Concerns of an older horse going into winter.

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LadyRascasse

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first off this is my horse i am talking about. he is 23yrs old and a TB type (though has slightly more bone than your typical TB) he is usually a good doer and has been on a diet accordingly.

i have noticed over the last couple of days that he has dropped a little bit of weight and his ribs are starting to show. we like to keep him on the lighter side as he has some joint issues and is a lamintic risk (never had it before) but he is too light for my liking. he was being feed 1/2 stubb scoop of hifi senior with 1scoop of pink powder and 1/2 of cushinaze twice a day. as well as 1 section of haylage and 1/2 scoop of hifibre nuts (sprinkled around the field to keep him occupied)

he is turned out 24/7 with another gelding but there paddock has very little grass. (moved yards and dry summer meant no grass) i need to keep the boys together in order to rest other paddock for winter, but i do separate them at feed times as i feel it is important for them to have there own feed in there own time. i have start to feed him a small amount of calm and condition in an attempt to regain some condition before winter as i feel it is going to be a long hard one.

these are the best photos i have from yesterday unfortunately i didn't get any without his having something on his back (d'oh)

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he has had everything done, teeth (beg of june) vet (beg of july) feet(end of june) backman was due tonight but forgot, so will reschedule soon just to rule pain cause him to lose weight.

he is ridden at most 5 times a week and all very light hacking/schooling and perhaps the odd jumping session

am i being totally paranoid? what should i be doing differently? help!!!
 
Can you add a bit of speedibeet to his feed? It is unmolassed so ok for Cushingoid horses.

The harsh winter and dry summer has taken its toll and a lot of horses are slim.I have only just stopped feeding my SecB who normally lives on barbed wire and fresh air. I have never had to feed all mine through the summer but have this year.

As he is now i would have no concerns taking him through the winter (if what you meant was you were considering pts) well-rugged.
 
The calm and condition will help him put on a bit, and maybe add some linseed or some other form of oil, you could up his hi-fi senior to a scoop in each feed.
 
dozzie said:
Can you add a bit of speedibeet to his feed? It is unmolassed so ok for Cushingoid horses.
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no it gives him the runs anything with too much sugar goes straight through him unfortunately

dozzie said:
As he is now i would have no concerns taking him through the winter (if what you meant was you were considering pts) well-rugged.
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no i wouldn't have him pts yet i am just concern about him losing alot of weight through the winter as he is already a bit skinny now. he would normally look like a beef cow this time of year (not good i know but he really is a good doer normally)
 
Personally i think he looks fine.

As long as he is fed accordingly & well rugged i'm sure he'll see through the winter.

I live in the Highalnds where we do get really bad winters & my TB manages fine well fed & rugged & she is 20 years old. She also lives out with a field shelter.

He is gorgeous by the way.

XxX
 
I have a 28 yr old half Tb & have recently added fibre beet, suggested by her dentist, to her feed as she was looking a bit ribby. She looks really well now. She is retired as has bad arthritis, out all day (weather permitting) & in at night with turn out / stable rugs as needed. The main thing is to keep oldies warm & well fed - lots of fibre & necessary vitamins & treats now & again.
 
Might be worth giving fibre-beet a try - we have our 2 prone-to-laminitis ponies and my super-fussy-loses-weight-very-quickly 17yr old tb on it. The one pony gets very squittery on other stuff but has bloomed on this.
 
LadyRascasse said:
no it gives him the runs anything with too much sugar goes straight through him unfortunately


no i wouldn't have him pts yet i am just concern about him losing alot of weight through the winter as he is already a bit skinny now. he would normally look like a beef cow this time of year (not good i know but he really is a good doer normally)
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Poops about the speedibeet!

I know what you mean. Dozzie is a VERY good doer and is on restricted grazing and she is a bit ribby. She has now gone on to good grazing and looks like a broodmare due to a grass belly! LOL! She will come off again this week and be a bit ribby but she will be fine. Sorbs (Welsh sec b) has just gained weight again due to the rain. Normally I am fighting to keep the weight off. But cushings is a bugger as you are restricted by what you can feed.(I had my horse with Cushings pts a few weeks ago- was hoping to get him through till autumn but couldnt keep weight on- he was a lot thinner than your chap though)

If I was you I would ring the feed companies for advice. Try to write down all the issues before you phone and then write down all the advice. Is he on pergolide? That might help too. But you need to speak to your vet about that.

Sorry. Not much help really. :)
 
He looks pretty good to me esp for 23 but if he is a poorer doer its easier not to let them lose weight than to try to get it back on once lost so it's good to plan ahead.

My sister swears by a rice bran balancer as a way of keeping weight on their older horses and those hunting regularly. Equijewel is one brand and Falcon Feeds Omega Rice is another. I've used the falcon feeds one because its cheaper and it really fattened my WB up over a winter when he lost weight. I find more hay throughout the day fed in the fields over winter really makes a difference and if poss having 3 feeds instead of two. (difficult if you work full-time).
 
he isn't normally a poor doer! he normally has fast fibre in the winter so i might change over to this once i have used all the calm and condition. i have tried him on falcons omega rice and was very unimpressed between him and my skinny mare didn't see any difference after to big sacks.

thanks for all the comments and thank you Perrie he knows it very well lol
 
I sympathize- for the first time EVER i am seeing my pony's ribs (didnt even know she had ribs!)
It's odd as she has always been in a very bare paddock to try and keep her weight down but i suppose this year there is just nothing at all out there.

Your lucky that you can feed in the field, I cant as she is out with other people's horses and they will chase her off- I cant afford haylege etc for all of them!

Has Speedibeet got sugar?? Its endorsed by the Lami society?
How about looking at Simple systems feeds they do Alfalfa Blocks which i thought i would try.
Also how about adding a good dollop of oil to his feed?

I think he looks wonderful- are those pictures recent? If so you may be slightly concerned over nothing!!

Hope you get him sorted xxx
 
I agree with the others that he doesn't look that bad. I assume from your post that he has Cushings, and Cushingoid horses usually tend to lose topline easily.

I'm surprised he can't have Speedibeet though, as it is low sugar (5%) as opposed to normal sugar beet which is 20% sugar. Beet is also one of the main ingredients in the Calm and Condition you are using. Personally, I would be cautious feeding Calm and Condition to a Cushings horse, as although it is barley and oat free it still contains cereal (and therefore starch) in the form of maize.

If the weather has been like ours where you are, then the grass at the moment is not likely to be good - he is likely to pick up when the rain has had a chance to soak in and perk up the grazing. Presumably in the winter he will be getting plenty of hay or haylage and you may find that you don't actually have to up the bucket feed hugely.
 
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