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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 408
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To make a long story short, both of my horses live to eat, feeding time is their highlight of their day, they are right there, they will come galloping from the field and you better get out of their way! We feed them stragegy and have been for years. At night they take a digestive supplement (they have been taking it for a year and Equine Omega Gold) they get one flake of alfalfa hay twice a day and free choice hay and pasture (not much now with the snow). they are never stalled unless the weather is bad. They are up to date on deworming etc.
A few days ago they started not wanting to come in the barn which is very unusual. All what they want to do is stand by the fence by the other horses (there is a mare with the other two geldings)
Yesterday my main horse stopped eating all together and all he wanted to do was get out of the barn and go to the fence. He did not act sick (he was alert, no fever, passing manure, drinking etc) but the fact that he was not interested in his feed was worrying me sick. I called the vet and he came over in the afternoon. He checked him all over and he couldn't find anything wrong with him, he did their coggins and gave both their annual shots. While the vet was there I fed them (I even open a BRAND NEW BAG OF STRATEGY) AND nothing, my little fellaw ate some but my main man did not touch it. I went and put a bit of sweet feed on top of the strategy and my main man ate some of it but not all of it. My vet and I were looking at each other like "WTH?" SO my vet got to the conclusion that it is very possible that he just got tired of the STRATEGY or he is too concern about the mare on the other pasture (even though that mare has been there for years). Anyways, we let the horses out of the barn and went straight to eat hay and we saw them drinking too so that was good.
This morning, we went to feed and we had to go and physically put them in their stalls, my main man will not even touch his feed and my little fella hardly ate his (AGAIN, BRAND NEW BAG), we turned them out and they did not even go to eat hay, they just stood by the fence to the other horses.
So my questions to you guys are: have any of you ever experience this kind of behavior with their horses? what other feed can I give them that is good quality and won't make them crazy? (I am going to get them something different and see if that will do the trick? ANY SUGGESTIONS? I am going crazy here! And yes, if the behavior keeps going on they are both going to another vet ASAP!!!!
THANK YOU FOR ANY FEEDBACK!!! |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
 
| With all the feed poisoning with ionosphores, I would send a sample of the feed to a lab to test it. There is a reason they don't want it. It could be boredom or a new interest in the mare, but it could be there is something in the feed they don't want to eat.
I hope you find a answer and please keep us updated. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | I definitely think it's the strategy. Different bags, but same batch? All bought at the same time from the same store? I wouldn't offer it to them again. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| Do they eat their alfalfa if you put I think out for them? I would take them off grain, you can get them their nutrition without feeding processed grains. Hope they get better soon. I would also give them ulcer meds and see if that doesn't help them. |
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 Too Skinny
Posts: 8009
Location: LA Lower Alabama | I would give them Jump start paste and stop feeding feeds, just hays, for a few days. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
| Two horses in the same pasture that do not eat is rather unusual. That happened to me years ago and my horses had been poisoned by a neighbor. Could something be happening to them in the barn that makes them afraid? Could someone be shooting the side of the barn or maybe an animal has come through such as a coyote or big cat? Since horses are creatures of flight and you confine them they react in strange ways. Recently I had a horse that would not get in her stall and I finally figured out that the neighbors were shooting at her with a pellet gun. It is the only stall they can shoot into.
Somebody's pet hog? That would do it.
Edited by streakysox 2017-01-10 9:43 AM
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | What type of barn do you have, is it metal, wood? And what are they eating out of,, plastic or metal feed buckets? I wonder if maybe they could be feeling a electrical current going threw the barn. |
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 Hummer's Hero
Posts: 3071
Location: Smack Dab in the Middle | Strategy is made in an ionophore free, horse only facility, so that is highly doubtful. There is a possibility of contamination from poor storage. I also would question things like, same batch? same retailer? What is the manufacture date on the bottom tape of the bag? It's rather hard to make Strategy go bad...there is so little moisture in it, unless it got wet in handling (after bagging) somehow or bug got in it. I've had bags from either June or July, then bags from November...there was no spoilage in the older bags, and though I could see a little color difference between the two, I had no issues with feeding it.
I've fed Strategy for almost 18 years and only ever had ONE horse quit eating it, and it turned out he had ulcers and intestinal edema from an unknown cause, possibly some type of cancer. Totally unrelated to feed.
I'd look into something environmental in the barn, since they don't seem to even want to come to it. Are the horses by the fence new? Mare in heat maybe? I have a gelding that gets goofy over certain mares and won't eat if his girlfriend isn't in the barn with him.
Edited by RockinGR 2017-01-10 10:05 AM
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Expert
Posts: 1280
Location: Texas | Could they be eating acorns? We had a huge bumper crop of acorns and it did affect my horses to varying degrees. |
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 Lone Wolf in my pack of One
Posts: 2825
Location: North Texas | My mare does this when there is a horse turned out next door. Won't eat and paces when locked up.
Haven't figured out why. Just started keeping her locked up when they were out so she couldn't go to the fence....she wouldn't even come up for water though. |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| Southtxponygirl - 2017-01-10 9:54 AM
What type of barn do you have, is it metal, wood? And what are they eating out of,, plastic or metal feed buckets? I wonder if maybe they could be feeling a electrical current going threw the barn.
My thoughts were electricity too. |
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Veteran
Posts: 242
| If they will eat their hay try taking their strategy out to where the hay is. They sound like something in the barn area has them worried & they just want out. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1100
Location: Southeastern Idaho | Griz - 2017-01-10 10:11 AM
Southtxponygirl - 2017-01-10 9:54 AM
What type of barn do you have, is it metal, wood? And what are they eating out of,, plastic or metal feed buckets? I wonder if maybe they could be feeling a electrical current going threw the barn.
My thoughts were electricity too.
I thought the same thing...something funky is going on. Years ago at a rodeo, rope horses were not wanting to enter the roping box. I was in slack so was standing near the box. Horses were being led in then really acting up. Come to find out there was an electrical current (caused by the cook shack that was nearby) that was running underneath the roping boxes that the horses could sense. One guy nearly got bucked off. |
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 Maine-iac
Posts: 3334
Location: Got Lobsta? | I just about fell out of my chair when I read this. One of my horses stopped eating his grain 2 weeks ago. Than I noticed he was turning away from his hay. Gave him some alfalfa, wouldn't touch. This horse NEVER turned away from feed, give him a chance he'd eat his bucket. Nothing has changed, same feed, same hay, same everything. He is retired and I've owned him for 22 years - he is 27 and only been sick once when he was 5. Had the vet out, no temp, full cbc - came back good, fecal clean, so she sent out a test for lyme and Cushings. I've started him on UlcerGard as she said ulcers can just pop up even if a horse basically sits around and does nothing. Its been 4 days on UlcerGuard no real change. He drinks plenty, I too am at witts end. My friend's horse did this about a month ago and got better after 3 weeks. The Vet said she just had another horse she saw that is going through this and has no idea what it can be. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 408
| Mainer-racer - 2017-01-10 12:46 PM
I just about fell out of my chair when I read this. One of my horses stopped eating his grain 2 weeks ago. Than I noticed he was turning away from his hay. Gave him some alfalfa, wouldn't touch. This horse NEVER turned away from feed, give him a chance he'd eat his bucket. Nothing has changed, same feed, same hay, same everything. He is retired and I've owned him for 22 years - he is 27 and only been sick once when he was 5. Had the vet out, no temp, full cbc - came back good, fecal clean, so she sent out a test for lyme and Cushings. I've started him on UlcerGard as she said ulcers can just pop up even if a horse basically sits around and does nothing. Its been 4 days on UlcerGuard no real change. He drinks plenty, I too am at witts end. My friend's horse did this about a month ago and got better after 3 weeks. The Vet said she just had another horse she saw that is going through this and has no idea what it can be.
where are you located????????? |
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Maine-iac
Posts: 3334
Location: Got Lobsta? | I am in Maine. |
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Maine-iac
Posts: 3334
Location: Got Lobsta? | love2ridepre - 2017-01-10 1:47 PM Mainer-racer - 2017-01-10 12:46 PM I just about fell out of my chair when I read this. One of my horses stopped eating his grain 2 weeks ago. Than I noticed he was turning away from his hay. Gave him some alfalfa, wouldn't touch. This horse NEVER turned away from feed, give him a chance he'd eat his bucket. Nothing has changed, same feed, same hay, same everything. He is retired and I've owned him for 22 years - he is 27 and only been sick once when he was 5. Had the vet out, no temp, full cbc - came back good, fecal clean, so she sent out a test for lyme and Cushings. I've started him on UlcerGard as she said ulcers can just pop up even if a horse basically sits around and does nothing. Its been 4 days on UlcerGuard no real change. He drinks plenty, I too am at witts end. My friend's horse did this about a month ago and got better after 3 weeks. The Vet said she just had another horse she saw that is going through this and has no idea what it can be. where are you located?????????
Did you read another post that a lady's horse just went off feed, she's only 18? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 408
| I did! it is so weird...
What is so puzzling to me is that he looks fine, he is acting fine but he will not leave the fence right next to the other horses. those horses have been in that same pasture for MONTHS....SAME HORSES... nothing has changed! and now he cannot leave their sight and he has pasture mates of his own.... the whole thing is so strange. I just hope he is truly ok.  |
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Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| love2ridepre - 2017-01-10 1:27 PM I did! it is so weird... What is so puzzling to me is that he looks fine, he is acting fine but he will not leave the fence right next to the other horses. those horses have been in that same pasture for MONTHS....SAME HORSES... nothing has changed! and now he cannot leave their sight and he has pasture mates of his own.... the whole thing is so strange. I just hope he is truly ok.
Have you tried feeding him outside by the other horses? |
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Maine-iac
Posts: 3334
Location: Got Lobsta? | love2ridepre - 2017-01-10 2:27 PM I did! it is so weird... What is so puzzling to me is that he looks fine, he is acting fine but he will not leave the fence right next to the other horses. those horses have been in that same pasture for MONTHS....SAME HORSES... nothing has changed! and now he cannot leave their sight and he has pasture mates of his own.... the whole thing is so strange. I just hope he is truly ok.
Mine hasn't really changed either other than not eating. He actually still nickers to me when its feeding time but when I give him the food - nothing just a blank stare. I can get him to eat 1/2 apple - I'm hoping its just a bug and he'll get better soon. Waiting for those tests results. |
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