{"id":5973,"date":"2015-11-19T14:56:15","date_gmt":"2015-11-19T03:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=5973"},"modified":"2025-11-10T18:09:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T07:09:46","slug":"horses-dont-like-minerals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturalhorseworld.com\/stage\/horses-dont-like-minerals\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Do When Horses Don’t Like Minerals"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carol Layton of Balanced Equine<\/a>.\"Flehem<\/p>\n

It’s always a relief when owners say their horses accept minerals<\/a> straight away but it is fairly common they don’t. Essentially you have to re-educate your horse’s palate and this can take time in some horses.<\/p>\n

Here is where you need to persevere, it may take some time to build up to the recommended amounts but it will pay off in the long run, especially for horses that are used to high sugar\/fat feeds.
\nGo back to basics and start with no salt, and no minerals and see if your horse will eat the main feed ingredients. Then add a pinch of minerals, no more than that and see if your horse will eat the feed.<\/p>\n

It’s best to introduce all new feeds and supplements into a horse\u2019s diet over 7 days.
\nDays 1 and 2 – \u00bc of the recommended serve
\nDays 3 and 4 \u2013 \u00bd of the recommended serve
\nDays 5 and 6 \u2013 \u00be of the recommended serve
\nDay 7 onwards \u2013 full recommended serve.<\/p>\n

I’d keep it that way for 2 or more weeks, however long it takes for your horse to become accustomed to the taste. If you stop feeding them for a while you may have to start again with a reduced dose.
\nSome people syringe the minerals in! That’s pretty extreme, and hopefully, you won’t have to do that.<\/p>\n

Here are some suggestions\u00a0for\u00a0disguising minerals<\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For non-sugar sensitive\/insulin-resistant IR horses, you could use molasses or something your horse finds particularly palatable like copra or wheat bran and then gradually reduce. It may take some trial and error to find the right feed\/additive but down the track, you can wean them off it.<\/p>\n

Another suggestion some have found helpful is beetroot powder, [beta (beet) vulgaris (common) rubra (red), obtainable from herb sellers though be aware that red root powder is not the same thing, (Caenothusamericanus), it’s not known to be harmful but certainly isn’t palatable.<\/p>\n

\""Where's
“Where’s the good stuff?”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mineral licks may seem like a good alternative but they always contain something to make the mineral more palatable whether that be molasses or copra or something high in sugar or fat. You can’t rely on your horse getting sufficient minerals from a mineral lick on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that minerals<\/a> are NOT palatable, especially those in their basic form with no additives like my Balanced Equine Mixes<\/a>.
\nHorses need time to adjust to the flavour. It can take perseverance but if the time is taken, it will happen and your horse will benefit in the long run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carol Layton of Balanced Equine. It’s always a relief when owners say their horses accept minerals straight away but it is fairly common they don’t. Essentially you have to re-educate your horse’s palate and this can take time in some horses. Here is where you need to persevere, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thinkrank_schema_form_data":"","_thinkrank_selected_schema_type":"","_thinkrank_additional_schemas":"","_thinkrank_canonical_url":"","_thinkrank_og_title":"","_thinkrank_og_description":"","_thinkrank_og_image":"","_thinkrank_twitter_title":"","_thinkrank_twitter_description":"","_thinkrank_twitter_image":"","_thinkrank_imported_from":"yoast","_thinkrank_focus_keywords":["minerals"],"_thinkrank_focus_keyword":"minerals","_thinkrank_robots_meta_enabled":0,"_thinkrank_robots_meta":"","_thinkrank_advanced_robots_meta":"","_thinkrank_exclude_from_search":0,"_thinkrank_exclude_from_archives":0,"_thinkrank_primary_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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