Need more ideas for disguising pills given in feed

[Judy_in_Texas]

I have two horses on Prascend and Prevacox. (Yes, I know I can now get Equioxx, but I would have to give a whole tablet instead of a quarter.) Over the years I have had to try new strategies to disguise the pills. My last resort is to put them in their lower cheek pouch, next to and below the molars, but that is a bit dangerous and I’d prefer not to do that. They are both very adept at getting rid of pills put under their tongue, either by inserting at the bars or farther back.

For years I could just put the tablets in their (dry) feed and watch that they ate them. When they got suspicious of that and one horse could finish his feed with the pills left in the completely clean bucket, I began molding the pills into little balls of German Horse Muffins, and for a year or so they scarfed those up. Now one of them won’t even eat feed that has tiny bits of horse muffin in it, and the other one carefully nibbles the muffin off and leaves the pills. This takes very careful work and he is very good at it.

Now they have both gone on soaked feed, per vet instructions. I’ve been poking the pills into the feed while it is soaking, so that they are soft and maybe sorta hidden. In just a couple of weeks they have both learned to just drop any bite that they don’t like the taste of over the side of the bucket onto the floor. The feed consists of soaked alfalfa cubes with crimped oats and Nutrena Safe Choice. I dump in the alfalfa, top with the feed, and mix. It is quite a feat for them to find the pills and discard them, but of course they practiced with the dry feed.

Neither of these horses will eat anything with molasses on it (probably just as well because of the Cushings) though this was my go-to method for an earlier old-timer when she needed Uniprim or Prevacox. I would crush the Prevacox,(the Uniprim was already a powder) and then mix the medication with enough molasses to cover (in a condiment cup from a restaurant) and put it in a small rubber feed tub. She would eagerly scarf it up.

I would appreciate any other advice. I have a small animal pet piller, but it doesn’t hold the pill firmly enough to let me use that to insert into the cheek pouch, and this is just not a good idea for a standard treatment because of the risk and because I can’t ask the person who takes care of the horses when we are gone to do that.

Thank you very much. Probably there are ideas in the forum, but none of my searches turned up results on this aspect of giving medications.

[PeteyPie]

I was bemoaning this problem in a discussion with the clerk at the feed store and she said, “Just dose them. Put it in a cleaned worming syringe and be done with it.”

I never did that but thought the idea was intriguing. It might be tricky to do on a daily basis though. They might develop good techniques to evade the dosing which would be a real pain when it is time to worm them. Or, they might love it and look forward to their daily medication if you put a tasty applesauce or something in with the pills.

[vxf111]

https://standleeforage.com/products/horse-pill-carriers

I don’t know if the forage base hides the pill better than a molassasey treat but these and hollowed out carrot pieces are my go to pill pockets.

[beowulf]

@Judy in Texas

I have two horses on Prascend and Prevacox. (Yes, I know I can now get Equioxx, but I would have to give a whole tablet instead of a quarter.) Over the years I have had to try new strategies to disguise the pills. My last resort is to put them in their lower cheek pouch, next to and below the molars, but that is a bit dangerous and I’d prefer not to do that. They are both very adept at getting rid of pills put under their tongue, either by inserting at the bars or farther back.

For years I could just put the tablets in their (dry) feed and watch that they ate them. When they got suspicious of that and one horse could finish his feed with the pills left in the completely clean bucket, I began molding the pills into little balls of German Horse Muffins, and for a year or so they scarfed those up. Now one of them won’t even eat feed that has tiny bits of horse muffin in it, and the other one carefully nibbles the muffin off and leaves the pills. This takes very careful work and he is very good at it.

Now they have both gone on soaked feed, per vet instructions. I’ve been poking the pills into the feed while it is soaking, so that they are soft and maybe sorta hidden. In just a couple of weeks they have both learned to just drop any bite that they don’t like the taste of over the side of the bucket onto the floor. The feed consists of soaked alfalfa cubes with crimped oats and Nutrena Safe Choice. I dump in the alfalfa, top with the feed, and mix. It is quite a feat for them to find the pills and discard them, but of course they practiced with the dry feed.

Neither of these horses will eat anything with molasses on it (probably just as well because of the Cushings) though this was my go-to method for an earlier old-timer when she needed Uniprim or Prevacox. I would crush the Prevacox,(the Uniprim was already a powder) and then mix the medication with enough molasses to cover (in a condiment cup from a restaurant) and put it in a small rubber feed tub. She would eagerly scarf it up.

I would appreciate any other advice. I have a small animal pet piller, but it doesn’t hold the pill firmly enough to let me use that to insert into the cheek pouch, and this is just not a good idea for a standard treatment because of the risk and because I can’t ask the person who takes care of the horses when we are gone to do that.

Thank you very much. Probably there are ideas in the forum, but none of my searches turned up results on this aspect of giving medications.

Start giving them Fig Newtons as a treat. If they don’t take it off of your hand, break it in half and put a peppermint on top of it. Don’t put the pills in the Figs right away, but feed them a Newton or two a day (maybe right before you dump grain). Once they are reliably eating the Newtons, put the pills in. A single Fig Newton can fit a lot of pills, though I prefer to distribute the pills into multiple Fig Newtons so the horse doesn’t wise up. After you give them one with the pill in it, give them a second one that is just the Fig Newton so they have something to cleanse their palate :winkgrin:

I prefer to see the medication be consumed, vs putting it in the feed. Horses are especially messy and it’s no guarantee even if they lick their bowl clean, that they got all the medication.

I am also not above dosing in an oral syringe either. I did this daily for a month with one of my geldings that needed ~100 pills a day (Doxy for Anaplasmosis), and another that needed some serious heavy hitting pain + antibiotics from a multi-break pelvis + rib. Bring down hot water, dissolve pills in “just enough” water to make it a little more than a paste, then add apple juice. Dose the horse the awful medicine first, then dose a second with apple juice and/or apple sauce. Towards the end of the month my anaplasmosis gelding was shoving his face onto the oral syringe. The guy with the pelvic break resented me still, but I knew I got it all in him…

The other way you can dose, if it is a small amount of liquid (IE, APF and some thia-supplements) is to split the dose evenly on top of a dry ginger snap or graham cracker. I have never had a horse say no to a ginger snap.

[BrookdaleBay]

At my barn, we make a hole in a carrot and shove the pill in there. Never had a problem.

[ChocoMare]

If they don’t like Fig Newtons (great idea, BTW), try banana - same method. Give banana as is for a few days. Then crush pills and mush it into the banana My late Percheron would sell her soul for a banana, peel and all.

Also can try crushing them and mixing with unsweetened apple sauce, like the lunch kit version.

[Training_Cupid]

When my old horse was on Previcox I used a mortar and pestle to grind it and put it with her usual feed. This horse was very picky about medication (never did find a way to disguise bute!) but Previcox in grain didn’t seem to be an issue.

[EverElite]

@BrookdaleBay

At my barn, we make a hole in a carrot and shove the pill in there. Never had a problem.

I use this to give a quartered Previcox, but with anything bigger I’ve found that cutting an apple in half and either shoving the pill in (if soft enough) or carving a spot out for the pill works like a charm. I use a hoof pick.

[cayuse]

I either 1. quarter an apple and stick the pill deep inside 2. Do the same thing but with a carrot or 3. Crush it, mix it with applesauce and use a dose syringe.
Method #3 is a really big hit with the minis, they will actually grab onto the syringe for their “treat” and won’t let go.

[Equibrit]

You need one of these;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0…d_i=8297619011

or several.

Crush pill with something horsey finds tasty, (apple sauce), fill syringe and shove it down.

Carrot powder ? http://www.bulkfoods.com/wholesale-dried-vegetables/2112-Carrot-Powder-5-pounds.html
with some water.

[ClaireBear_NZ]

I push my Cushings horse’s tablets into part of an apple. He gets that before his feed. Thankfully he’s very food-oriented.

[mmeqcenter]

I’m on the dosing them train.
Large oral syringes are extremely cheap. ETA what Equibrit linked to. Mix with water, applesauce, etc, shoot in just like dewormer. Voila, horse got its meds.

[alterblue]

You need these:

https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/pill-camo-original-flavor-14365

The small size fits a tab of Equioxx easily and my horse will happily eat them out of my hand. The center is really sticky so the pills won’t fall out. Fig Newtons are cheaper if your horse will eat them, but mine wouldn’t.

[sascha]

Knock on wood, nobody at my barn has had a problem with feeding Previcox by hand. Most of the time, I bite a slice into a chunk of liquorice and stick the pill into the opening and feed it that way. If I’m out of big chunks of liquorice, I might put the pill into my hand with a few peppermints or small liquorice beans. No argument and my horse is FUSSY. Others at the barn use peppermints. I don’t think any have bothered with the boring a hole in a carrot thing since years. They are also all used to hand fed treats/rewards though, so if yours are not, they might be suspicious of suddenly being offered treats by hand for no reason.

[Judy_in_Texas]

Thank all of you so much. And, keep those ideas coming! The tricky gelding does not like carrots or apples or licorice, but I have not tried fig newtons or banana. If that doesn’t work I’ll go with the smartpak treats.

I read the package insert on the Prascend and it says to not handle it too much because of the ergot. That, plus we have a neighbor feed when we are gone. She is very horse-savvy but also very busy, so I’d much rather not go with a syringe solution.

Beowulf, I like to see them eat it too. That’s how I caught them tossing it! They are both very smooth about it: chomp, chomp, chomp, swing head, splat, swing head back, chomp, chomp…

sascha, you gave me another idea – I could try putting the pills in jelly beans. We haven’t had the mare as long so some of the other suggestions may work on her. She was so ticked at me the last two nights. She would start eating and then look at me with great disapproval – “You keep ruining my feed!”

[newhorsemommy]

Some horses really like fenugreek. I use the powder when I need to convince my gelding to eat something. You can buy a small amount for a test at any grocery store that sells bulk herbs.

[newhorsemommy]

Chasteberry also has a pretty overwhelming smell and I assume taste. My gelding loves it and I add a “heaping” teaspoon to his feed everyday which also likely helps to hide pills. I use it in addition to the Prascend. My gelding got to the point where he would not eat the previcox tab in ANYTHING, so I switched to meloxicam and he gobbles those tablets right up (and it’s working better). He also recently stopped eating the cookies with the Prascend which had worked for years, so now I just drop it in his feed with the other supplements and chasteberry powder.

[2tempe]

Had a picky horse and dosing was the only solution. Actually bought something called Grooma Easy Wormer Drench Bit for him.
Current horse was on long course antibiotics. We ground them up and mixed in small container of apple sauce, a little KAro syrup on top and a handful of not-his-normal grain and that was perfect. Fed in small rubber tub.

[My_Two_Cents]

I feel blessed that I can just dissolve the Prascend and mix it into soaked feed. It gets mixed through out the whole bucket so he can’t sort it out.

[WendellsGirl]

We tried all of the above with success for oh, about a week, until the darn old smart horse would be on to us. The longterm solution that we stumbled on completely by accident? Peanut butter filled bite-sized pretzels! Not sure if PB is acceptable for horses, but it was super important to get the pills into him, and it worked!