21yr old mare feed/supplement advice urgently needed please!

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Ashley_a

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Hi everyone

I really hope you can offer me some advice for my 21 yr old mare.

She is a very good doer and always has a big belly on her. Last winter she had laminitis for the first time in her life. So this summer she's had a muzzle on but she's still fat.

She has the signs of arthritis so I need advice on what I could feed to make her comfortable. She gets excited and can become a handful so didn't want to feed her up so she became fizzy.

At the minute she's out during the day and then brought in for the night with 1 hay net.

She's got no muscle and looks really poor she's wormed and vaccinated up to date. I've had her for 10yrs and never worried about her like I am at the minute
 
If she is overweight and had Laminitis you need to get the weight off. Exercise is the best way not only for this but for her joints too. If possible keep her out 24/7.

There are many joint supplements on the market, which one you choise is down to prefference and your budget! Although feeding tumeric ( bought in big bags from large supermarkets ) is supposed to be good. Feed is a small handful of Fast Fibre. Weigh the hay ( should be getting at least 1.5% of body weight of forrage a day ) and soak it if possible for 12 hours, you can feed more then. Hope some of this helps.
 
You say she is still really fat but looks poor and has no muscle - do you mean she has a fat tummy, but has no weight on her topline?

Has your vet suggested having her tested for Cushings, as this would link in with the laminitis and the lack of muscle.
 
I also advise a Cushings test. Also bear in mind that she may well be older than 21,pre passport [ and sometimes even these days] it was easy to knock a few years off a horses age,your 11 yr old horse could have been 14 or so. Just a thought.
 
I have a 22 year old TB x cob who is also a good doer but actually dropped too much weight a couple of weeks ago so was put back onto a haylage and soaked hay mix. She has arthritis in her neck but nowhere else. She is given mutliflex gold for her broad reqruirements (good for an oldie) and cortaflex for her athritis. Feed is just chaff and nuts. You could be mistaken for thinking she is fat as she looks to have quite a large stomach but that is because her neck issues mean she will not work properly over her back - therefore has slack stomach muscles. I look at her ribs and general coat quality to judge her overall condition. She is properly wormed and vaccinated as well.
 
Allen and page do a feed called veteran vitality that is supposed to be good and not at all expensive or pink powder senior , its broad spectrum including mobility and hind gut function
 
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