Sneaky Ways You Can Hide Meds In Your Horse’s Feed

Some horse’s will eat anything you put in from of them, but many will turn their noses up once medication or supplements are added. If simply mixing with grain isn’t working, try some of these clever techniques to hide medications in your horse horse’s feed.

Applesauce

Applesauce is great for mixing in anything powered. You can put it right on the grain or in a large syringe and give it directly into their mouth. Some horse’s will even tolerate it watered down, to save on how much applesauce you need.

Pill Pockets

There are several types of pill pocket treats on the market, you just have to find one your horse likes. Give your horse the treat a few times without any pills hidden in it, so you know they like it. This is another technique that is easy to tell if they ate the pill or not. Also, if your horse can’t have a lot of grain, but still needs daily medication, these pill pockets work really well.

Fig Newtons

There are a lot of commercially available horse treats made to hide pills, but if you are struggling to find one your horse likes, try some sort of soft cookie (without chocolate!). You just push the pill in and you can put it in their feeder or in the bucket with their grain. One nice thing about this technique is you can tell if they ate the pill or not.

Carrots

Another way to hide pills is you core a carrot and put the pill inside. They will then be chewing up the carrot before they can even realize there is a pill in there. You can also squeeze some paste medicine in the middle if your horse won’t take dewormer straight from the tube.

Karo Syrup or Molasses

If your horse has learned that treats and carrots mean there is a pill inside, you can try some sort of horse-safe, sweet syrup. Place the pill or powder on the grain and then drizzle the syrup on top. Mix it up so the grain is sticking to the syrup and the pill is well coated or powder is mixed in.

Baby Food

If apple sauce doesn’t work, try some pureed baby food. Perfect for hiding powdered medications, you can try several flavors to see which one your horse likes. Pour it over their feed or use a syringe to squirt in their mouth.