# Horse Won't Eat Grain . . .



## vanna (Apr 2, 2011)

I posted a couple weeks ago about my hussy mare and my gelding who had gone nuts. A week ago, my gelding suffered a serious eye injury. we think the mare or my other gelding kicked him in the head. His eye still looks terrible despite steroids, antibiotics and bute. Anyway, he did not eat grain the day after the injury occurred. His head was swollen and he seemed to be in pain when he ate. He would eat hay. He then went back to eating grain for a couple of days and we had to put aspirin in it. I drizzled it with molassis to hide the taste. He refused to eat it and still won't. He has not eated grain (sweet feed) for 4 days now. He will eat hay and some horse apple-flavored treats. I think he's afraid we have laced it. He can eat the apple treats so I don't know if he still has soreness of not. Does anybody have any ideas for what I can do to get him to eat the feed? This horse has always eaten grain twice a day and I'm afraid he'll get malnourished on just hay.


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## beauforever23 (May 6, 2010)

call the vet...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ErikaLynn (Aug 3, 2010)

He could have an abscess in his mouth, maybe he bit the inside of his mouth when he got kicked. You can look around in there...or if you don't feel comfortable doing that, call your vet


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

I don't believe horses are smart enough or stubborn enough to refuse food because they think it is laced. Dogs and cats maybe but horses not so much.

How long was he on bute and at what dosage? Could be stomach ulcers. I would call a vet to get them to assess.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

I agree with Sarah.


I suggest you make sure his grain bucket is clean and free of med smells.


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## vanna (Apr 2, 2011)

He only took bute for 3 or 4 days. He eats hay and the apple treats which are way thicker and harder than feed. The smell of meds in his trough may be an idea though. I'll try that. I don't guess he thinks the feed is laced, but he probably does know if there is something out of the ordinary that tastes or smells bad.
As far as calling a vet, I can call, but all of the horse people in my area do alot of their own vet work. The nearest vet in any direction that will see large animals is 50 miles away so it's no so easy to get one to come out. They all say to bring the horse to them and when a horse is hurt or sore or truly sick it's not always possible.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Has the vet not seen the eye injury?


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## vanna (Apr 2, 2011)

Yes. The vet will come for emergencies, but if they know you well and know you are capable of caring for your horse, they do as much as possible on the phone. 

Since I posted this thread, the horse has actually eaten a few mouthfuls of grain, so hopefully he's on his way back.

If anyone wants to become a horse vet in eastern KY, they could get plenty of work.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Still confused, probably because I did not word my question very well.

Did the vet come out? Or did you do over the phone vetting on this eye injury?


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Sweet feed isn't good for them anyway. Try alfalfa pellets or soaked alfalfa cubes. If he'll eat that, then just add a vitamin/mineral supplement and a little fat (like flax meal or Empower) and he'll be getting all of the nutrition he needs without all the junk that he doesn't. If he's on free choice hay, he should only need 1-4 lbs of alfalfa and 2-6 oz of fat to keep up his weight, even in moderate to heavy riding/training.

I agree, though, ask your vet. You want to rule out any injury related issues or possible mouth or stomach ulcers.


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## vanna (Apr 2, 2011)

I think we found the problem. My husband bought feed with cracked corn last week. After thinking about this, there was a time awhile back that we got feed with cracked corn instead of whole corn. The feed truck is only open Thursday - Sunday so there was no way to get more until yesterday. Yesterday we got feed with whole corn and he ate it up. I don't know what tastes different about it, but something does. I guess he's just a picky eater!

I know that some of you who live in areas where vets and farm stores and alfalfa hay is readily available just can't imagine what it is like with limited resources. I'm glad you don't have to.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Eye injuries are horribly painful. If a vet has not seen this (since you describe it as a bad injury) it is extremely important that you find a vet and have the horse looked at. 
Some things can be treated with out a vet. Eye injuries are serious and guessing the wrong way on medications can lead to permanent problems.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

I've lived in a town of 1,100 people before, with the nearest "city" of 30,000 people almost an hour away and the nearest Interstate 30 minutes away. My feed store still carried alfalfa pellets. I ordered my vitamins and flax online. Vet was difficult, so I feel your pain there, but having healthy feed wasn't hard to manage.


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## vanna (Apr 2, 2011)

I really just wanted some ideas on getting this horse to eat his feed, but I have now discovered that he will eat if I get a certain feed. The vet has seen the eye and provided antibiotics and pain meds for him. The vet will not come running to every call for me or anybody else. 
I have been a horse owner myself for 30 years and my family owned a Saddlebred training facility in the 1970s and 80s. 
We do have a Tractor Supply that has been opened for about a year and they have alfalfa cubes, but people here just don't feed alfalfa because there is no place to get it without having to haul it a long way and they the availability may not be consistent and alfalfa cost about $12.00 a bale! People feed timothy, orchard grass, clover . .mixed hay. Mixed hay is about $3-$4 a bale. I do not know of any horse owner who just feeds hay and no sweet feed to go with it. No oats either. Some people do feed corn. The only horses that get just grass are those who are turned out or abandoned strip mine sites and are not in contact with humans much at all. I supposed horse diets may be a regional thing just as human diets are.
I am capable of feeding a heathy diet even with limited resources. I guess I asked my question here prematurely. The horse is eating again. He's fat and shiny and has never had any health problems. 
BTW, the treatment the vet has provided for him is working. The eye is not completely healed, but it is looking better and he is acting like he feels better.

Thanks to all of you who responded.


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

vanna said:


> I do not know of any horse owner who just feeds hay and no sweet feed to go with it. No oats either...


I am one of those people to some extent. During the winter, we feed a mixture of beet pulp and sweet feed only 4 times a week at most. Our horses are boarded a ways away but they need it because we have one that is a harder keeper. In the summer, we only give it to them as a treat after a ride. The rest of the time they get hay in winter and pasture in the summer. The barn only grains the horses that are stalled, about 1/4 of the total horses there. The rest only get hay or pasture.

Horses don't really need to get grain or sweet feed, unless they aren't getting a good quality hay, or if they are in intense work.

Not being biased and I know the hay ours get isn't the best, our horses look the better than the rest where they are at, even the BO's horses and the horses that are stalled. They look really good, have good muscle and they are not fat. The barn owners came to us asking what we give our horses and they've been in the business for many years, 20 to 30. We've only had horses for less than 5. We only ride on the weekends. With 6 horses and 2 riders, they don't get rode every weekend. My wife's horse gets rode most weekends by her and I have to alternate 4 of the rest. The last one is more of a pasture ornament and is rarely rode due to medical problems when she was young. 

IMHO, I think letting horses have free choice hay is more important than getting grain. Also, I think giving beet pulp is more beneficial than grain. Even though we give sweet feed with the beet pulp, it is more of a treat which helps to get them to eat the beet pulp. If you look at the feces, there is still undigested grain in it. Beet pulp is digested much easier.

BTW, glad to hear he's eating again.


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## vanna (Apr 2, 2011)

These horses are in the barn alot. We have very little pasture land to turn them out and turning them all out is what got the eye put out! They get plenty of hay. Maybe horses don't need grain, but every horse I own has gotten grain their entire lives, with maybe the exception of the mare. She was well fed by her previous owner, but he had to turn her out to pasture for a couple of years before he brought her to me. His uncle was giving her hay and grass and she has a huge grass belly. She looks pregnant, but the rest of her body was way too thin. Her shoulders and backbone didn't have much padding on them at all. 

I am so used to horses eating grain tht when they stop, I worry. I have seen horses colic and die and I guess I am just a little paranoid.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

I do not feed alfalfa hay. I use alfalfa pellets or cubes INSTEAD of "feed". You only need to feed 1-5 lbs a day, which is less than what you should be feeding of sweet feed for full nutrition. My local TSC has Alfalfa pellets for $9.99 for 40 lbs or cubes for $12 for 50 lbs. You can soak the cubes to help them break up.

My hay is mixed grass hay, bermuda and local grasses, in squares that are $3-6 each or rounds that are $25-40 each, delivered prices for both. Alfalfa is not grown in Arkansas due to the risk for blister beetles. It's $12-15 a bale here when you can find it, imported from northern states.

What was once considered a fine feed research is now showing is not good for horses. Ingredients like corn, molasses, wheat middlings, grain sweepings, and other "junk" fillers are not good. Diets high in starch have been found to be detrimental to health and foot growth. High starch can also cause behavioral issues and "moody mares."


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