How do you stimulate appetite (update post 26)

[bird4416]

I recently took in a foster rescue mare. She is thin and needs to put on a good bit of weight. I've had her almost 2 weeks now and she has had her teeth done (they really needed it) and been checked by a vet. Healthy but needs to gain weight. She is approximately 25 years old. She loves leafy alfalfa hay but only eats the leafy parts and leaves the stems. She also loves grass and is on pasture from about 7:30am to 5:00pm. My grass isn't great this time of year though. I started out giving her Seminole senior soaked into mush with some added beet pulp. I only gave small quantities at a time and she would eat most of this. I also would soak alfalfa cubes into mush and she would eat this at first. After her teeth were done, she started rejecting the wet mushy food. I started giving her the senior feed dry. She would eat about 1/2 scoop at night and no more. Then she started rejecting that. I switched to Triple Crown senior and she still isn't interested. She just dives into the alfalfa hay and totally rejects the food.

I know it is technically healthier for her to eat a forage based diet, but I would like to add some flax and vitamins to her diet. My vet suggested giving her some yogurt (for the probiotics), so I mixed banana yogurt and applesauce and she thought this was wonderful. That gave me the idea of mixing applesauce into her food. Didn't work. Someone else suggested beer mixed into a mash. Also a no go. Anyone have any other tips for this finicky alfalfa junky? (Note, it has to be alfalfa hay and not cubes, she rejects those) I know she will gain weight on the hay and grass but it sure would go a bit easier if she would just eat a little concentrates.

[Cherry]

Actually the alfalfa hay is probably the best thing for her for the time being since she has been starved. To introduce feed into her system at this time might lead to refeeding syndrome. Although someone is bound to tell you to sock the grain to her--I won't--it can have devastating consequences (like having her body shut down, then death :eek: ). I know people have given starved horses grain but I won't recommend it for the time being. :no:

You might try feeding alfalfa cubes or timothy/alfalfa cubes to which you have added some water. I used to feed the Dehy cubes (timothy/alfalfa) that came from Triple Crown--when you add water to them they fall apart within minutes--I wouldn't put too much water on them and I wouldn't use anything but lukewarm water. No hot water--it can destroy what nutrients are there. :(

Just take away the Senior feed for the time being. Some older horses have a problem with the molasses in the Senior feed anyway. I had an older pony who refused to eat anything with molasses in it--turned out the pony had Cushing's--he was smarter than I was (molasses is not good for Cushing's horses/ponies).

I would add ration balancer pellets to the cubes--half the recommended amount day and night. Ration balancer pellets will get the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals into her to sustain her until her appetite picks up. B-12 stimulates the appetite but I have read it is best when you give the whole vitamin B complex together--this is where the ration balancer pellets come in. This will help stimulate the appetite.

You could safely add probiotics to the mix--hopefully something with Lactobacillus and yeast in it. This will help the mare utilize whatever she is eating without having to give her a lot of grain type products. This will help stimulate the appetite.

Amino acids are also helpful when trying to get an equine to gain weight--either a denatured whey protein powder (which is loaded with amino acids) or Uckele's Tri-Amino (which contains Lysine, Methionine and Threonine amino acids). Amino acid products are more expensive than the probiotics though. These will help stimulate the appetite.

There is nothing wrong with this horse being an alfalfa junky! She needs it to restore her electrolytes!!!! It restores her magnesium and calcium levels and will keep her drinking. Keep giving it to her, at least for the time being.... :yes:

[bird4416]

She won't eat cubes soaked or dry. We are past the point of having to worry about refeeding syndrome. I've done this before but never had such a picky eater. I've added a ration balancer at half the recommended amount but since she won't eat the cubes or senior feed she doesn't get the ration balancer or the probios powder that I mixed in. She does love her yogurt though.

[shakeytails]

Try calf-manna. I've never known any critter to refuse to eat it.

[Cherry]

Bear in mind that Calf Manna is considered a supplement and not a feed. I wouldn't be feeding pounds of it at a time--there are feeding recommendations on the bag as I recall...

[bird4416]

I just checked on Miss Finicky and she has eaten all of her food. :) I used the beer and beet pulp mash that I made earlier and she first rejected and I added about 1/2 scoop senior feed. She got this at 4:30pm and it is gone. I'm hoping the beer mash did the trick. She is happily munching away at her alfalfa hay now. Keep your fingers crossed that this will continue to work. Her pattern is to like something once and then turn her nose up at it. So far, the only consistent likes are grass, alfalfa hay, apples and carrots.

[Lilykoi]

I'm having very similar problems with my old girl (31). Someone on the board here suggested Strategy. And she likes it! Not sure for how long, but for two days she's eating it now.

[murphyluv]

ulcers

[enjoytheride]

I will be honest and say that my BM had a 32yo horse that stopped eating her senior (tried 2 different kinds of it, tried alfalfa cubes soaked) and would only eat hay which she could not chew. This went over a period of a couple months with the mare eating less and less and dropping weight and my BM finally had her put down. She was an old horse, lost the will to eat, and it was kinder to have her put down.

I wish you better luck with your mare.

[bird4416]

Its funny you mentioned ulcers. I've been wondering if that could be part of her problem. Where she was living she had no forage of any kind. (no hay, no grass, no tree bark, no nothing) The vet didn't mention this when I was discussing her poor appetite but that doesn't mean its not a possiblity. I've got my fingers crossed that its just her gut getting used to having food again and that with time her appetite will pick up. If it is ulcers, the alfalfa should have a buffering affect. I keep hay in front of her all night long, and when she is outside she always has grass. Will ulcers resolve on there own with a proper diet? I've never dealt with them before.

[Kovy]

When my 22 year old mare came back to me (from a lease) after suffering from a life threatening bout of PHF a year ago, she was at least 200-300 pounds underweight, which for a 15.3 hand fine boned TB mare, was a terrible sight! :( On top of that, she too is a very picky eater... this is what we did to put weight back on her, and today I am happy to say she is rather pudgy!

We fed her Nutrena senior feed with some XTM (she wasn't terribly fond of the XTM though), timothy hay in front of her all the time, alfalfa hay twice a day, a tube of Gastro Guard daily (for about 3 weeks), and this: http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=1774&cmPreserveSource=true&cmPreserveCategory=true A product from Smart Pak called M.A.S.S. Of course she wasn't terribly fond of the taste of this on her grain, so we had to squirt it in her mouth every day! But, it really worked, and I do believe it helped stimulate her appetite. :)

Good luck!

[bird4416]

I will be honest and say that my BM had a 32yo horse that stopped eating her senior (tried 2 different kinds of it, tried alfalfa cubes soaked) and would only eat hay which she could not chew. This went over a period of a couple months with the mare eating less and less and dropping weight and my BM finally had her put down. She was an old horse, lost the will to eat, and it was kinder to have her put down.

I wish you better luck with your mare.


This horse has perked up since I picked her up. I don't think she is ready to go yet. She lived all by herself before I got her so she is enjoying having a companion now. She is turned out with a calm gentle gelding and they are getting along fine. Once I get this feed thing figured out, I think she will bounce back nicely. She is an extremely sweet old girl. I have posted pics of her on Off Course but in case you missed them, here she is.

The day I got her:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2766706050034166832mYdprO

Deep ground in crud:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2922890010034166832rAnLfz

After a much needed bath:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2595651110034166832qjhjEu

Her sweet face:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2577844560034166832nwWAmG

[murphyluv]

some people have said they resolved on their own with 24/7 turnout and hay- but to see if it's ulcers, you could try a couple days of GastroGuard- see if her appetite picks up. Or if you're more into natural stuff, or GG is too expensive, try papaya puree and aloe. THere's a lot of threads on here about ulcers, conventional and natural care. It's not a for sure test but it may help.

She's cute!! Good luck with her-that was kind of you to take her in.

[equinelaw]

You said "after her teeth were done, she started rejecting". Could it have something to do with how her teeth were done? That's when she stopped eating.

[bird4416]

You said "after her teeth were done, she started rejecting". Could it have something to do with how her teeth were done? That's when she stopped eating.

I considered that. But, when I think back she has been picky from the beginning. She only started rejecting the mushy food after her teeth were done. The dry food she would still nibble at and sometimes she ate and sometimes not. No real pattern. For instance, last night she did not eat her food but the night before last she ate most of it and the food (brand and quantity) was the same. She consistantly eats her alfalfa though so that is the bulk of her diet now. I would really like to get the Probios, flax and vitamin supplement into her though. I think I really just need to be patient and wait for her to come around. Her energy level has definitely picked up since she has been here. She was pretty lethargic at first but yesterday she cantered about fifty yards. She used to spend a good bit of time sleeping and now she has more normal sleep habits. Her water intake is great and her manure and urine look normal.

[equinelaw]

If she is happy eating her 4oz of yogurt with all her supps, then at least you can get those into her. Yogurt isn't too expensive and it won't hurt her. Alfalfa hay and grass and time will fix the rest--eve probably ulcers.

I can't believe she was not a chestnut! In the first pic I thought she was shaggy, but not that dirty, until I realized she is a grey:)

[Old Equine Lady]

Try Neighlox for ulcers, love the stuff. Used to give it to my old man and he would eat it up and then feel much better, sometime too much better!:D

[goodmorning]

Calf Manna worked wonders for my finicky eating TB mare :yes: And she gained a bit of weight on it as well (though probably partly due to eating more ;) )

[Lilykoi]

I am getting a little desperate to get my mare eating again so I'm trying this stuff. Can't afford the expensive stuff so I'm going homeopathic. Read enough that I think this is worth a try. And what the heck, it couldn't hurt.
Read about it here (http://www.stomachsoother.com/) but
buy it at 123Tack (http://www.123tack.com/winning/product.asp?s_id=0&dept_id=3043&pf_id=PAAAAAMEFDOGPMCC&mscssid=KAWU9VD5HU2U8PVG49257EXWQ9500439) Its half
the price. I'll let you know if it works for her!

[murphyluv]

Stomach soother is not homeopathic medicine. It's just a "natural" method, or holistic.

Yes, stomach soother could definitely help with ulcers. Good luck.

[Dirty Little Secret]

1. gastrogard
2. injection of B-12
3. mixing treats into feed. My thin ones I usually feed very little grain and let their bodies start the weight gain slowly by using forage based diets for a while.

Good Luck!

[ladipus]

ULCERS....whenever any of my horses didn't want their feed/grain their bellies hurt-they generally only want hay/grass and turn their noses up at grain or eat it very slowly and just pick through it. I'd try treating her for ulcers-gastro or ulcerguard are the best-if just after a few doses she's majorly improved well you've got an answer-it works that well. Finishline's U7 gastric aid and Corta Flx's U Guard Solution also work great-i like the liquid forms so i can dose it right into their mouths-especially when they don't want to eat their feed,and if they're picky. I bet you'll have a different horse in a few days,and probiotics are also a great choice for aiding digestion. Go slowly w/ adding grain-and try giving her a feed that's as low in starch/sugar as possible,and higher in fiber...triple crown senior is a great choice-she may be more interested in eating it once her belly feels better.

Once she is feeling/eating better if after awhile she still needs weight-you can always try giving her rice bran pellets which she might like along w/ plain soaked beetpulp.

[FindersKeepers]

If she's eating her alfalfa and nibbling at grain, I'd just be patient with her, as you mentioned was going to be your approach.

I would consider treating her for ulcers. If you try gastrogaurd for a week, and her appetite doesn't pick up, then I would go back to just wait and see. There are other good, and cheaper, ulcer supplements, but being that she won't eat grain...that really wouldn't help.

At least she is eating the alfalfa! That's a good sign. Since she is eating that and her energy is good, I'd just wait it out. She may still be getting used to things. I know you've had her awhile now, but having a very hard keeping TB mare myself... it takes them quite a while to get comfortable and settle in somewhere enough to gain weight.

[Angela Freda]

OMGIH Bird, who is that chestnut, Buddy?
What a miracle you have worked on him!

My ulcer and older [23] horse gets Safechoice, and Empower [22%] fat. He likes the Empower and seeks it out in his mush.
If I had my druthers he would get an alfalfa mush on top of each meal, but I make it for him and am able to get it out to him once a day- alfalfa cubes soaked in warm water so he gets the buffering, the protein and the water he needs. This has really helped him regain about 200+/- pounds of lost weight.

[bird4416]

Buddy was my first project and still lives here on the farm. CHorsefarms (coth poster) owns him now.

The little mare ate all of her food last night and almost all of her breakfast this morning. I have her beer/beet pulp mash soaking for tonight and have my fingers crossed that she will eat it as well as she did last night. She is eating more alfalfa now also so the weight will start coming back. I just have to be patient. Thanks for all the advice. Now I feel like I have several things to try if she doesn't improve soon.

[bird4416]

She has eaten all of her dinner for 2 nights in a row now. yipee! Getting breakfast in her is more difficult as the rest of my herd doesn't get breakfast and she is anxious and frets if left in the stall to eat when they are being turned out. She is up to 3 flakes of alfalfa a day and a scoop of senior plus half scoop of beet pulp, flax and vitamin supp. (with her Miller Lite mixed in, perhaps I should get her a fullbodied beer) This should start to put some weight on. She is definitely much perkier and is enjoying her new companion after her previous solitary life. I'll post more pics in a couple of months and we should see a difference.

[Angela Freda]

(with her Miller Lite mixed in, perhaps I should get her a fullbodied beer)
Some of the oldsters at the retirement farm my horse is at get Guinness, for the iron {??}