winter and she ate fine, then I can't answer your question, but I once had a mare who would not eat if she was not having regular seasons, and hormone injections every 3 weeks sorted her out immediately.
 
If all else fails, mix powder with water and syringe into mouth holding head up.
If vet leaves me bute instead of danilon ever it's the only way to get it down my girl...
 
We had her last winter, She lived out last winter though - shes been stabled at night for the last month or so after she lost a bit of weight. Shes had to be in some days aswell as she colics if she eats the frozen grass. I thorght that might be why shes not eating but shes not got any simptons and she hasnt been turned out today. The vet would have also noticed if she was slightly colicy anyway i would have through. Anyone got any throughts on this?
 
Ask your vet to change the meds to Danillon instead - far more palitable. And give her a good helping of sugar beet in the feed. Usually works a treat.


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Let me know how you get on - honestly never known anything to turn their nose up at feed with a good helping of apple juice in it!

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mine will gobble anything with apple juice - the boys liked cranberry juice too.
 
Mine wouldn't take it with apple juice. Blackcurrant jam was the way forward
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Sugar beet is good too.

IMO syringing down the throat should be a last resort, also add some oil or propell to the water and bute. It burns the throat otherwise.

ETS someone once told me that if you put the bute sachet in the freezer overnight it gets rid of the bitterness. Never tried it though!

 
My horse went off hard feed but would eat hay/lage (fibre -clue there?) He would have a mouthful or 2 of his hard feed & leave the rest. Took me & vet a long time to discover he had a gastric ulcer. This was 5 yrs ago before gastric ulcers became 'big news'. He was on Gastro Gard for 8 weeks, off all hard feed & gradually introduced a high fibre low starch feed. He's recovered brilliantly & is still on high fibre feed with ad lib grass/haylage. he also won't take bute Danilon etc in feed so I have to mix with little water & syringe down his throat. If your horse lived out last winter she could have been getting enough fibre from grass to keep ulcers at bay. My horse's ulcer started when I started breaking / working / schooling him & giving more hard feed for his work level.
 
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