MFM Positive Warmblood will *not* eat KER MFM Pellets; seeking advice

[HorseLover10]

Hello, seeking advice regarding to get my recently diagnosed MFM positive WB to consume the recommended KER MFM Pellets.

He was diagnosed by Dr. Valberg (muscle biopsy) mid-October of this year.
Over the past seven weeks he has grown increasingly unwilling to eat the MFM Pellets no matter how much “flavorizer” we add.

I’m not seeking a critique of the pellets (expense, non-palatability) as much as tips on what has and has not worked for others. I have to assume my horse isn’t the first who refuses to eat them? I wish the same formula was available in a pill form that could be put into a treat or diluted and given via oral syringe.

The serving size of the pellets is just shy of a full cup, twice a day. Below is a list of all the ways we have tried to get him to consume the pellets, which seem to work for 2-3 days until it’s not novel enough to get him to eat them.

1. Adding 1 tablespoon of peppermint flavored sugar

2. Adding 1 tablespoon of peppermint flavored sugar plus drizzling them with molasses

3. Adding 1 tablespoon of peppermint flavored sugar and SOAKING them with molasses

4. Mixing them in a 1:1 ratio with applesauce

5. Adding peppermint sugar, applesauce and molasses

6. Adding all of the above plus .5 lb equine senior

7. Adding all of the above plus 1 lb equine senior

8. Soaking alfalfa cubes and adding the MFM pellets to a large amount of soaked alfalfa cubes (he LOVES alfalfa!)

9. Mixing the pellets into 2-3 soft, ripe bananas (his very favorite treat!)

10. Grinding the pellets into a powder in a blender at a 1:1 ratio with his favorite cookies

11. Grinding the pellets into a powder in a blender at a 1:1 ratio with his favorite cookies, plus .5 lbs senior, plus three peppermints, plus a ripe banana, plus 1/4 cup molasses (please see photo below)

12. Grinding the pellets into a powder in the blender, mixing with molasses and 1lb equine senior

Thank you in advance for any tips or ideas!

[GraceLikeRain]

I’m not picking up what MFM stands for but is there a reason these combos can’t be added to a pound or two of soaked alfalfa cubes or pellets to further dilute the concentration?

You could try a little Vicks vapor rub on the nose but if this is a permanent food addition I’m not sure of the viability of that twice a day for life.

[Scaramouch]

That’s in the list of things she tried. Or “a large amount” of alfalfa anyway.

Have you tried weaning him onto it super gradually, like a tablespoon at a time, or are you always working with the full cup volume? Even if he ate it all okay at first you may have to be sneaky to get him really used to it.

[mombc24]

I feed my horse the ingredients in MFM Pellet in a powder form and it is MUCH cheaper. He never had a problem eating it but the main thing your horse is probably objecting to is the NAC. You can buy it and the BCAAs from Amazon, one brand is Bulk Supplements, and the Tri Aminos from somewhere like SmartPak or MadBarn, and try feeding it all that way and see what exactly he doesn’t like. He’ll probably eat the BCAAs and Tri Aminos just fine. You can try syringing the NAC powder or it also comes in capsule form.

Edit to add links:
BCAAs (3 tbsp):
https://a.co/d/25KlM9J

Tri Aminos (1 scoop):

Three Amigos | Mad Barn

NAC (1 tbsp or 20 pills):
https://a.co/d/ekrOUHr
https://a.co/d/0t8RmPi

[islgrl]

I have a horse with MFM. He’s a super picky eater but shockingly he ate these. He was also recommended to try a number of other supplements for support and once I started adding them in he stopped eating some of the ones he had been eating. Basically I had to back him down to nothing and ease him back in. He still wouldn’t eat most of the other supplements. I finally gave up at the end of the summer and he’s now retired sadly. I still have a bunch of the supplements he wouldn’t eat. If you want to try any of them I’ll unload them at a real discount!

[FjordBCRF]

Ive had luck diluting water with molasses in a spray bottle and misting over the entire meal. Once that was acceptable, I started weakening the dilution until we didnt need it anymore.

[beowulf]

I would pull it for a few days and wean on gradually, like Sacaramouch suggested. A tablespoon a day.

You can top dress with fenugreek for palability / enticement.

Sometimes, too many (new) things in the mix make them suspicious.

[Christa_P]

I didn’t know either and did a quick search and found this.

Myofibrillar Myopathy - Kentucky Equine Research

[Kyrabee]

I was going to ask if she had tried fenugreek?

[NaturallyHappy]

I will share I don’t know anyone who tried this w success….

[HorseLover10]

Yes, I started him very slowly with 1/4 a scoop (serving is two full scoops, twice a day) and ramped up over a couple of weeks. It was going “ok” as long as I kept increasing the flavorizers until he simply would not eat the MFM pellets and then would not eat his grain either. I have reached out to KER and have taken him off the pellets for now.

[4horses]

Some medications taste really bitter and adding sugar makes it worse. I tried mixing ulcer meds with pancake syrup… The horse was getting progressively worse about taking the syringe and then I tasted it. Nasty stuff.

[NaturallyHappy]

I’ll be curious as to the response you receive. I was told no one else had ever had a problem so it must be how I fed it.

[Pehsness]

Oats?? When my gelding was turning his nose up in favour of delicious second cut hat I added a cup.if whole oats to his soaked cubes and vitamins.

I don’t know what MFM is for so maybe it’s super awful tasting, but this worked for us.

[TWH_Girl]

KER states to contact them if your horse won’t eat it. Maybe worth a try?

Product Characteristics

MFM Pellet has a strong, distinct smell that is characteristic of concentrated amino acids and N-acetyl cysteine. A blend of natural and artificial flavors is added to improve the smell and taste of the product. Regardless of the smell, the horses at Kentucky Equine Research consume it readily during palatability trials.

If you have followed these recommendations and the horse refuses to eat MFM Pellet, please contact the KER Customer Care Team at info@ker.com

[HorseLover10]

The nutrition advisor at KER has been excellent!! She prepared a very detailed 20 page “Special Needs” review of my horse’s previous, current, and new “MFM specific” diet. She was quite thorough and thoughtful, and had paid close attention to the large amount of information I had submitted about my horse’s situation.

She replied to me immediately regarding the difficulty getting him to eat the pellets. This was the reply I received from KER:

Wow! You’ve been very dedicated in trying to get him to eat MFM Pellet! I’m surprised he was eating them and suddenly went off them. And some of your attempts are incredibly surprising that they haven’t worked… Do you know if this approximately coincided with a new bucket? It’s possible you got an extremely fresh batch with a stronger odor. The only suggestions I have left:

• Leave the lid open on the bucket for a while to air out
• Have you tried reducing the amount down to a level he’ll accept and slowly reintroducing (after giving him a few days without it)
• Making the product into a paste and syringing it (understandably labor intensive)

While there are horses that have initial aversion if the pellet is not introduced correctly (slowly), we have not had many cases at all of horses completely refusing after trying some of these tips that you’ve already tried. There are no comparable products on the market, but if these additional suggestions still don’t work, let me know and I can try to search for options to piece something together.

And in her next email:

We have heard anecdotal reports of adding some apple cider vinegar being useful to mask the smell and horses seem to like it. He may benefit from backing off the amount of MFM Pellet for a bit and try reintroducing it again.

Dr. Katie Young mentioned you may try Omolene 400 as a highly palatable feed. I hope some of these recommendations can get him eating it again!

[NaturallyHappy]

That’s really wonderful. I’m glad your interaction was positive. I hope something works for you!

[mombc24]

@NaturallyHappy I’m curious what you feed your horse if not the MFM pellet?

[RedHorses]

I feed apple cider vinegar (ACV) in the summer and I have many times accidentally added too much. The horses ate it happily even though I was sure they’d refuse due to the eye watering odour. It could cover up the pellet scent if that’s the issue.

I am very precise in my measurements and use five glugs from a full jug, and three when it gets lower. It’s roughly a 1/4 cup (like baking measuring cup). I buy the gallon jugs.

[Helicon]

I am trying my horse on MFM. He is on his second bucket, and I add Fenugreek and some TCSenior to his Strategy pellets and he eats it. (I am not a big fan of Strategy but am using it since it has the profile they recommend. I was thinking of trying the Triple Crown Naturals pellets but my feed store doesn’t carry it.)

Another idea is MyBestHorse.com carries the magic ingredient in MFM as a powdered supplement; you could try feeding just that. It is also a lot more affordable that way. They also sell the BCAAs if you want to try to recreate MFM.