Oatmeal? Nice and warm and just a little bit of brown sugar? Doesn’t need much chewing, which is why I eat it instead of Cheerios.
Chia seeds to thicken and some flavoring for taste? Maybe mix with cream cheese?
Cherry flavor sounds gross by itself.
Have you tried giving him a Guinness beer for appetite?
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Can you get injectable B12 from the vet? It is an IM injection. In people, oral administration does not have very good absorption.
I suppose you could even squirt the injectable in his mouth. There is sublingual absorption.
Susan
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All good ideas, I will have to do some test runs to see what comes out the best consistency.
I probably could, but I already have the oral supp on hand which seems to work for him under normal circumstances. If I don’t see the same results with a homemade B-12 paste, the IM would be my next stop. If we even need it.
I’m not sure if he’s having intermittent appetite issues now, or has simply decided this new feed is just acceptable and not on the deliciousness level of Purina Senior - or if the grass is just SO GOOD that he’d rather graze. At any rate he’s still cleaning it up for the most part, but he’s getting around 4lb per feeding and I’d like to see him at 5lb, which I’m not sure he’s going to finish. He eats a bit, goes off to graze, comes back later to finish.
He’s also apparently well-hydrated, I don’t know if it’s the feed change or the amount of grass he’s been ingesting but his manure is currently pretty soft. No diarrhea, no extra liquid, but it’s not as firm as it was. Kind of ploppy, lots of grass bits in it.
Otherwise, I got to hang out with him while he took a nap today. I always feel very honored when they are comfortable enough to allow me ‘in the bubble’ while they go into REM sleep. Afterwards, once he was up I offered him some small, thin slices of apple. He accepted 3 before saying no more. 
I spent some time scratching all the itches and just feeling around, and he was giving me shark face over putting my hands gently on his withers (or on either side), so we’re definitely going to put some sort of body work on the list before I consider riding him. I think the vet’s office has both a chiro and an acupuncture person so maybe we start there.
Anyway, here’s a picture of sleeping BoBo:
And, BoBo has dreams, part one:
And part two:
It’s a hard life out here, folks. 
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I think you’ve fallen for this old boy quite hard, Heinz57.
Its funny how some horses really get to you, isn’t it? I mean, we horse people love them all (mostly,) but some of them really get to you.
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I think that is my favorite Bo post yet! So cute, like watching a toddler sleep. 
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He is a special boy. All three of them are special boys!
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Thank you for sharing this adventure with all of us. I so look forward to his update every couple of days. Bless you and this sweet horse!
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Blackstrap molasses might be a good choice for hiding some of the supplements you want him to take.
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How sweet. 
Thank you for posting these. These are the first 2 of your videos that have played on my devices, and I’m so glad I got to see them. Bless Bo and you, and all your loved ones.
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Would molasses work? its super sticky, but pretty affordable so if it spills no big deal
ETA - oops- Posting Trot beat me to it! RE; apples - I’ve known some horses who were very picky about the variety of apple. My guy loved Fuji and Gala, but did not like the sour varieties like Granny Smith.
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Be careful with molasses in a syringe. I had a pony grab the syringe out of my hands and crunch it/eat pieces of the syringe once.
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And my mom’s horse was the opposite. He never turned down a sweet one, but oh the things he’d do for a Granny Smith!
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Sigh.
That is Bo. That is Bo’s breakfast you can see in the black tub, partially hidden by Elmo’s nose. It is only half eaten, and it’s been sitting there for 5 hours. Normally I would feed him lunch. His consumption has been declining over the last few days.
Will I cave and bring home the Purina Senior this afternoon?
I can make a list of all the reasons why this feed is BETTER, but until I teach Bo to read it won’t matter unless he eats it. 
The angle of this photo really highlights the weight loss in his topline.
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Yeah, I’d cave. 
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Maybe you could mix them. Some Purina Senior for flavor and add some of the new stuff for better nutrition.
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Going to do that at least until I get through the rest of the new stuff. One of my goals was to simplify - I had purina senior in one bin, renew gold in another bin, hay pellets in a third bin, and the flax/E mix I use in a fourth bin. This new feed would replace Bo’s PS/RG mix AND the hay pellets I use as a carrier for the ponies v/m, leaving me with just two bins. New feed is lower sugar and starches, forage based, higher fiber and fat and much softer to chew. He seemed to like it at first so it appeared to be a win all around.
At any rate, I stopped by TSC for a bag of his precious senior and they were out. I settled for a bag of Ultium, which I will mix into this other feed and cross my fingers that makes it good enough until I can locate the right stuff!
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Have you tried Triple Crown senior? Is that something you can get in TX? It might be an acceptable sub for the Purina if you can get it (and haven’t already tried it).
Yes, I had TC Sr on hand when I got him. It was OK for the first few days when he was really hungry (along with alfalfa pellets), but after that he rejected it - and anything else that contained beet pulp shreds. I wish he would eat it!
I’m happy to report that the Ultium mixed into the other feed is making it good enough to finish, in Bo’s opinion. Today we are going to taste test the Platinum Healthy Weight oil starsandsun sent him.
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Lol reading this made something click - my horse (coincidentally also a Bo) has been super meh about apples and prefers carrots as his #1 treat. Yesterday I was out of carrots so I brought him one of our organic Fuji apples. Spoiled guy thought that was delicious. Guess the other apples weren’t tasty enough lol!
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