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  Discussion on Getting horse to eat
Author Message
Member:
Mboyd

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 13, 2005 - 9:48 pm:

We have a 29 year old TB in our barn who has cancer. The equine specialist thinks he has at least 6 months to live (comfortably -- no pain) if we can get him to eat. Right now he willingly grazes but here in Ohio the grass won't last much longer. We've tried different kinds of feed and he'll kind of pick at it but won't eat anywhere near enough. Does anyone have an old-fashioned cure for poor appetite?
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 13, 2005 - 11:46 pm:

Would probiotics perhaps help? And have you tried some of the senior feeds?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 14, 2005 - 7:11 am:

Very high quality timothy or even timothy alfalfa mix may be one of the most widely preferred forages of horses. However horses have individual preferences so trial and error is important. For more on feeding hard keepers and aged horses see Equine Diseases » Colic and GI Diseases » Weight Loss in Horses » Overview of Chronic Weight Loss.
DrO
Member:
Ramonah

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 20, 2005 - 5:22 am:

If I had an animal of that age, and knew that it's days where numbered, I would give the animal whatever it wanted to eat. I am not a fan of the complete feeds, but in this case I would try it. When our 13 yr old greyhound mix was diagnosed with terminal cancer, our sweet faithful companion got ground steak and boiled eggs when he could no longer maintain his weight on just dog food.
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 20, 2005 - 1:12 pm:

The Triple Crown alfalfa forage is easier to eat and digest than alfalfa hay and is cut at the peak of perfection in Washington State (blister beetle free). There is a bit of molasses added as well so it is dust free. It is highly palatable. Their timothy grass forage is of similar quality. My horses don't care much for timothy hay but love those grass forages -- especially the alfalfa. My Vet. told me some of her clients have replaced all of their usual hay with these products with excellent success.
Member:
Finogirl

Posted on Monday, Jan 2, 2006 - 12:44 am:

I know this is a little late on this subject, but I have totally replaced all of the hay with Triple Crown Chopped Timothy hay for our 20 yr old gelding, and our mare gets the Triple Crown Alfalfa/Timothy Cubes plus the Chopped Timothy Forage. They love it, it is clean, weed free, easily stored, no waste, available year round, so many advantages. They are out during the day and can graze. We live on the banks of a river, and every time I have tried to store hay in the barn it only lasts three months before it goes moldy. I think it is the extra moisture in the environment here. I had an older mare that stayed well and in good condition on Triple Crown Complete, it's not quite as rich as the senior feed but it's all good stuff.
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