b'NUTRITIONmilkweed and goldenrod are avoided. There are a lot of variations, so try Thats also why horses willswitching to another kind of grain that has the same nutrients but may have a sometimesand wiselynix hay bales contaminated by noxious plants, mold, ordifferent smell or flavor, Thunes says. even a decaying animal, Thunes says. If they wont eat one kind of grain, keep If the horse is avoiding hay, check it totrying. Puttingbe sure its free of these contaminants,Eventually, the horse should respond. Thunes says. How long it takes varies between horses. Forage First I always ask people how long they Savory Solutions have been giving the horse this particular So how does an owner feed a finickyfeed and how long has he been refusing horse? Thunes says getting the animal toto eat it, Thunes says. You have to try consume forage is the best place to start.(the new feed product) for long enough Horses can go without grain, but theyto give it a fair chanceleave it in their have got to eat enough forage, she says. stall overnight, and you may find they eat On average, a 1,000-pound horse re- it even if they are disinterested when you quires 15-25 pounds of forage every day.first feed them. Keep trying for several When horses turn up their noses at hay, itdays with the same feed before giving up. is critical that owners find viable alterna- Its possible that if they realize that they tives such as hay pellets, beet pulp, or aarent getting anything else, or that it isnt complete senior feed or consider differentactually killing them, that theyll eat it.types of hay, such as some alfalfa in placeWhile the research into horses tastes of grass hay.continues, some owners have other ques-tions, too, about whether horses flavor preferences change over time, and if Try switching toexposure to the taste preferences of other another kind of grainequids determines whether they do. Clarissa Cupolo, a horse trainer basedFor more information visitthat has the same nutri- in Parrish, Florida, says her Quarter ents but may have a dif- Horse Mocha consistently turned herwww.ADMEquine.comnose up at peppermint treats when she ferent smell or flavor. was a young filly.DR. CLAIR THUNES Now she will run you over for one, Cupolo says. Meanwhile, her Haflinger Beauregard You can replace up to about 40% ofdeveloped a taste for sour ones. I had a their hay intake with beet pulp, or haylemonade slushy that was just too sour pellets can also be added (to a horses diet)for me, but Beauregard absolutely loved to reduce the number of pounds of hay ait, she adds.horse has to eat a day, Thunes says. And,Likewise, his stablemate now begs for it is a rare horse that wont eat alfalfa. tangerine peels and munches the fruit Some people also add molasses to feedafter the seeds have been removed.or oral medications to entice the horse toI think it has to do with what they are eat (them) and reduce sorting, Francisused to and what they see other horses says, but, commercially, you can get beeteating, Cupolo says.pulp with molasses or without it. AddingWhatever the reason, horses enjoy molasses may not be a viable option forsome flavors and avoid others, just as horses that are sensitive to nonstructuralpeople do. We dont know if horses have carbohydrates (NSC), such as those withcravings the way we do but, no matter equine metabolic syndrome, insulin resis- what you put in front of some horses, tance, or are prone to foundering.there are some things they just wont eat, Owners can enhance a concentratesays Thunes. Some horses are just more feeds taste topically by combining flavorslikely to try new things than others.that tempt most horses in an oil carrierFor Yakin-Palmer, the challenge to find and mixing them into the horses feed.what consistently appeals to Cera is ongo-They can also experiment by switchinging. Next Ill try a feed that has the proper from pellets to textured feed, according tonutrients, but no flavor, she says. Ill find horses preferences. something that she likes eventually.hTheHorse.com|The HorseJanuary 202027Nutrition_Jan_use.indd 27 12/4/19 1:01 PM'