My horse will be 28 years old in April and is insulin resistant. We’ve tried InsulinWise and that worked for awhile but now not. His levels jumped up and now my vet wants him on 18 Metformin tablets twice a day. I’ve tried disguising it with his supplements but he won’t have it. I’ve tried feeding it separately with bran but he takes a few bites and walks away. I haven’t tried syringing yet as he’s almost impossible to worm so I don’t expect him to be any more cooperative with the metformin.
My horse likes cherry flavor to disguise the taste of medication, but I just found this article suggesting anise (which I personally can’t stand, lol):
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When we had one on Metformin, the only thing that worked was a dose syringe. It also blistered his lips. Apparently there is one manufacturer out there that produces a less caustic product. InsulinWise did not work for us. We’ve had pretty good luck w Metabarol. One horse thinks it’s a treat- another will eat it w a tiny bit of Equine Senior mixed in your hand. Chewy seems to be the cheapest source but they cannot get it together w respect to packing. It often arrives open and spilled in the carton. They replace it, but I think I’m going to order directly from Equithrive as I am tired of the shipping problems. Good luck!
Hey @Moderator_1 how about a move to horse care?
@Marley_s_mom you might try sugar free pancake syrup, and see if he likes that. There are also a variety of sugar free coffee syrups. I use peppermint when dosing meds, and it definitely makes it a more pleasant experience for everyone.
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Thanks for the heads up Simkie.
Welcome @Marley_s_mom! We moved your thread to the Horse Care forum where you should get more input.
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I’m just offering sympathy. My horse has made it very clear that metformin is poison. I ground it and mixed it with peppermints. Next batch, I’m going to get compounded as a flavored powder.
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Thank you. I didn’t know it could come that way. Last night I tried some molasses mixed with warm-water soaked beet pulp. He ate most of it but then I mixed in his regular supplements and he lost interest. I hope to find the bowl empty today when I go to barn. I’m not able to give him all 36 pills [split in 2 feedings] but hoping to work up to that.
@Marley_s_mom …I can sympathize…what seems to work well for me is the following: small amount soaked Timothy balance cubes as the main carrier and a small amount of something tasty such as Hygain Zero, Nuzu Stabul One, Triple Crown Senior gold and some Triple Crown Naturals Golden Ground Flax …Uckele GUT powder is also very good at disguising yucky things …this works very well for my gelding who gets 30 Metformin am&pm …if this approach still doesn’t work then I would grind the pills in an electric coffee grinder and mix with some warm water and a scoop of Uckele GUT powder and dose orally
TY. I’ll try that if the metaboral doesn’t work. I told my vet about the trouble I was having administering the metformin and she suggested we try the supplement Metaboral. We’ll keep retesting him to see if anything other than metformin works.
Thank you for you good suggestion.
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I’ll order that. That’s what my vet suggested we try.TY.
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Thank you.
I have one that eats it out of my hand like a treat. The other requires a very small…maybe a tablespoon…of Equine Senior (Purina) to eat it. Good luck!!!
Don’t blame him. I used to work in a pharmacy. That stuff smells like fish!
What kind of Metformin is it? Is it Extended Release? I am guessing not since it is taken twice a day, but I’m not sure in horses. I recommend calling your pharmacy. You may have a metformin that can be crushed; however, if it is coated, then it cannot be crushed.
I recommend making a mash of sorts and putting the metformin in it.
This is interesting. When we had one one it, the ONLY way it was going down the esophagus was if we crushed it and mixed it w water (w vet’s permission). Is that why it blisters the lips so badly??
