Fenugreek? And other options to bump appetite up?

[keysfins]

In what form is fenugreek used for horses? I see a variety of capsules, powders, whole seeds and more on Amazon. What form is best to entice a horse to eat?

What are are your favorite methods to encourage a horse to eat a complete feed? Flavor additions? Secret sauce? Applesauce or other tempting goodies? Have you had good results with adding fenugreek?

Yes, I know horses should be eating primarily forage. There is no particular case history involved, I am just looking for some ideas for my toolbox. Presume that the horse’s diet is primarily a complete Senior feed like Triple Crown or Triumph.

[newhorsemommy]

I use the powdered fenugreek from StarWest Botanicals on Amazon. Sometimes they send the seeds instead which is annoying because they don’t last as long, but are also OK to feed. I feed a tablespoon mixed into my gelding’s Sr. feed. I don’t use it to increase appetite but to hide supplements. My gelding thinks it’s the greatest thing ever and has been scarfing up anything I put in front of him Another poster tried it recently though and her horse wouldn’t touch it.

[JB]

Horsetech has flavorings you can buy, and you can likely even ask for samples to find out what he likes best. Fenugreek, apple, and I think banana are what they have, but it’s been a while since I really looked.

[Texarkana]

I used to buy the fenugreek caps in bulk, then open them up and sprinkle the enclosed powder over the feed. I think it was about 3 caps to get a tablespoon? My memory is fuzzy.

It worked for my picky eater, until it didn’t. But that’s just her.

[RedMare01]

I added Calf Manna (about 1.5 cups/day), which has fenugreek in it, to my senior mare’s feed this winter and she looks great, by far the best she has in the past few years. She usually drops significant weight over the winter, even with free choice hay. The rest of her diet is Purina Ultium and a grass/alfalfa mix hay.

[findeight]

Ditto the calf manna. It works, been around forever, easily available, relatively inexpensive compared to mail ordered herbs that may or may not work.

Teeth too.

[2DogsFarm]

I tried fenugreek for a horse with RAD.
All it did was make my barn smell like a Greek restaurant!

If you want to add or maintain weight, I had good results with Nutrena Empower Boost.
Adds rice bran & flax for total of 22% fat.
19yo WB came out of Winter ribbier than I like. Feedstore suggested & vet approved the Boost.
3mos on it - adding about 1/2 cup/8oz to regular grain feed of whole oats - and his weight was back to standard.
If it was the only grain fed mfr suggests up to 1#/day.

[Simkie]

FWIW, you can find large quantities of powdered fenugreek for CHEAP in Indian grocery stores. I’ve not found it particularly useful at getting picky horses to eat better, but that might just be my variety of picky horse.

[NancyM]

Apple cider vinegar works for some horses. You will have to try it to find out if it appeals to your horse. A couple of tablespoons mixed into feed. Calf Manna may also be appealing, but it is VERY high protein, which is fine as long as your horse can handle that level of protein. Not all horses can.

[Texarkana]

Calf Manna is also very high in Vitamin A. I’ve been reading up a lot on Vitamin A toxicity; it’s super easy to overdo it when feeding fortified feed + fortified supplement + good forage. Additionally, despite the small amount being fed, I’ve had it seriously aggravate horses with pre-existing ulcer conditions. A lot of ground corn in it that isn’t always tolerated by all…

It’s a good product or else it wouldn’t have lasted on the market this long. It’s just not for all situations.