Need Help With Fussy Eater

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Amie-Sian

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hey, my horse is a really fussy eater and turns his nose up at most things. what doesnt help is e is a nervous horse as well so have tried all calming supplements going and was recommend valerian cordial but i dont have a clue what to mix it with as in summer he has no hard feed and lives out 24/7.

does anyone have any ideas on what i can mix it in with ?

thankyou :)
 
If your horse is fussy I would think that you first need to get him in a routine ie. feed after work each day.Try samples of different feeds until you find one he will eat before trying to get him to take any form of supplement.Soaked speedybeet is the obvious choice and I have yet to have a horse that wont eat it, very easy to mix additives into a little at a time. Take it slowly and Good Luck.
 
I sometimes found getting my old horse to eat anything in the summers difficult as he was so full of good grass. I'd mix a little bit of hi-fi or alfa-a (think handfulls rather than scoops) out with some apple juice and his supplements. The apple juice always made him clean his bowl :)
 
Maybe read the thread on calmers (and all the reasons people use them...) and just let him eat grass for the summer?

Seriously, drugging your horse to change his personality (a result of being a flight prey species, breeding and previous experience) is not really that great a thing to do long term. You need to make sure that you give him confidence, not drugs to mask his fears.

Maybe try a post on how to hep him relax? I'm sure you'll get plenty of replies if you describe the problem.

Oh, and I see you are a new poster: welcome to HHO.

We're an opinionated bunch but I for one learn loads on here.
 
My chap isnt a great eater and seems quite fussy. SOmeone suggested putting him on Allen and Page calm and condition and he totally loves it. He has put on loads of condition.(was dropping it rapidly and looking awful) and scoffs his food down with that in it.
 
no he doesnt just eat grass in summer he has hay etc and supplements which i can give him with mixing them into grated carrot but he sniffs valerian out straight away.

and as for drugging my horse to change his personality that isnt the case at all. he has a wonderful personality but can become nervous when out on rides etc. i am a confident rider and he has been tried with several other confident riders also and it doesnt make a difference in the slightest. so have been told by several people to try him on valerian cordial to take the edge off him.
 
My horse is a fussy feeder. I find he is best with small feeds eg 6-8ozs to start with. If he eats it all up he can have more the next feed. If I increase feeds (up to a max of 4-5lbs daily) & get to a point where he leaves some I reduce it again. I let him tell me how much he needs / wants.
 
he doesnt liek Molasses and will only eat mints which are polos lol but will try the apple juice :) somene said to mix it with some golden syrup :/ but not sure if that would be okay for him to have :)
 
Have you tried rescue remedy? I used to give it to my show cob to help with his nerves hacking and at shows.
It can also help if rider takes some.:)
 
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