Advice on golden oldie feeding....

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JulieL

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my old mare (22 yrs) is in retirement due to damaged hock. She looks well, but at the mo is a little tucked up, which is very unlike her. She is nice and warm with double rugs and his having ad-lib hay, 2 feeds per day (Happy Hoof, Hi-fi Lite and Fibre-Beet, supplements, oil). She is out during day and tucked in at night.

Can anyone suggest a feed which will put on a bit of weight but is completely non-heating as I dont want her to start running around due to hock damage? I don't like 16+ or veteran mixes as I find them too sticky. Any advice would be really appreciated......thanks
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LB x
 
Hi bramblebits - no I haven't. What else do you feed your old boy along with this mix, if you dont mind me asking. I am just worried that if my old mare drops any more weight I am going to have a real job getting it back on her this side of a cold snap. Also, is this Spillers one non-heating do you know?

Sorry to be a pain
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I feed Lance, who is 19 soon and 16.2hh, D&H safe and sound, he gets half a scoop twice a day, half a scoop of speedibeet, linseed oil, and BOSS.

He has a lovely shiny coat and is def holding his weight!

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I use build up too and soak the nuts so he has porridge! It seems to help! Ive also used Baileys no 4 and that got weight on quickly without any temperament change so might be a better option.
 
Hi-fi Lite is a very low calorie feed so probably isn't ideal for her & Happy Hoof isn't a lot better.

Fibrebeet is a mix of sugarbeet & alfalfa so I wouldn't add either of those to her feed though I might increase the amount she's getting. Cooked linseed meal is non-heating, as are Baileys Outshine & Saracen Equijewel. I've also heard good things about Top Spec conditioning flakes.

It may be worth ringing round a few feed companies for advice. Yes they'll recommend their own products but it will at least give you some ideas.
 
Thanks all for your suggestions, they are so appreciated - now that you put it like that Nafi, I can see you are exactly right about the low cal food and I will phone around some feed companies for advice.

I am just really worried about giving her any energy food until this hock problem gets a little better, as although she's an oldie, she forgets and has a good run around! I am in a bit of a catch 22 situation with the hock damage. If I box rest her she will walk around in little circles and also her legs fill up, so she out in paddock where she is a lot quieter (most of the time)

Thanks again for these suggestions - I am going to go through them all and find out more.

LB x
 
I use Spillers senior conditioning mix as well, my 24 year old TB loves it. (She is a fussy eater and doesn't like nuts). She has it with sugar beet and ad lib haylage but she is in light work. When we moved a couple of years ago she was very unsettled and lost weight although she was not in work. She had her usual food with boiled barley, blue chip and linseed flakes to get the weight back on.
 
My 22 yr old does very very well on Mollichaff Veteran. Its a very lightly molassed oat chaff and totally non heating. Its packed with herbs and mint and nettle and antioxidants and horses adore it and it gives a superb coat shine!
 
How about any of the veteran feeds but in cube form? You also then have the choice of soaking them if need be. But otherwise, Id probably just upgrade what she's on already so instead of Happy Hoof & Hi-Fi Lite Id try Alfa A Oil along with the fibre beet, supplements and oil. And Id give her a big tubtrug full of extra forage at night, like Readigrass. I did this with my 17yo shetland when she was ill with lami and had gone off hay (not readigrass in her case, she had hi-fi lite but it gives them a bit more choice).
 
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