Turning nose up at feed

ForestGump

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Apr 9, 2008
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Hampshire
Recently Forest has started to turn his nose up at his feed. He always is happy to see his bowl and does a little neigh when he sees it, but then just proceeds to throwing it around and picking the bucket up and dropping it again. He eats maybe a half to three quarters of the contents.

This morning he refused to eat any of it and just played up and throw the bowl, so I tipped it out in a pile in the field and left as I had to catch my bus, he ate all of it then as I didn't pay him any attention.
This afternoon I left him to eat on his own to see if his tantrum was attention directed. And came back to find food all up his face and scattered on the floor, although more then three quarters was eaten this time.
This evening, he called and came running over for his dinner, then proceeded to throw it around and have another tantrum. He ate half of it and the rest got thrown around.

Is there a reason for him doing this? I was thinking of reducing his feed now the grass is starting as he still needs weight but maybe doesn't want that much hard feed. Would that be something to consider?
:confused:
 
There isn't a lot of grass in his field at the moment and hes getting about a haynet of haylage a day. Hes living out 24/7 though at the moment ;)
 
There maybe more grass than you think.

Mine looks like moss and nothing more but the hay I bunged down yesterday was still there today so there is more than I think.

Remember that even with very short grass it is high in sugars in the growing season. If there were hay/hayledge in the field would he eat that rather than look around for the few tasty shoots there are?
 
There maybe more grass than you think.

Mine looks like moss and nothing more but the hay I bunged down yesterday was still there today so there is more than I think.

Remember that even with very short grass it is high in sugars in the growing season. If there were hay/hayledge in the field would he eat that rather than look around for the few tasty shoots there are?

He will eat the haylage I put out and then go and graze, but if more hay is thrown out then he will come running over to get it. The field he is in had been grazed on for a week and a half now by him and another TB so there isn't a lot left in there.

But I'm not sure whether reducing or changing feeds will help him. ATM hes having the calmer chaff as I ran out of cherry so I'm burrowing of a friend until I get some, which could be causing the tantrums as he will only eat cherry chaff.:rolleyes:
 
I think you might have answered your own question :D

Your boy knows what he likes :rolleyes:

He certainly does. When his calm and condition runs out I might just buy him a leisure mix to see if that encourages him to eat. Turns out the TB mare might be staying again, but she might not be. :rolleyes:
 
Nimby is a fussy little so and so, i swapped his cheap chaf for some nice Alfa-a, would the little toe-rag eat it? Nope.

He just stands there tipping it all on the floor, pickong out hard feed and leaving the rest. Horses ARE a nightmare. Atleast Lantern will eat anything!
 
Nimby is a fussy little so and so, i swapped his cheap chaf for some nice Alfa-a, would the little toe-rag eat it? Nope.

He just stands there tipping it all on the floor, pickong out hard feed and leaving the rest. Horses ARE a nightmare. Atleast Lantern will eat anything!

I wish he would eat anything!

He used to be on Alpha A and I had this sort of behaviour, constant tantruming and throwing the bucket, and picking at the feed like it was poison!
Then I changed him to cherry chaff and instantly he started eating really well and licking the bucket clean. Hes had 1 handful of calmer chaff in each feed for a day (only a handful as don't want to use too much of someone elses :eek:) and hes turning his nose up in disguist!

If he won't eat it when hes back on cherry chaff then I'll try a leisure mix instead of calm and condition to see if it makes any difference :rolleyes:
 
I wish he would eat anything!

He used to be on Alpha A and I had this sort of behaviour, constant tantruming and throwing the bucket, and picking at the feed like it was poison!
Then I changed him to cherry chaff and instantly he started eating really well and licking the bucket clean. Hes had 1 handful of calmer chaff in each feed for a day (only a handful as don't want to use too much of someone elses :eek:) and hes turning his nose up in disguist!

If he won't eat it when hes back on cherry chaff then I'll try a leisure mix instead of calm and condition to see if it makes any difference :rolleyes:

Lol, i went from cherry chaff to alfa a too and had the same reaction! Luckily Nim is a complete fatty atm so it doesn't really matter too much! Lantern's the sort that if you fed him a bowl of mud he'd eat it all! Nimby LOVES build-up cubes ;)
 
Lol, i went from cherry chaff to alfa a too and had the same reaction! Luckily Nim is a complete fatty atm so it doesn't really matter too much! Lantern's the sort that if you fed him a bowl of mud he'd eat it all! Nimby LOVES build-up cubes ;)

Lol, if the YO comes round with mud on his coat then Forest always trys to lick it, but if you offer him some :eek: you get a face of absolute diguist, that a horse like Forest would ever dream of eating mud! :p

Hes seems to only want something if:
a) It makes your life more difficult
b) You don't want him to have it
:rolleyes::)
 
Kai had started doing the same thing so last weekend I reduced him to one meal a day and it's smaller than the two meals he was having. Now he's eating it all and there's much less mess and wastage :) The grass is coming through veeeeeeeeeery quickly now!
 
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