Riley is a picky eater, and meds are really not his thing. After his abscess last week (which is fine now) I gave him a little bute to bring down the swelling sooner.
I was present when the barn manager presented him with his bute-infused pan of food. He sniffed. Without touching the food, he butted the pan with his nose, flipping it over, and walked away. Duly noted Riley.
Back to the picky eater dilemma
I've tried lots of things -- applesauce, molasses, even fondant (someone recommended) -- nothing worked to make Ri eat unpalatable stuff. The night of the pan-flip, I went home, grabbed my bag of peppermints, went into the garage and smashed them all with a hammer. I gave them to the barn manager, and she mixed the bute with a 1/2 cup of the smashed pepps. Ri yummed it up.
That problem solved, but...
Bob was unhappy with the state of the hammer and the garage floor. Peppermints fly pretty far when hit with the force of a hammer. Even though I used a plastic bag, some escaped. Bob found pieces on the lawn mower and work bench. Not cool.
So I can't do that again.
Ebay, from whence cometh my help
I have found that for any given unmet need, Ebay is a good a source as any -- search "crushed peppermint" and see what you get! For $8 I scored two 2-lb bags of -- you guessed it -- pre-crushed peppermints.
Worth it at twice the price!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Crushed peppermint for picky eaters.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.jpg)
Why don't you just the crush peppermints outdoors where the fly ways don't matter. ? They retain more medicine hiding peppermint flavor when crushed just before use.
ReplyDeleteCuz it's DARK and COLD out thar' lady! Here in eastern PA it is still damp and cold and dark (lows under 30 degrees) and my free time is before dawn and after dark. Pulling the princess card I guess -- refusing to wield a hammer under such conditions.
ReplyDeleteWe bought a cheap coffee grinder and left it in the feed room. We dropped in the medication, the peppermints, and chopped away! Dumped it onto the feed, and none of them were the wiser. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anonymous regarding the coffee grinder. I grind flax seed for myself and grinding peppermints would be easy. I buy the Bob's Sweet Stripes (softer candies) or the Brachs big bag at Walmart (5 pounds for about $6) and I think the grinder would make quick work of either "brand."
ReplyDeleteRe bute: My vet sells powdered bute in peppermint, alfalfa or molasses flavors. Huey got bute paste on the track and he HATES that stuff, but he Hoovers up the powder, no problem.
I wouldn't hesitate to put peppermints in my blender or my dedicated coffee grinder (I use it for grinding flax seeds for the horses). I'm sure either would do a good job.
ReplyDeleteWe have green apple flavored bute powder that smells so good I am tempted myself. :)
Are these without sugar? I try real hard to not give sugar to my horses because it's so bad for them. I've seen the sugarless ones in the store but they have some type of aspartame or some other dangerous addition.
ReplyDeleteI usually use the Bute powder and syringe it in in applesauce. Never tried the peppermint solution. It's a decidedly good idea.
ReplyDelete