What will make him eat his dinner?

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EmzT

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What can I add to my barefoot horses feed to make it more interesting and tasty for him?
He is fed Speedi-Beet plus minerals but is quickly going off it.
He was showing signs of laminitis lately so can't add any of the usual sweet tasty treats.

I live in Northern Ireland so all of the companies that sell mint, rosehips etc charge a fortune to post stuff to me, so something that I can buy in the supermarket would be handy.

Would a slosh of apple sider vinegar be ok for him? (if he likes it)
 
Why does he need feed? Has he dropped weight?
IMO if he was that hungry and needed his feed he would eat it regardless!
If you're worried about weight up his forage rather than giving him hard feed if he doesn't want it.
 
I have had the same problem with mine but he is getting used to it now, I tried ACV but he hated that even more, I have found herbs help, mine gets Dodson and Horrell Placid, perhaps you could try their Standfree for laminitics! I do also give a very small handful of hoofkind at the moment but I am going to try and lose this eventually!
Some people use tumeric,or even curry powder which you could get in the supermarket!
 
I don't think speedi beet is that palatable to some horses, my horse is a very fussy eater and he went off it after a while especially in the warmer weather. I've tried all sorts over the years as I need to feed my horse as he has three or four supplements a day. Best thing to do if you need to feed to add supplements is to feed the actual carrier (i.e. the chaff) in a smaller quantity, but add something like a few sugar free polos/a couple of strong mints mixed in boiling water and the water added to the feed or maybe some mixed herb (available from your supermarket in the spices/herbs aisle) or some carrot tops or some fresh mint (available from your supermarket) and cut up into small pieces. I cut my carrots into small pieces as they are less likely to choke with this and also whilst he is eating the carrots he is also unable to avoid the feed that is around the carrot. If the carrier is less then the horse won't get bored trudging its way through all the chaff. A couple of strong mints/sugar free polo's won't make that much difference to your horses laminitis providing he's not fed sweet treats at other times. Beware the sugar in too many carrots though. Speedi Beet claim there is more sugar in a single medium sized carrot than in a whole scoop of speedi beet!

Peppermint cordial (from supermarket) is also good or apple juice. Some horses don't like molasses, my horse isn't over keen and isn't really keen on the molasses licks either.

And most importantly, and it always surprises me this one as so many people I know don't scrub out their feed/water buckets daily, but always ensure your feed bucket is scrubbed out so it is clean and odourless. If we had to eat off the same less than clean plate every day we would soon be put off our food too.
 
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Surely postage rates to NI are the same as the rest of Britain... after all it's the same country...
 
I would recomend Mint. why don't you grow some of your own? it's really easy! and while you're waiting for it to grow just 'splash out' on the horsey branded stuff... it is relatively cheap ;)
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

I agree that Speedi-Beet does not seem that palatable. Not a great smell off it in my opinion anyway!

EllieandGeorge - Yes, he has dropped weight and he must eat his supplements so I have to feed him some sort of bucket feed. He only gets enough to mix minerals into.
 
I have just started feeding my good doer mare (fed only for the sake of supplements) Dengi HiFi Good Doer. She wasn't eating her feed as to be fair it probably tasted disgusting with all the added supplements in it (ACV, Glucosamine, Corn Oil, Bute) but the Good Doer is minty chaff! It has nothing in it that is fattening which is the main reason I moved onto it, its only around £10 per bag, and my horse now eats her tea!
 
wench said:
Surely postage rates to NI are the same as the rest of Britain... after all it's the same country...
Click to expand...

Definitely not - It's classed as overseas.
I work for an internet shop & it costs us double to send to NI :mad:

OP - I agree with trying mint too - also you could try fast fibre or ready mash instead :)
 
I am struggling with the same thing except mine can't have anything with alfalfa in as he's allergic to it. He had Speedibeet over part of the winter but went off that. He'd really like Dengie chaffs but they all contain alfalfa so he can't have them - even an armful of haylage sets off his allergy lumps that come up and they take days to go down. I have him on D&H Safe & Sound ATM, in an attempt to convince him to eat his supplements, but he doesn't really like it. He'll eat hay while stabled and since I won't feed him molassed foods (or straight molasses to make anything else palatable) then I'm coming to the conclusion he might have to go without hard feed and supplements! I've tried the usual like grating up carrots and apples.. he can pick out the bits, even grated. Currently having apple juice in his feed which isn't tempting him, and the S&S is flavoured with peppermint oil so that should be tempting but apparently also isn't...

If he won't eat this then I am tempted to try a really basic bran mash with apple juice or fresh mint.
 
He was on Fast Fibre and loved it but was still very footsore.
Another barefooter told me that she had come across horses with a sensitivity to grass meal, so I went right back to the most basic I could find.
He has improved a lot but I have also changed many other things (soaking hay, trickle net, grazing only at night and mag ox) so can't say for sure what has helped the most!!!
 
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