Advice Please... Feeding an old boy!!

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zaraanne

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Posting for a friend, who has an ex riding school gelding of 23. He has COPD, and sweet itch. Due to this he cannot be stabled too often (as a result of stayin at grass, both conditions have improved).

Due to his age, she is having big probs keeping weight on him, when he was a riding school horse he was kept on Blue Chip, but with feed prices these days, that is out of the question.

Wondered if there is an alternative mix that is weight gain, and veteran, without costing the earth?

Thanks
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Dental check up and worm count first, to make sure he is not wasting food.
Good grazing, and something like D&H Veteran Mix.
And look into the economies of feeding a good balancer & probiotic, they may save more than they cost.
Really needs sorting now, if she can, before grass is dried out , all eaten or winter forage is needed
 
He's clear for worms (as is possible for his age and past), and she has good grazing, 1 resting at all times), I will tell her to try him on veteran mix. She just seemed to think, she would need something along the lines of Blue Chip though.

P.S. Never had a horse over 14, really not my forte, so soz if I sound thick.
 
Hi Geri My mare is 28 and in winter drops weight quite easily, I use Veteran conditioning mix and bailey No1 (fab for the oldies) and sugarbeet plus veteran chaff.
 
I have had excellent results in 2 weeks on my 24 yr old with Spillers Senior Conditioning Mix, Alfa A Oil chaff and sugar beet. This has filled him out nicely & improved his coat massively.
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Annie's 33 and does well on D&H Sixteen Plus, Hi-Fi and Micronized barley with mint and garlic added in! She also has a probiotic supplement in the winter as she can sometimes find it a bit of a challenge digesting haylage. I'd like to use sugar beet but was advised againt it by the vet when she had her last colic attack (2 years ago) as it can be hard for oldies to digest apparently.
 
best thing I can recommend (and its a hell of a lot cheaper than these senior conditioning mixes) is grass nuts (i use simple systems). Soak them and away you go. I had my old girl on D&H 16+ and she rarely kept her condition but as soon as she was put on grass nuts she increased her weight, her coat looked well. Its abotu £9.50 a bag and will alst ages for 1 horse
 
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best thing I can recommend (and its a hell of a lot cheaper than these senior conditioning mixes) is grass nuts (i use simple systems). Soak them and away you go. I had my old girl on D&H 16+ and she rarely kept her condition but as soon as she was put on grass nuts she increased her weight, her coat looked well. Its abotu £9.50 a bag and will alst ages for 1 horse

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might give that a try! Such a mission keeping the oldies looking tip top and most importantly feeling great ... but we are all obviously trying our best for the OAP's of the horse world!
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My oldie (24) has never had a veteran mix as he does very well without them. In the winter he gets pasture mix, sugar beet and a vitamin supplement. If you want to give a probiotic which is cheaper than Blue Chip I would use NAF Pink Powder. You could also add vegetable oil to the feed.
On the other hand I've been trying to build up a 5 year old who was in poor condition and have found alfabeet very good for this.
 
I found the cheapest way and best way to keep weight on my veteran was to feed AlfaBeet, vegetable oil, and micronised barley. The AlfaBeet balances the barley well and the oil is very dense in calories and also gives a good coat shine. If you are worried about vit/mins then you can add a broad spectrum vit/min supplement which is usually cheaper than a balancer. Obviously this should be fed alongside adlib hay/haylage and/or good grazing. (Just to add, the barley would not be a suitable feed for anything laminitic).

However, if you are not confident mixing straight feeds, then the commercial conditioning/veteran feeds are useful, plus have the advantage that the feed companies will give you the correct quantities to feed for your horse's size, type and workload.
 
Well I Have 4 Veterns ,, 3 of them are on blue chip and senior mix with hi-fi senior chaff. But if money is playing a big part in this then insted of a normal chaff get him a weight gain one , "dengie" is good. errm one myn is on a senior weight gain mix for £10 a bag. Hope this is a lil help..! x
 
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