Mare not wanting to eat her dinner

muddygreymare

muddygreymare

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Recently my mare has decided she doesn't want to eat her dinner. She eats all her haylage and the carrots in her dinner bucket but won't eat the rest (she has Hi-fi lite) unless she has run out of hay. She has been fine with it up til now (She's been on it since just before christmas). Do you think she just doesn't like the taste of it or what else could it be?
What could I add to/change her feed to make her eat it? My sister was thinking some cheap low calorie pony nut mix stuff but i'm not sure. She did have chaff with it but we cut it out as the sugar content was making her hyper.
Any ideas appreciated, and a chocolate biscuit if you got through all that :)
Thanks
 
Does it matter if she doesn't eat it? Are you using it to get supplements or medicine down her?

If it's just so she has something in her bucket then I'd leave her to it, she won't die if she leaves it.

If you need her to eat it as it contains meds etc then I'd try grating the carrot & mixing it in to see if that persuades her to eat. Or getting some Speedibeet & mixing in a tiny, very watery amount as that's low sugar & horses tend to like it.

If the bag has been open ages sniff it just to check it isn't going off & that's why she's turning her nose up at it.
 
My mare won't eat just hi-fi lite on its own either- she has a few high fibre nuts chucked in, just a small handful and that does the trick
 
HiFi Lite is quite coarse and uninteresting which is great for greedy fat ponies, but not so good for the fussier ones. It is the horsy equivalent of rice-cakes or ryvita - you eat them when you are really hungry, but don't eat them for the taste alone!

Does your mare actually need a feed at all?
 
Nari said:
Does it matter if she doesn't eat it? Are you using it to get supplements or medicine down her?

If the bag has been open ages sniff it just to check it isn't going off & that's why she's turning her nose up at it.
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Thank's guys.

It's kept in a covered bin in the tackroom, have had the bag since november-ish time.
I suppose it doesn't really matter if she doesn't eat it as she isn't having medicine at the moment (has had to have danilon in the past) but i would prefer it if she did eat it.

May try the grated carrot idea, as i know she likes them, before going and buying something else that she might not like anyway.

Oh and I may be weird, but I LOVE ricecakes :p :D

Thanks so much :)
 
Mine only get HiFi Lite instead of hay, and they do tend to prefer the hay! ... Apple juice would *make* her eat it, probably, but you really only need to make he rif you want to pop in some meds, etc.
 
i had the same situation not so long ago and i do need to feed as she is hunting i tried all sorts of food and changed the chaff but i was very sneaky and actually stole some from my neighbor!! she liked this but was still not eating up as much as usual so i had her teeth checked and although they weren't due to be done for another 2 months and dentist couldn't find anything wrong so he just did a routine rasp and the next day she was a lot better? maybe its worth having her teeth done ? but agree with the others if she looks ok and doesn't actually need it then she will be fine also if you have had bag since nov it may have gone off or could mice have got in it and peed on it? if there is anyone else's feed about just see if you can borrow a handful just so you can see if she is being fussy ???
 
muddygreymare said:
I suppose it doesn't really matter if she doesn't eat it as she isn't having medicine at the moment (has had to have danilon in the past) but i would prefer it if she did eat it.
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To be honest, HiFi Lite on its own is not going to make much difference to her diet! It is a similar calorie content to hay and doesn't have vitamins and minerals added to it, so really doesn't add anything the haylage isn't already giving her! It is great for feeding to porky ponies so they feel they have something to eat whilst the others are being fed, but if that isn't the case and she doesn't need it to hide supplements/medicine in, then I probably wouldn't bother once you have finished the bag! If you feel that she needs something for either vit/mins and/or extra condition, then there are more appropriate things to feed!
 
Thanks guys. She's a 10yo IDxCob and is coming back into work (been back in work about a month now but is still only doing walk + trot work) after being off since september, lame. She looks in quite good condition and is a good weight. She does need her teeth doing (I have had her since last may and she had them done apparently at the dealers yard in april so she will be due to be done again soon) so will try and find an equine dentist (in cumbria - does anyone know of any?) to do her teeth as it could be that.
If she was yours, what would you feed her, if anything?
Thanks so much
 
Well if she was mine and was a good weight, had a tendency to be hyper and was on good haylage, then I wouldn't be feeding her any bucket feed at all, apart from a token something to ensure she wants to come in. (Haylage tends to retain more of the natural vit/mins and protein in the grass, than hay.) However, if you are worried about her vitamin and mineral intake then you could feed her something like Baileys Lo Cal balancer, or Dodson & Horrell Equibites. Only increase or change her bucket feed when you feel she needs more energy or weight.
 
I have just had a similar experience with my mare who has decided she doesn't want a breakfast! So I don't give her one. She is on haylage and has a token feed at night with a general vitamin/mineral supplement in. She's an ISH and doing light work so is fine with just the haylage, when the feed runs out thats all she'll be having because she should be being turned out around that time. I did as questions, but she had her teeth done in December so it should'nt be that. I was told that some mares go off their feed when they come into season, but she hasn't so it isn't that. I think she's just full on the haylage and its nice stuff!
 
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