He likes Purina Equine Senior…I use that for his Prascend. He is also IR so I have to be careful. I’m always open to suggestions. What he DOES like is Standlee Gastric Support. I would have bet money he wouldn’t touch it because of the odor, but he loves the stuff.
Yeah, IR + Cushings + picky can be really tough!
Could you mix the Standlee GS with maybe 1 or 2 cups of Purina Equine Senior, and start with a teaspoon or tablespoon at a time of the VB Pro? I also did the similar in reverse, started with 2lbs of Senior + 1lb hay cubes but a full dose of VBP on the picky bugger, then slowly dialed down the senior one cup at a time to the current amount. This was after I’d successfully gotten him to eat the VBP with previous concoctions, though, just not consistently. I’d probably start with stuff he likes plus a sprinkle of VBP for one who has previously refused to touch it.
I’ve also had okay luck with the palatability of CA Trace Plus pellets, but I prefer the nutrient profile and price of the VBPro.
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I’m grateful that I don’t have a super picky gelding, but I did get a bag of VB earlier this year that smelled a bit stale - I reached out to Nicole at CEN and she said that likely my bag contained the bottom/fines of the Diamond V Yeast and that likely accounted for the stale smell. It was still safe to feed, though she sent me a free bag in case my horse didn’t want to eat it (kudos to CEN!). He indeed turned his nose to it at first. I’ve always fed VB w/ a base of soaked timothy pellets. I would soak the pellets, then add his VB, salt, flax, and Emcelle. With this bag, I found that he would more readily eat it if I added the VB/Salt/Emcelle, and then mixed in the ground flax at the very end.
When I started my gelding on a forage balancer as a 2 year-old, I did have to feed about 1 cup of TC Senior to get him to eat it. As he ate it more consistently, I eased off on the amount of the senior until the bag was gone. And he doesn’t even miss it now. It may take some trial and error. I know others have started with a small as a tablespoon of the VB and worked their way up.
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When I was trying to get my mare to eat the VB, I started with a really, really tiny amount. Like a teaspoon. She’d eat it at that small amount but once I started getting close to the serving size, she would start refusing. And this is a hoover of a mare. That’s why I’m hoping the pellets will work! Just need to get through my current stock of a different VMS first.
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This is exactly what mine did. He ate a tiny bit…but when we got close to the correct amount - nope.
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The combo that works for mine with VB Pro is : 1 cup Timothy. Balance Cubes/ 1/4 cup Triple crown Naturals Golden Ground Flax/1 cup Hygain Zero …for the fussier eaters I’ll add either a handful of Cavalor FiberForce or Tribute Seniority Low NSC along with Swanson Natural Vitamin E capsules
Does anyone just feed the VB, a squirt of omega fat and Vit E successfully?
That is really the only way it will work for me. I have some super fatties and lots of grass, so I am trying to get them to a bare minimum carrier. I like to reduce forage last, though of course I will if I have to.
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Do you mean in some sort of hay pellet/cube? I can’t imagine any horse agreeing to eat just the powder + omega + Vit E on its own, that would likely be vile. But I do know of folks who successfully have their horses just eating in soaked hay pellets or cubes.
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When I introduced Charlie to forage balancers we started with CalTrace and he wouldn’t touch it. What helped us was mixing up a spray bottle of a couple cups or water and a couple TBSP of molasses and spray. I slowing reduced the amount of molasses and we’ve had no issues since. We did switch over to VBPro after he tested lows for Vit E on the CT, and no issues with the switch either.
I soak his in beet pulp shreds, flax/vit E, a couple supplements and his thyro-l.
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Will your guy eat alfalfa pellets? This is going to sound crazy but what I do is mix my guy’s VBP and his other supplements and oil in powdered alfalfa pellets. I use my coffee grinder to do a kind of course grind and then mix everything into that. I also put in a slug of the Equisweet peppermint as well. I feed this along with soaked beet pulp
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Beet pulp shreds soak pretty quickly, especially with warm water, and since they are about 9c/lb, 1-2c is insignificant calories, but a decent carrier for powdered things.
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This might work! He dislikes powder and he dislikes pellets. Some sort of an alfalfa crumble is worth a try. Thank you for the idea!
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I highly suggest not buying a sample if you actually want to know if your horses will eat it.
I paid $15 for this. I have paid less for coffee I use for a month. Sigh.!
I won’t be buying this because there is not enough for me to see how palatable it is.
Maybe this was an adequate size for a scoop a day, but I am not buying a $100 bag based on this.
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The samples are designed to be per horse, unfortunately. They’re not really designed to be an adequate size to try for multiple horses for multiple days, unfortunately. 
You might try reaching out to Nicole to see if she’d be willing to sell you a larger sample size. She’s super helpful IME.
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For one horse I think they should send you a sample for free. I have several I was considering moving onto it from a ration balancer. The amount sent is absurd for $15. I paid a decent amount for a sample I think. I was expecting to be able to try it.
I am not buying a $100 bag that is supposed to last for 3 months when I pay $15 for a sample that won’t last 3 days for one horse.
I was excited to try this for my easy keepers. I’ll stay on a RB.
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You only have to feed 1/2 cup a day. IIRC the samples last 5 or 6 days for one horse? But it’s been a long time since I’ve ordered one.
Sorry you’re disappointed! CEN is a really small, one-woman business. She’s not making a ton of money off samples or supplements. I suspect the $15 just barely covers the production cost of the supplement and shipping. Personally I understand why she can’t/doesn’t send samples for free (and can’t think of very many small businesses that do?), but I understand the frustration.
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The owner is great, very nice and helpful. And knowledgeable.
I started with a sample to make sure my guy would eat it ok and I thought the sample was great. I’d rather spend $15 than buy a whole bag and hope.
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And the $15 sample is the pro–which is only 1/4c per day. I recall getting a week or more out of it? I thought it was pretty generous for a sample, tbh!!
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That’s a great way to put a small business under. They should give out free product AND ship it to you on their dime, too?
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How many horses? That’s ample plenty to offer a palm full to 6 or more…
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