Top Tips from Dr. Rachel Mottet – Equine Nutritionist: Getting Your Horse to Eat a New Supplement

Most horse owners know that horses are extremely gut-sensitive creatures and can be finicky eaters at times. This can be especially apparent when a new supplement is introduced into the diet.

When something tastes unique to what your horse is used to, there can be a period of curiosity and uncertainty about eating it. This is why some supplements take an acclimation period before your horse will fully accept them as part of their everyday diet.

Reluctance to eat something new happens more often with supplements than feed. You might now be wondering, why are supplements less palatable than feed? Feeds often undergo palatability trials before hitting the market and they incorporate ingredients that are readily eaten by horses. When it comes to supplements, however, we find a market with numerous products that provide some type of therapeutic benefit for the horse, yet don’t have the
greatest natural taste.

Think of it this way – remember back to a time when daily vitamins and minerals weren’t in gummy format or flavored? They were pretty boring, chalky, and not at all exciting to eat. Another example is, did your parents ever make you drink cod liver oil? If you had this experience you know it tasted awful even though it was good for you! I’m sure you get this and can think of something good for you that didn’t taste great. Some equine supplements that provide a huge health benefit to the horse have that same phenomenon of not being super tasty.

While some supplement companies will pack their products with sugar to mask less enticing tastes, adding sugar is not always the right answer. This is especially relevant in a time when equine obesity and metabolic disease are highly prevalent. So, what should you do when you’re introducing a new supplement that you know is good for your horse but isn’t gaining early acceptance?

Follow my tips below for the best chance of success!

Tips for Introducing a New Supplement:

1. Start Slow: Begin with ¼-½ of the Recommended Amount for 1-3 days

This will give your horse time to discover something new in their feed. How they respond to the new supplement will be a good indicator of how long the transition will need to be.
Most supplements are fed at a small enough amount that they don’t require a lengthy transition period, but your horse’s acceptance of the product, or lack thereof, will be your guide to how fast or slow you can go.

2. Gradually Increase to the Full Feeding Rate
If your horse eats the supplement without issue, continue to increase the amount over 1-3 additional days until the full serving size is reached.
Keep an eye on your horse to make sure there are no adverse effects to feeding the product, which there shouldn’t be but it’s good practice to keep an eye out anytime you make dietary changes. If you’re easily able to get to the full serving size and your horse is doing well with the product, this is the best-case scenario and you can disregard the rest of the list!

3. Dampen or Soak Feed to Help with Mixing
If your horse is reluctant to try the supplement, try dampening or soaking their feed. This helps the supplement mix in better, and the moist texture may make it more palatable for your horse. Once they begin to accept the supplement, continue increasing the amount over the next 1 - 3 days until the full serving size is reached.

4. Mix in a Favorite Snack
If dampening doesn’t do the trick, try mixing the supplement with something your horse loves, but that can’t be easily sorted out from the meal.
Avoid things like apple slices, which can be plucked out leaving behind in the tub what they don’t want. Instead, I suggest going with something that can easily be soaked like forage pellets, forage cubes, beet pulp, or something that has a sauce, paste or powder consistency like applesauce, ground peppermints or molasses. Things that you know your horse loves!

5. Be Patient and Build Up to the Full Feeding Rate
Once you’ve found a method that works, continue building up to the full dose of the supplement over the next 1-3 days.

On rare occasions, even with all these tips, some horses may simply refuse to accept a supplement. The best thing you can do in these cases is go slow, try different flavor combinations to sweeten the pot, and don’t get discouraged.

It seems fitting here to talk about the Kelato supplement, PROTEK GI, as this supplement calls for a longer acclimation period due to its physical property of being a heavy fibrous powder and the feeding rate can be close to 250 grams twice a day.

This feeding rate is quite high compared to many supplements but this is the research-proven amount to provide benefit to your horse, so it’s very important to follow the dosing instructions based on the weight of your horse.

If you’re initiating the PROTEK GI into your horse’s diet, I suggest taking a full 5-7 days to transition and to use the tips above. This supplement is a perfect example of one that is research-proven to provide health benefits, but it sometimes takes a little time to get used to!

I hope these tips help! If you have questions or need guidance on introducing PROTEK GI, feel free to reach out to us here at Kelato USA on info@kelato.us 

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