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Mini Won't Eat Supplements Any Longer
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My miniature horse Hogan had been eating RSR Beet Pulp, Timothy Balance Hay Cubes, Vermont Blend Pro, Vitamin E, Laminox and Flax for months without issue. Then I increased his Pergolide and even though I gave him APF, he went off his feed. He did continue to eat his hay.
Play it forward a few months now and he continues to eat hay but will not eat his supplements. I tried removing everything except for the Vermont Blend from the Cubes and beet pulp. I tried stopping the beet pulp and giving cubes only - that worked for a little while, but no longer. I tried adding Peppering tea - he went right for it but then stopped and didn't finish. I tried cinnamon powder - same, he went right for it and then decided not to eat it. What ideas do you have? What has worked for you? I don't want to resort to having to does his Vermont Blend, but he really needs his minerals. Need ideas please. Thank you all so much in advance for any advice you can offer. -- Robin Aiken, SC 2022 https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Robin%20and%20Hogan |
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Hi Robin,
When one of my horses will only eat hay, my first suspicion is ulcers. You could try giving him a week’s worth of an ulcer medication such as omeprazole to see if that helps. I could generally tell within a few days if there was improvement, in which case I would give it the recommended treatment length. Your little guy shouldn’t be given omeprazole if he’s also getting an NSAID. That combination apparently causes more gut issues than it protects against. My other suggestion was to move the salt to damp hay but it sounds like just plain cubes don’t even cut it. -- Martha in Vermont
ECIR Group Primary Response July 2012
Logo (dec. 7/20/19), Tobit(EC) and Pumpkin, Handy and Silver (EC/IR)
Martha and Logo |
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Hi Robin,
Its frustrating. My horse used to be a big eater but since starting pergolide and with every dose increase it gets harder and harder to get his supplements in. One night about a month ago he dumped his entire dish on the floor and left it untouched, the next night he picked up his full supplement dish and threw it at me! Since his tantrum I've started mixing it in with hay fines (~0.25 lb) that fall through the net when I'm filling it, then I empty the supplement dish into his trough feeder so he can't pick it up and dump it on the floor, and I feed his hay over top of the feeder so all the fines fall onto hus beet pulp mix. That helps, he loves his hay. But I was going to suggest sprinkling your supplements on top of dampened hay and see if he will eat the combo? You can grind up the VT if it's pelleted, then it will stick better to the hay. -- Kirsten and Shaku (EMS + PPID) and Snickers (EMS) - 2019 Kitimat, BC, Canada ECIR Group Moderator Shaku's Photo Album Snickers' Case History Snickers' Photo Album |
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Another thought I had, Robin, would be to increase his pergolide. His ACTH is low but it could beneficially be lower. We recommend the upper teens to low twenties or midway in whatever your reference range is. My horses (8 on pergolide over recent history) were definitely more fussy about their food when they needed a pergolide increase. The dose you are giving is very low and the correct dose is unrelated to the size of the horse. My mini is on a much higher dose than his warmblood friend in the next stall. Since you’re already having difficulty getting him to eat bucket feed, it wouldn’t hurt him to miss a few more days while he adjusts to a higher pergolide dose on a trial.
-- Martha in Vermont
ECIR Group Primary Response July 2012
Logo (dec. 7/20/19), Tobit(EC) and Pumpkin, Handy and Silver (EC/IR)
Martha and Logo |
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Chatycady@...
Maybe hes not "hungry enough". I didnt give my IR horse an option. Eat or go hungry til supper. Feed suppplement mix b4 hay. Dont give in. He sounds spunky, kicking his pan at you! Hes not sick or starving. Good luck.
-- Chatycady in the Midwest 2022 CaseHistory@ECIR.groups.io | Files |
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Chatycady, I think you're advising not giving in and feeding hay until the supplements are eaten with my full-size horse? While I would do that with my full size horse, with a small mini it's more serious if they miss their hay meals. If there's no other way, ultimately I would probably syringe his supplements in if he won't eat them. But mixing them into the hay works for us.
-- Kirsten and Shaku (EMS + PPID) and Snickers (EMS) - 2019 Kitimat, BC, Canada ECIR Group Moderator Shaku's Photo Album Snickers' Case History Snickers' Photo Album |
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