# HORSE NOT EATING HARD FEED



## NAALA (29 March 2008)

HELP CAN ANYONE SHED ANY LIGHT ON A PROBLEM I SEEM TO BE HAVING WITH MY HORSE.  I HAVE JUST RETURNED FROM HOLIDAY AND COLLECTED MY HORSE FROM THE LIVERY YARD HE HAS BEEN ON.  ON COLLECTION THE YARD OWNER SAID "HE DOES NOT EAT MUCH DOES HE"  HE IS FUSSY AND I PUT THIS DOWN TO HIM BEING SOMEWHERE NEW AND BEING A LITTLE STRESSED.  HE HAS EATEN ALL HIS HAY AND GRAZED ON THE FIELD.  HE WAS LIKE THIS WHEN I PURCHASED HIM A YEAR AGO.  WELL HE HAS BEEN HOME THREE DAYS AND STILL WILL NOT EAT ANY HARD FEED ALFA ETC.  HE IS EATING CARROTS APPLES ETC AND LOTS OF HAY.  HE HAS BEEN RIDDEN AND TURNED OUT AND SEEMS NORMAL.  HE HAS A BRIGHT EYE, NORMAL COAT AND HIS MEMBRANES LOOK A GOOD COLOUR.  I HAVE SPOKEN TO MY VETS AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT FOR THEM TO COME ON MONDAY TO RUN SOME BLOODS, I CANT PUT MY FINGER ON IT BUT I FEEL HE IS TAKING HIS FUSSYNESS A LITTLE TOO FAR.  HAS ANYONE GOT ANY IDEAS, I AM WORRIED AS HE DOES NOT KEEP HIS WEIGHT AT THE BEST OF TIMES AND I FEEL HE HAS LOST SOME AND THIS IS WORRYING ME.  HE HAS NO OTHER SYMPTOMS SO THIS IS TOTALLY BAFFLING ME.  THANKS MUCH APPRECIATED IF ANYONE CAN COME UPT WITH ANYTHING.


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## carthorse (29 March 2008)

re his apples and carrots in with his feed ? Make them smaller so that he is encouraged to eat his feed with them.
I would be worried as well, maybe add some treacle.


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## hunteress (29 March 2008)

My horse did this is your grass good as this time of the year its getting better and they don't need to much hard feed, also i mixed some apple juice into his feed and this worked a treat, good luck.


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## Eaglestone (29 March 2008)

My old boy is not really that bothered about hard feed and has now taken to ignoring his breakfast, but will eat Carrots until they come out of his ears .... he is not really allowed them due to being at risk of Laminitis, but as another posted suggested, if I cut them up really really thinly it encourages him to eat a bit more of the hard feed  
	
	
		
		
	


	





If he is getting good grazing and ad lib hay and not doing a lot of work then in theory he should be ok .... however I know exactly where you are coming from, as it is a worry if you really want to get some weight on  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Welcome to the forum


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## NAALA (29 March 2008)

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE ADVICE.  I DID TRY TONIGHT CUTTING UP HIS APPLES AND CARROTS INTO TINY PIECES, HE THEN DECIDED HE WAS NOT GOING TO TOUCH THEM AS HAD THEN MIXED THEM INTO FEED.  I THINK HE THINKS I AM NOW TRYING TO POISON HIM.  I THEN DONE ANOTHER BUCKET WITH HIS CARROTS AND APPLES CUT INTO REGULAR SIZE PIECES AND GUESS WHAT HE ATE THE LOT.  I ALSO GOT HIS SOME HORSEHAGE AND PUT THIS IN A NET ALONG SIDE HIS HAY AND YOU GUESSED HE IS HAPPILY MUNCHING AWAY ON THIS.  STILL BRIGHT AND ALERT SO AM REALLY NOT SURE WHAT IS GOING ON.  HORSES ARE SUCH A WORRY.  THE BLOOD TESTS WILL PROBABLY REVEAL NOTHING OTHER THAN ME BEING A PARANOID OWNER - THIS I CANNOT HELP BUT HEY - WE WOULD NOT BE WITHOUT THEM WOULD WE!


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## Box_Of_Frogs (29 March 2008)

Naala - once you know it is not a veterinary or tooth problem, I'd recommend pouring about half a cup of Tescos apple juice into his made up feed. My friend'd TB needed to be started on Build-Up and he hated the taste and refused to eat it. Lady in the tack shop recommended she pour apple juice in her boy's feed and he's never looked back. Demolishes the lot and licks the bowl clean! x


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## Louby (31 March 2008)

My horse did this and it was a fractured cheek tooth which was that slight it was missed on xray at first..  It was really odd as I would have thought it would be harder to eat hay than the hard feed.


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## miller (1 April 2008)

Mine does this every 6 months or so when his coat changes - done it for last 16 yrs! 

I find D+H Mint supplement and a dollop of mollasses best - mine's not a big hay/haylage eater at the best of time either.


Have to reduce the tasty stuff very gradually though


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## NAALA (1 April 2008)

My horse now has started to eat again.  I had asked the vet to make a call yesterday, unfortunately one vet off and the other was worked out with lots of horses with serious problems so called to say would be with me today, unfortunately she off work today ill, could have option of another two vets, but prefer the one which is off ill or the one on holiday, seen as he is still eating grass, haylage, hay, carrots, apples thought would be ok to wait.  A few people have come up with maybe he was slightly dehydrated whilst away on livery, and now back home started to hydrate and now starting to eat.  He is still 100% in every other way.  Lunch time he tucked into a small feed and tonight just given him another and he licked the bowl clean.  Am I now a paranoid owner!


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