Horse refuses to touch feed containing his pre/pro biotic!

[eclipse]

After Sullivan’s colic a few weeks ago it was recommended that we start him on Equine Choice Pre/pro biotic. We’ve followed the advised protocol starting with the 8 days of paste (which he liked but I simply cannot afford) but now that he’s on the powder supplement (mixed into his beet pulp, seniors and pellets which he’s always loved) he refuses to eat it (no issues if we do not put in the supplement he will scarf his food).

its not a pleasant smelling supplement and he’s a picky eater, does any one have another pre/pro biotic recommendation that would work and that’s sold in Canada?

[jawa]

How about starting with a very small amount and then working up the amount every couple of days? I had to do this with my VERY suspicious saddlebred gelding. Anything new had to be added a 1/4-1/2 tsp at a time increment for him to get used to the new normal.

[eclipse]

We have been only doing half the scoop already! I will try a quarter:)

[beowulf]

Or, mask it with something strong? Calf manna soaked, or molasses, or mixed with applesauce?

[newhorsemommy]

I think it’s just a probiotic, but my very picky gelding is happily eating Opti-Zyme. And it has cleared up his perpetually watery manure.

http://www.statelinetack.com/item/manna-pro-opti-zyme/SLT901026/

[jawa]

Or make your own paste each day and use a 60cc syringe with the tip cut off.

Applesauce works great as a substance to “dissolve” and mask unpleasant flavors.

I’ve been using yogurt, instead of a pre/pro biotic (the different pre/pro biotics didn’t work) for my juicy butted 30 yr old large pony. He has juicy farts, but well formed poo. If I remember to take the yogurt and mix it in his beet pulp he is great for 1-2 days. I don’t have a refrigerator at the barn so I have to remember before I leave the house to go to the barn. I HAVE A VERY POOR SHORT TERM MEMORY! He devours the plain yogurt and likes the sides of his feed tub if I didn’t mix it in well. It’s cheap and seems to be working.

[eclipse]

Feeding yogurt intrigues me… If he will eat it, it would definitely be much easier on my pocket book as this supplenent is ridiculous $$$$ in Canada. What size yogurt are you feeding and any particular brand?

i will also look into making my own Paste with what I’ve got as then I know he’s getting what he needs

[TWH_Girl]

How about this one, it’s a pellet:

http://www.vetriscience.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=900517240

[Hermein]

I have a horse that refuses new stuff because (I suppose) she thinks it must be poison. Just a tiny bit at a time, very gradually boosting the amount does it for her.

I’m curious about yoghurt, too.

I’m using a manna-pro pre/probiotic that’s Optizyne with extra fat. They like it.

[2miniB]

I have a big PITA mare. She won’t eat any of her supplements in feed, so I wind up syringe feeding them. I know this isn’t feasible for most, but its what I’ve had to do. And syringe feeding during a Maine winter is absolutely no fun at all.

I use ProbioBlend made by Mare Magic.

[jawa]

I have been getting a large size of the store brand plain yogurt. I have then been putting that into 4-6oz tupperware containers to take to the barn. He gets 2 cups dry beet pulp, that is just dampened with some water, so not soupy, and then I dump his vit/min, MSM, and the yogurt in his bucket and stir it together.

I was faithfully taking the yogurt to the barn everyday to every other day (remember I have such an AWESOME memory) for 2-3 weeks. Then I ran out of yogurt and kept forgetting to buy more at the grocery store. Being that he is a grey pony, you can tell immediately that he is having juicy farts again.

I was kind of hoping that the flora of his gut would have been repopulated by the yogurt and I wouldn’t need to keep up with the remembering…but that is not working for him. I’m not sure why he can’t maintain the gut flora, but this seems to be a pretty simple way to fix it.

I have to admit I didn’t think it would make much of a difference. I have tried SOOO many things, Sand Clear, Metamucil, power pack, limited ingredient diet to check for allergies, different pre and pro biotics…Cheap yogurt. DINGDINGDING.

[happilyretired]

I had to feed yogurt for a while after one of my horses had a bout with anterior enteritis and then bad gastrointestinal reaction to all the antibiotics. I used fruit flavored yogurt and put it in a syringe – he actually seemed to like it. Anything sweet …

My other guy refuses all powdered supplements but will happily eat pelleted sups. You might try a pelleted probiotic.

[woodhillsmanhattan]

Soak feed, top dress supplement, mix up into a big mash. Usually works like a charm!

[tikihorse2]

When my late Tiki had to take some nasty-tasting medication (I think it was an antibiotic, I don’t remember), I mixed it with a little pancake syrup. This also made it stick to his feed.

Jell-O powder mixed with a little water is supposed to work, too. You can use the sugarfree if needed.

Kim

[SolarFlare]

If you do decide to try another brand, in Canada we’ve got Omega Alpha Biotic 8 (mine is on this, eats it no problem) and Herbs For Horses Probioplus (have also used this with no pickiness problems).

[Pally]

I was also going to say Biotic 8.

[eclipse]

Thanks everyone… I mixed it into a paste with Apple sauce and have been syringeing it in LOL.

[Angela_Freda]

The retirement farm used yogurt to syringe meds, was very effective.

I also used this pre/probiotic that was a pellet that my horse liked…
http://www.mcconnellshorsesupply.com/general-supplements/pro-balance-equine-probiotic-pellets-ortho-equine/

[Ceylon_Star]

My picky pony scarfed up the Equine Choice when I soaked it with his alfalfa cubes or pellets (cubes/pellets, bit of water, add powder, mix, top up water, let sit for 20 minutes before feeding). Cubes seemed to work better due to the texture, but he LOVES soaked alfalfa pellets anyways and gets dry pellets as treats (yay IR ponies)

The Herbs for Horses probiotic isn’t suitable for him and his IR, apparently, so we never tried it. But I keep a couple tubes of the EC paste on hand for acute tummy issues, and use the Biotic 8 as needed. I found the Biotic 8 to work similarly to the EC, but takes about 10 days to see the results that I saw in 48hrs with the EC.

The scoop is pretty big, so I would literally start with a measuring spoon and do 1/2 a teaspoon the first day, increase to 1 teaspoon, and continue to increase by a half teaspoon until you reach the full dose, if he is THAT picky. I find that the Biotic 8 smells less appealing than the EC did, but that might just be me.

[winter]

I live in Alberta as well and feed my one horse the Probio-8 in the white container by Omega. You can get it at Greenhawk and the horse store and maybe equi-products It smells delicious and has never been refused in feed. The horse also looks/feels fantastic.