How can I persuade my horse to take her pergolide?!

[BurntCheeseStinks]

She's the easiest, sweetest horse and has been on pergolide for almost two years now. Initially she refused her feed if the tablet was in it, the vet said it was because anorexia is a side effect of the tablets. I thought that was unlikely as she wasn't taking them often enough or even eating them all so thought she probably wasn't getting any effect let alone side effects! Anyway, we hid them in slices of apple or in a hole gauged out of a carrot and that worked ok. She later cottoned on so we changed it to just pushing the tablet into her mouth and she'd eat it. Then she started taking it ok in feed. Each phase lasts a few months. She's now refusing it completely, tried in feed, in apple, in carrot, with a polo, by itself... She won't even take a bit of apple anymore!

So now I'm giving her a week off without trying it as she was getting stressed with it. And also I figured that it could possibly be side effect from the medication (even though that's meant to only happen when they're first on it).

Has anyone got any tips? Or had experience of similar?! Anything that might convince her that the tablets are good for her?!! Thank you!

[lovebeansontoast]

Marmite sandwich? My boy loves them. He has them to repel flies as he won't take garlic. They'd hide most things.

[belatedmaybe]

I use bread for wormer, wormer in a couple of bits then plenty more bits with none. Feed a couple of empty ones, trying to be exciting and teasing a bit, then a loaded one quick. Follow swiftly with an empty or two to convince them it is back to nice then another loaded one. Finish with a few plain and lots of praise. It works on our greedy but suspicious pony! With tablets I would roll the bread around it and squash it a bit so it doesn't fall out easily, good old cheap white works best!

[BurntCheeseStinks]

Thanks! That sounds easy enough to try and is not going to break the bank so I will definitely try it. I'll start with just plain bread then add in marmite if I need to :)

[daisy5569]

I find that incredibly fussy boy (refuses 'poisoned' sandwiches!) manages to eat cushings meds in small feed of mix, big dollop of sugar beet with pill broken in two on the top. Fed when hungry and it usually gets eaten. When this fails usually little bran mash with sugar beet and pill works! Good luck

[Littlebigbum]

Ginger nuts, but I have no idea if that is good for them

[belatedmaybe]

Good luck, a few ideas here so hopefully something new to try when one stops working! Then start again at the beginning I suppose

[frostyfingers]

I get my dhorse to take his bute by smearing liquid molasses on the bottom of his bowl - he loves that and any powder that falls through gets mixed in with that. Might work if you crush tablet and mix, but you'd have to make sure she likes molasses first. Icing sugar can work too - but not for me, and I have used grated carrot but that's a bit of a faff.

[JRsandCoffee]

I used to half a carrot, gouge out the middle bit and shove the pergolide in, he was capable of eating an entire feed and leaving one tablet in the bowl otherwise! If desperate I would shove it through the skin of a pear and just offer him the whole pear, that also worked!

[Pixel]

On the odd occasion my old pony needed something I found a treacle sandwich did the trick as even powders or crushed tablets wouldn't fall out, but I'm not sure that's something you'd want to give every day.

[Mrmonkey]

My pony is on 25 metformin a day and we whizz them up in a coffee grinder till they are a fine powder add cinnamon to make them palatable then mix with her feed. This has worked for almost 3 years with no problems.

[OldRider]

Chocolate spread sandwich! Or if desperate crush the pill and put it in strawberry yoghurt and syringe into the side of the mouth - it's what our vet nurses recommend. Guess you are going to have to keep changing anyway. Btw have you tasted the med? Is it the taste (bitter like bute), or the strange texture? I taste all my animal pills to get an idea...totally bonkers. Good luck..administering meds to animals is my nightmare (no pun inteneded).