Help, my horse won't eat its powder!

Why we understand this: The combination of practice & science

Behind nuvallo are Katja and Andrés, who bring over 20 years of practical experience in equestrian sport and daily horse care, combined with a Master's degree in behavioural psychology.

This close connection between scientific theory and years of practical experience at the feed trough has helped us to truly decode the feeding behaviour of horses.

Instead of simply masking the feed with artificial flavourings, we have focused intensively on the question of why horses often reject powders. The result is an approach that respects the delicate senses of horses and makes feeding fussy eaters noticeably easier.

The biology: Why powders often fail

A horse's appetite (palatability) depends on three crucial factors that are often ignored with conventional powders:

• The smell (The first hurdle): Horses have a highly sensitive olfactory system. They can smell artificial flavourings or bitter active ingredients (such as pure MSM or glucosamine) from a mile away. If it smells medicinal, their flight instinct sounds the alarm.

• The consistency (The dusty problem): A horse is a grazing animal. It is programmed to chew fibrous structures. Fine, dusty powder sticks to their nostrils, irritates their mucous membranes, and simply feels unnatural in their mouth.

• The taste (The sugar trap): Many manufacturers mask the bitter taste of active ingredients with molasses or artificial sugar. While this might appeal to the horse in the short term, it is disastrous for their metabolism (especially for horses with pre-existing conditions). We spent months optimising the taste completely naturally – with a base of rice bran, oat flour, and apple powder.

The psychology of feeding (Stress at the trough)

Often, the problem doesn't just lie in the bucket, but in the situation itself. Horses are masters at reading our emotions and small changes in everyday life.

• Owner stress: You know how expensive the supplement was and how important it is for your horse's health. You stand tensely next to the trough and think: "Please eat it, please eat it." Your horse senses this tension immediately, becomes suspicious, and refuses to eat.

• The routine trap: Horses are creatures of habit. If their usual feed suddenly has a different colour or smells different, they sense danger.

• The medication trauma: Has your horse had to eat highly bitter antibiotics or painkillers in their feed in the past? Horses have an excellent memory. They quickly associate unfamiliar additions in the trough with negative experiences.

Our best psychological tricks for fussy eaters

If your horse is currently refusing its powder, try these three simple tricks to break the deadlock:

• The food envy trick: Horses are herd animals. Pointedly give the horse in the next stable a treat or some feed while your horse has to watch. Food envy is often stronger than scepticism!

• The change of person: Ask a friend at the yard who is completely emotionally uninvested to feed your horse. Without your subconscious "please-eat-it-stress", many horses approach the trough much more calmly.

• The hiding tactic: Mix the powder into mash or apple sauce. This masks the smell and binds the dust. The downside: it takes up a lot of time every day and makes a mess.
  

The stress-free solution: We have eliminated the powder

You can use tricks, mix things up, and hope for the best every day – or you can take the stress out of the equation entirely. That is exactly why we developed nuvallo move.

We have pressed the high-dose active ingredients (glucosamine, MSM, hyaluronic acid, and collagen) into the format that every horse psychologically associates with something positive: A reward from your hand.

• No medication trauma, because it doesn't end up in the feed trough.

• No dusty powder in their nostrils.

• No stress for you – and therefore no stress for your horse.

Put an end to powder frustration and simply give your horse its joint support as a daily snack.