Home made likit refills?

[GoodTimes]

Has anyone ever made one? I found a couple recipes but they seem tedious (boiling sugar for an hour, etc.).

I’ve got a horse on stall rest, a likit lasts him about two days. He doesn’t play with a jolly ball, he won’t touch the treat balls on the ground once they’ve come in contact with poo. And his stall is underneath the BM apartment so I don’t want anything super loud. So we’re back to the likit. I’ve heard of people freezing treats in water, drilling a hole and putting that on the holder but it’s still above freezing here other then the odd night so that’s not really an option.

It’s hanging in a spot where he can’t pin it against anything, but he’s still pretty good at biting it so whatever I make to substitute the likit (hopefully something with less sugar) will have to be hard.

[csaper58]

Is all that sugar good for a stalled horse?

I would just give lots of extra hay in a slow feeder.

[GoodTimes]

As I said that’s why I’m looking for something low sugar that I can put in the likit holder.
He’s got lots of hay but he’s picky and he gets bored of it. I got the likit in the first place because he was starting to get destructive, banging on buckets, trying to open his stall, playing tug of war with the haynet, etc.

[DancingArabian]

I’d love a recipe too!

since you’re in need of something now I poked around and found that’s Uncle Jimmy’s Licky Things comes in a sugar free flavor. That might work for you.

[luvmyhackney]

Heres a sugar-free recipe that might work, just add peppermint or flavoring oil. I’ve made it before and its easy as long as you have a thermometer.
http://blog.davincigourmet.com/sugar-free-candy-recipe/

Please see csaper58’s warning below regarding the fake sugar additive in a post below. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[csaper58]

Have you tried the Himalayan pink salt on a rope?

Or one of those treat feeders the horse pushes around on the ground? You can put hay pellets or cubes in it.

[csaper58]

@luvmyhackney

Heres a sugar-free recipe that might work, just add peppermint or flavoring oil. I’ve made it before and its easy as long as you have a thermometer.
http://blog.davincigourmet.com/sugar-free-candy-recipe/

This recipe uses Erythritol which is not digestible and can give horses gas, bad enough to cause colic.

I would not do this.

[luvmyhackney]

@csaper58

This recipe uses Erythritol which is not digestible and can give horses gas, bad enough to cause colic.

I would not do this.

You can easily substitute another fake sugar that is safe or your preference to just use actual sugar. I just posted the recipe since it gives the idea on how to make sugar free hard candy. I’ve made it for people before and it comes out like hard candy should.

I thought it was Xylitol that wasn’t safe for horses. I could easily be wrong.

Edited my post.

[HannahsMom7]

how about giving him some hay pellets in a hanging bottle with holes in it? the recipes I had seen for homemade likits called for cooking it at very high temps, something i was unwilling to put my oven thru

[GoodTimes]

@csaper58

Have you tried the Himalayan pink salt on a rope?

Or one of those treat feeders the horse pushes around on the ground? You can put hay pellets or cubes in it.

Again as I said in my first post, once the ball rolls towards any pee or poo he ignores it. The barn already picks out his stall multiple times a day, as do I when I’m there.

Do you have more information on the risks of Erythritol? I couldn’t find anything. There are lots of other artificial sweeteners that could substitute regardless, sorbitol for example is naturally in apples and is used in many horse feeds.

Luvmyhackney Xylitol is poisonous to dogs but I found information saying that Erythritol is safe for dogs. And thank you for the recipe, it looks easier then the other ones I saw. I’ll probably add in some carrots and apples when I pour it in the mold!

[csaper58]

@luvmyhackney

You can easily substitute another fake sugar that is safe or your preference to just use actual sugar. I just posted the recipe since it gives the idea on how to make sugar free hard candy. I’ve made it for people before and it comes out like hard candy should.

I thought it was Xylitol that wasn’t safe for horses. I could easily be wrong.

Edited my post.

Per my vet, both chemicals can cause gas because they are not digestible, and the microbes in the horse’s gut don’t know what to do with it.

One peppermint with these chemicals might not cause illness but it sounds like the OP’s horse would be consuming a large amount.

If someone does try this recipe, I would offer it for short periods of time at first to let the horse’s gut try to adjust.

With a stall bound horse I personally would not risk it, but I’m very conservative.

[csaper58]

@GoodTimes

Again as I said in my first post, once the ball rolls towards any pee or poo he ignores it. The barn already picks out his stall multiple times a day, as do I when I’m there.

Do you have more information on the risks of Erythritol? I couldn’t find anything. There are lots of other artificial sweeteners that could substitute regardless, sorbitol for example is naturally in apples and is used in many horse feeds.

Luvmyhackney Xylitol is poisonous to dogs but I found information saying that Erythritol is safe for dogs. And thank you for the recipe, it looks easier then the other ones I saw. I’ll probably add in some carrots and apples when I pour it in the mold!

I have seen folks with horses in sandy dry lots put the treat ball in a muck bucket, or large Rubbermaid type tub, so the horse can push it around but not eat a lot of sand. Could that work in a stall?