Senior horse that hates mash

A

AutumnDays

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 August 2020
Messages
883
Visit site
Big lad is getting on in years, has got some very unremarkable disatemas starting according to the vet, just aging changes, but to feed him mash rather than chaff to avoid decay and impaction. Thing is, he does not like mash! I've tried many a bag, he's keen until he puts it in his mouth, then spits it out. Will hoover chaff no bother! Does chaff really make that much difference? He has feed as the other two are fatties, and it's easier to keep them all together to do their horsey thing, and just give him some more feeding.
 
I can’t tell you if chaff makes that much difference, I just wanted to tell you what I do just in case it’s useful to you.
I chop haylage into inch long lengths with a paper cuter/paper guillotine.
I’ve got two thirty year olds and they look best on this chopped haylage in comparison to a hay replacement diet.
They went off the hay replacers and I had an awful headache trying to buy them alternatives they would eat.
Good luck with yours, dear horse oldies 💕
 
Have you tried adding more or less water to change the consistency? My old girl wouldn't eat it if it was too wet. She liked it on the dry side. She also liked a few nuts added. If anyone else did her feed she'd turn her nose up as she considered it slop.
 
meleeka said:
Have you tried adding more or less water to change the consistency? My old girl wouldn't eat it if it was too wet. She liked it on the dry side. She also liked a few nuts added. If anyone else did her feed she'd turn her nose up as she considered it slop.
Click to expand...
He seems to like chewing. I've tried it as dry as I can, as like yours he is not a fan of soup. Didn't think of adding nuts once mixed, assumed they'd go soggy too, I might give that a go
 
AutumnDays said:
Big lad is getting on in years, has got some very unremarkable disatemas starting according to the vet, just aging changes, but to feed him mash rather than chaff to avoid decay and impaction. Thing is, he does not like mash! I've tried many a bag, he's keen until he puts it in his mouth, then spits it out. Will hoover chaff no bother! Does chaff really make that much difference? He has feed as the other two are fatties, and it's easier to keep them all together to do their horsey thing, and just give him some more feeding.
Click to expand...
I find I have to take care in the warm weather we have been having, it starts to go off pretty sharpish. Luckily I have an old fridge I can keep mine in but it's worth thinking about
 
AutumnDays said:
Big lad is getting on in years, has got some very unremarkable disatemas starting according to the vet, just aging changes, but to feed him mash rather than chaff to avoid decay and impaction. Thing is, he does not like mash! I've tried many a bag, he's keen until he puts it in his mouth, then spits it out. Will hoover chaff no bother! Does chaff really make that much difference? He has feed as the other two are fatties, and it's easier to keep them all together to do their horsey thing, and just give him some more feeding.
Click to expand...
Maybe try something like grass nuts? I use Baileys Meadow Cobs but have heard good things about Agrob’s Wiesencobs as well - basically grass chaff but compressed and then soaked. You can play with it and suss out the minimum water to add so it’s not too wet, and the taste is herby chaff which he might like.
 
Last edited:
Working on the basis that chaff is no different from the chewed grass he is currently stuffing away, I add dried grass chaff to his winter rations. He gets soaked sugar beet, a small amount of Fast Fibre, Graze On and Mollichaff Apple to bulk out the feed. He is rising 31 and has lost over ten teeth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top