Elderly horse tips

[**puddleduck**]

Hi,
I have a 30 year old cob x TB and this is the first year that she’s starting to show her age a bit. I’ve had her 22 years and did lose my other old horse 2.5 years ago so I’m not new to veterans but I keep them at home on my own so miss out on having friends to bounce ideas off.
Just wondering what feeds people recommend for a 30 year old. I’ve got the vet coming out next week as I’ve noticed she’s quidding her hay and isn’t actually eating much hay at all really. Has anyone moved from Hay nets to hay bar and found it’s helped their elderly horse or is it likely she’s just not eating much due to dental issues. She has daily turnout and seems to manage the grass well and hasn’t dropped too much weight but could do to put a little bit more weight on.
She seems to feel the cold now as she’s older so she’s in a HW full neck turnout.
She just has 1 x bute sachet a day to help her stiffness.
Any tips/tricks/advice and changes you’ve made for the management of an elderly horse very much welcomed and appreciated.

thanks x

 

[Birker2020]

Hi,
I have a 30 year old cob x TB and this is the first year that she’s starting to show her age a bit. I’ve had her 22 years and did lose my other old horse 2.5 years ago so I’m not new to veterans but I keep them at home on my own so miss out on having friends to bounce ideas off.
Just wondering what feeds people recommend for a 30 year old. I’ve got the vet coming out next week as I’ve noticed she’s quidding her hay and isn’t actually eating much hay at all really. Has anyone moved from Hay nets to hay bar and found it’s helped their elderly horse or is it likely she’s just not eating much due to dental issues. She has daily turnout and seems to manage the grass well and hasn’t dropped too much weight but could do to put a little bit more weight on.
She seems to feel the cold now as she’s older so she’s in a HW full neck turnout.
She just has 1 x bute sachet a day to help her stiffness.
Any tips/tricks/advice and changes you’ve made for the management of an elderly horse very much welcomed and appreciated.

thanks x

A heavy weight full neck turnout in this positively balmy weather seems a bit excessive but I suppose it depends where in the country you are. Its been 16/17c over the weekend by us, my horse is in a no fill rainsheet whilst turned out and a cotton summer sheet at night when stabled, I'm sure he could equally do without either.

There are lots of senior conditioning feeds on the market, she will need plenty of fibre to keep warm so if she is quidding her teeth obviously need attention, so good that you have the vet looking at her, but to be honest I think you'd be better off getting an EDT out to her (Equine Dentist) as vets aren't particuarly good or knowledgeable like an EDT is (imho).

A Haybar or hay cube would be better for her as she will be pulling on a hay net and building up muscle under her neck as a result and eating hay from a lower level is better for their respiration as they tend to have their noses down so is better for them. Most physios will tell you haynets are bad for horses with the constant pulling action on their necks.

You can also give her oil, sunflower or corn oil is a good option. Or linseed which is relatively inexpensive (or was once upon a time).

Linseed puts on weight and speedi beet is a good option as you can add boiling water to make it into a mash which would suit her better possibly with her having old teeth. I always find it comforting giving my horse a hot (well warm) feed in the colder weather. Bit like us having porridge. Grass pellets or alpha beet is also a good option for an older horse.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Some good advice from birker, if she is having trouble eating hay, try and source some nice soft stuff or perhaps introduce readigrass..
Your obviously doing a fab job already and that is a testament to you ?

 

[Spotherisk]

I have two 30 year old, an ID and a l/w cob. The ID is a little light and is rugged to keep him dry, 100g rug. The cob is fat as butter and full of zoomies! Neither is being fed - they are on 6 acres of good grass. Dentist last month he was very pleased with them both.

fir adding weight I like Rowan Barbary Ready Mash extra

 

[Birker2020]

You can also buy some leg wraps for her in the stable if you feel she is getting cold. They will be most appreciated by the older horse and will improve circulation no end.

But (again imho) the worst thing you can do to a horse is to over rug it, I've seen a couple over the years that have been over rugged and they are just too hot, uncomfortable and end up extremely grumpy (don't blame them) so I would suggest having more light layers like cotton sheets or thin fleecy type rugs so that you can layer as this will keep her warm better than one big heavy rug.

When you look at the forecast for the morning take into account the wind chill factor, I always do this. If it shows as being 12c outside but the windchill is 6c and its raining for example, it will be better to put a 50g or 100g rug on.

 

[Maryann]

My old cob has issues with his teeth and doesn't eat much hay. He is on good grass in the day, loose in a barn at night, never rugged and I feed him a scoop of Spillers conditioning fibre and 1/2 scoop steamed rolled oats each end of the day. He was on a whole scoop of oats but was getting fat.

 

[**puddleduck**]

I’m North west but it still isn’t that cold but there were days over the summer when she ended up shivering if it was wet so she wore a LW rug for a lot of the summer unless it was scorching hot. I have never ever been one to over rug, she used to live out without any rugs quite happily but she massively feels the cold now and ends up a shivering mess if not rugged to the eyeballs.

I use a specialist equine only vet practice and they’ve always been amazing with my horses teeth. She needs quite heavily sedating so I’ve always felt more comfortable with the vet being there.

I’m feeding veteran mash, conditioning mix and chaff so will look to add in oils and I definitely think I need to invest in a haybar for her.

thanks for your advice, I love being on my own yard but really Miss having people to discuss things with xx

 

[**puddleduck**]

You can also buy some leg wraps for her in the stable if you feel she is getting cold. They will be most appreciated by the older horse and will improve circulation no end.

But (again imho) the worst thing you can do to a horse is to over rug it, I've seen a couple over the years that have been over rugged and they are just too hot, uncomfortable and end up extremely grumpy (don't blame them) so I would suggest having more light layers like cotton sheets or thin fleecy type rugs so that you can layer as this will keep her warm better than one big heavy rug.

When you look at the forecast for the morning take into account the wind chill factor, I always do this. If it shows as being 12c outside but the windchill is 6c and its raining for example, it will be better to put a 50g or 100g rug on.

Ok will deffo try that, I’ve got summer sheets and fleeces I can layer with and got a couple of LW turnouts too. She used to be rugged when she was clipped out when younger but then spent about 6 or 7 years not wearing a rug at all, she was out all winter naked but for last couple of years she shivers at the first sign of rain/cold. X

 

[Starzaan]

Hello, many years running rehab yards here - keeping oldies looking good is my speciality.

Most important is FIBRE - ad lib hay or haylage, of consistent, high quality, is vital. Never from a haynet (you'd be astonished by how many rehabs I get that are recovering from injuries, surgeries or cumulative issues caused directly by haynets. Hate the things. They are banned on my yard except for when travelling), ideally from the floor, but a haybar is the next best thing.

Feed is your friend but please don't use all these conditioning feeds and senior feeds. You need to feed by weight, so either weigh or weigh tape her and work out rations (I'm happy to help do this if you're not sure how). I would have her on D&H Ultimate Balancer, Alfa A Oil, Micronised Linseed, Speedibeet, Linseed Oil and NAF Superflex Senior (all horses on my yard get this supplement regardless of age, it has a lot of evidence proving it works, and I have seen incredible differences in all horses I've put on it, from as young as 4yrs).

Rugging wise I would try and rug less as you don't want to have too much weight on her when it gets colder. Right now I have a 22yr old fully clipped horse (legs and head off too), he is going out in a medium weight combo and won't be in a heavy weight until it drops to around 3C. I understand some horses feel the cold more than others, but you also can accustom horses to being over-rugged, and this can lead to more and more over-rugging. I would wean her off the heavier rugs now otherwise you will have nowhere to go when we actually get bad weather.

My inbox is always open if you need any help or have any questions.

 

[FitzyFitz]

I've had more veterans than youngsters and they've all stayed active long term. Trick seems to be keeping them moving as much as possible, keeping them dry (don't overrug though they only get itchy and ratty and you've got nowhere to go if you get a cold snap) and feeding plenty of fibre and oil. If the teeth are bad, you can increase the amount of softer fibres such as speedibeet, grass nuts or alfalfa pellets (all soaked) but unless it's completely impossible they do need something to chew to produce the saliva that prevents ulcers.

 

[Birker2020]

Ok will deffo try that, I’ve got summer sheets and fleeces I can layer with and got a couple of LW turnouts too. She used to be rugged when she was clipped out when younger but then spent about 6 or 7 years not wearing a rug at all, she was out all winter naked but for last couple of years she shivers at the first sign of rain/cold. X

Brilliant.

Sometimes when I put a light turnout on Lari or even a summer sheet at night he starts shaking his head in frustration. Either because he finds the rugs a little tight on his shoulders and therefore uncomfortable (he has over developed chest/shoulder muscles which are now dissappearing due to not being ridden) or because he feels he doesn't need one on. I'm just worried in case he drops weight so I'm a bit loathe to keep him rug less.

He is going to the blood bank next year (fingers crossed) so I think being rug less will not be an issue for him in the slightest.

 

[Annagain]

I'd get her teeth looked at. I sort of disagree with Birker about vets and teeth. If you find a vet who specialises in teeth, they're brilliant as they can properly sedate to have a really good look. A lot of EDTs don't sedate and therefore can't be as thorough. My dental vet is exceptional, she does nothing but teeth (and jabs if they're due at the same time) and teaches the post grad veterinary dentistry course at Liverpool.

We have to be careful with short chopped fibre (chaff) now that A (approx 28) has the odd loose tooth as he gets bits stuck in the gaps between his teeth and that then rots and causes gum abscesses. We therefore make sure he gets lots of fibre from a mash type feed in winter (he's good on grass in the summer). He has Fast Fibre with high fibre cubes mixed in to make it more interesting as he won't eat the Fast Fibre on its own but I don't want him to have too much sugar either. We don't struggle to keep weight on him and he never seems cold. He's out naked which he thrives on. He loves nothing more that a good roll in the mud.

These last few weeks he seems to be struggling with hay. He's not dropping anything but he seems to be eating very slowly so the dentist is back out to see him soon. She checks him whenever she's at the yard - about every 3 months as all the other horses are on different timetables but he usually only has anything done about once a year. He's always eaten from a hay bar but I know of people who have got rid of hay nets for older horses as their front teeth wear down and the struggle to pull the hay out.

 

[Greyskull]

This is a useful thread for me as well. My own horse is now older and a big difference is that she feels the cold more, especially if it is also wet. I'm also hoping that more regular dental checks will help. I was also recommended linseed on here and will be trying that.

 

[Barton Bounty]

L

This is a useful thread for me as well. My own horse is now older and a big difference is that she feels the cold more, especially if it is also wet. I'm also hoping that more regular dental checks will help. I was also recommended linseed on here and will be trying that.

Linseed is great for any horse ? i love it

 

[Greyskull]

L

Linseed is great for any horse ? i love it

Great. I hope she eats it, she's surpricingly fussy for a horse that was always a good doer in her younger years.

 

[Green Bean]

I bought a haybar for my horse, and after she got over the idea that it was there to eat her, she was fine with it. However, I had to move on from it as she started with a cough. In my vets opinion, it isn't good for horse to put their noses in a confined space and breath in the dust - this after I had wet the hay! Are you able to get a chaff cutter to cut your hay up finer? You also get large hole haynets which makes the hay a lot more accessible to the horse unless they are a greedy guts and need slowing down. Feed wise, Keyplus Golden Oldies is very good. You add water to it and it becomes essentially a mush which doesn't require much in the way of chewing if fed without HiFi or similar.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Great. I hope she eats it, she's surpricingly fussy for a horse that was always a good doer in her younger years.

My boy loves it, has done since he was 8 , its smells delicious too

 

[Birker2020]

I'd get her teeth looked at. I sort of disagree with Birker about vets and teeth. If you find a vet who specialises in teeth, they're brilliant as they can properly sedate to have a really good look. A lot of EDTs don't sedate and therefore can't be as thorough. My dental vet is exceptional, she doesn't nothing but teeth (and jabs if they're due at the same time) and teaches the post grad veterinary dentistry course at Liverpool.

Most run of the mill vets don't specialise in teeth though. I've had my own horses teeth messed up by a vet, the only time I've not used an EDT. Never again.

No, EDT's don't sedate, a vet will and yes it's two call out costs which I had to pay when Lari had a wolf tooth out but I'd rather have an EDT who specialises in the subject and sees teeth day in day out. Vets don't have the experience that EDT's do because they don't have the numbers that EDT's have for obvious reasons.

Also I've seen many vets rasp teeth without using a gag, you can't get to the back teeth successfully without using a gag, you can't feel for rough edges or shine a light properly to see what the teeth look like in detail without a gag.

 

[Tarragon]

Reading this thread with interest.
I have an older pony (24 years) who has had Cushings for at least 6 years (1 prascend a day), and really isn't interested in any hard feed. So far, he has managed to keep weight, but I think that he may need some extra help if not this winter, then next winter. Out all the time on good grazing (10 acres in winter) and access to hay. A difficult balancing act between feeding low-sugar diet but good for weight-gain!

Edited to add has always had very good teeth.

 

[HashRouge]

Most run of the mill vets don't specialise in teeth though. I've had my own horses teeth messed up by a vet, the only time I've not used an EDT. Never again.

No, EDT's don't sedate, a vet will and yes it's two call out costs which I had to pay when Lari had a wolf tooth out but I'd rather have an EDT who specialises in the subject and sees teeth day in day out. Vets don't have the experience that EDT's do because they don't have the numbers that EDT's have for obvious reasons.

Also I've seen many vets rasp teeth without using a gag, you can't get to the back teeth successfully without using a gag, you can't feel for rough edges or shine a light properly to see what the teeth look like in detail without a gag.

There are a fair few vet practises that have vets that are also EDTs though, so it is worth clarifying that some vets are excellent at teeth. My previous vet practice had 2 vets that were also EDTs and they did dental zone days every week, so you could hardly worry their skills were going to get rusty! My current practise has three (!!) - one is also a vet, and the other two are vet nurses. I have been using one of the vet nurses for years and she really is excellent.

 

[HashRouge]

Hello, many years running rehab yards here - keeping oldies looking good is my speciality.

Most important is FIBRE - ad lib hay or haylage, of consistent, high quality, is vital. Never from a haynet (you'd be astonished by how many rehabs I get that are recovering from injuries, surgeries or cumulative issues caused directly by haynets. Hate the things. They are banned on my yard except for when travelling), ideally from the floor, but a haybar is the next best thing.

Feed is your friend but please don't use all these conditioning feeds and senior feeds. You need to feed by weight, so either weigh or weigh tape her and work out rations (I'm happy to help do this if you're not sure how). I would have her on D&H Ultimate Balancer, Alfa A Oil, Micronised Linseed, Speedibeet, Linseed Oil and NAF Superflex Senior (all horses on my yard get this supplement regardless of age, it has a lot of evidence proving it works, and I have seen incredible differences in all horses I've put on it, from as young as 4yrs).

Rugging wise I would try and rug less as you don't want to have too much weight on her when it gets colder. Right now I have a 22yr old fully clipped horse (legs and head off too), he is going out in a medium weight combo and won't be in a heavy weight until it drops to around 3C. I understand some horses feel the cold more than others, but you also can accustom horses to being over-rugged, and this can lead to more and more over-rugging. I would wean her off the heavier rugs now otherwise you will have nowhere to go when we actually get bad weather.

My inbox is always open if you need any help or have any questions.

I would second all of this, although look out for the Alfa A oil as poor teeth and gums can struggle with chaff as it packs into gaps and can be a bit harsh against the gums. I used to use it, but she manages much better with a mash type feed like veteran vitality.

 

[Starzaan]

I would second all of this, although look out for the Alfa A oil as poor teeth and gums can struggle with chaff as it backs into gaps and can be a bit harsh against the gums. I used to use it, but she manages much better with a mash type feed like veteran vitality.

Yep. Agree entirely. If diastema are bad, then something like Fibrebeet is an excellent source of fibre, but easier to chew than alfalfa. ?

 

[stangs]

Everything Starzaan said, but I’ve also found that Kwikbeet can be a better choice than Speedibeet if you have a picky eater.

 

[AdorableAlice]

There are plenty of vets more than capable of caring for equine mouths. Central England has one that is world renowned and lectures all over the world. There are plenty of EDT's that power tool teeth into little round balls and effectively shorten life expectancy. I have seen far too much of that in my working capacity.

Going back to elderly horse care, I have a big lad heading into winter 28. My thoughts for the OP's horse being seemingly unable to regulate body temperature would be to test for cushing's, or re test to see if changes are occuring if already medicated. Failure to regulate temperature is a classic indicator.

Keeping oldies comfortable is a challenge, I stumbled across a useful method earlier this year when I bought a lycra body suit to lay a coat on a yak of a cob. She didn't fit in it but the old lad did and it was a game changer for him, keeping him comfortably warm and avoiding skin issues. He has medicated cushings and develops an oily/matted patch on his back. I used it under a fly sheet for cooler evenings and now under a 50g rain sheet. It washes in 15 mins and dries in half hour too. It also prevents skin rubs from rugs sitting on bony toplines. It came from Ruggles and was vastly reduced as it had a snag on it. My fear with the truly heavyweight rugs would be an older horse not being able to rise easily if he is stiff and has to make more effort to get to his feet. We all know how heavy these rugs are to heave up onto a big horse, especially when wet. I don't buy PE rugs for that very reason, way too heavy. The Shires liner system is fabulous with 50, 100 and 200g quilted liners to choose from, all go in the washing machine easily and dry well.

Grass is keeping my old boy well at the moment, he struggles with hay, along with 4 feeds a day spread from 7 to 10, all forage based, sugar beet and linseed. Spillers senior mash is also seeming to be helpful. Equi Jewel is also very useful as is Copra. A hard winter will probably finish my old lad but all we can all do is make whatever time they have left as comfortable and happy as possible. Good luck to all with golden oldies.

 

[SantaVera]

Definitely get the teeth looked at by an equine dentist,my old boy lost a molar yesterday, found it in his feed bucket. Dentist sees him 6 monthly. I feed him sloppy mashes and soak his hay for half an hour to soften it for him,he also enjoys dampened chaff.

 

[Connemara24]

Reading this thread with interest.
I have an older pony (24 years) who has had Cushings for at least 6 years (1 prascend a day), and really isn't interested in any hard feed. So far, he has managed to keep weight, but I think that he may need some extra help if not this winter, then next winter. Out all the time on good grazing (10 acres in winter) and access to hay. A difficult balancing act between feeding low-sugar diet but good for weight-gain!

Edited to add has always had very good teeth.

Cushcare is good smells amazing and they love the taste. My 28yr old who passed away last year was on it and he looked much younger than he was.

 

[Archangel]

My 30 year old with PPID gets
Handful of Happy Hoof Molasses free (so he doesn't notice the Prascend)
Soaked grass nuts and speedi beet
Protexin
Linseed

The grass nuts are Meadow Magic grass nuts 9.5% sugar/starch

 

[spotty_pony]

Allen and Page Veteran Vitality is good for the oldies as it’s a soaked feed. Can she eat short chopped chaff? Some can’t eat any hay/haylage any more. I used to look after a mare like this and we used to have to feed her everything as a sloppy soup. She had Veteran Vitality, balancer and conditioning cubes all soaked together three times per day and had a bucket of soft veteran chaff to pick at the rest of the time. We kept her out as much as possible as she could eat grass better so anywhere where there was longer grass, was more suitable. She had no molars and only incisors left bless her.

 

[HashRouge]

There are plenty of vets more than capable of caring for equine mouths. Central England has one that is world renowned and lectures all over the world. There are plenty of EDT's that power tool teeth into little round balls and effectively shorten life expectancy. I have seen far too much of that in my working capacity.

Going back to elderly horse care, I have a big lad heading into winter 28. My thoughts for the OP's horse being seemingly unable to regulate body temperature would be to test for cushing's, or re test to see if changes are occuring if already medicated. Failure to regulate temperature is a classic indicator.

Keeping oldies comfortable is a challenge, I stumbled across a useful method earlier this year when I bought a lycra body suit to lay a coat on a yak of a cob. She didn't fit in it but the old lad did and it was a game changer for him, keeping him comfortably warm and avoiding skin issues. He has medicated cushings and develops an oily/matted patch on his back. I used it under a fly sheet for cooler evenings and now under a 50g rain sheet. It washes in 15 mins and dries in half hour too. It also prevents skin rubs from rugs sitting on bony toplines. It came from Ruggles and was vastly reduced as it had a snag on it. My fear with the truly heavyweight rugs would be an older horse not being able to rise easily if he is stiff and has to make more effort to get to his feet. We all know how heavy these rugs are to heave up onto a big horse, especially when wet. I don't buy PE rugs for that very reason, way too heavy. The Shires liner system is fabulous with 50, 100 and 200g quilted liners to choose from, all go in the washing machine easily and dry well.

Grass is keeping my old boy well at the moment, he struggles with hay, along with 4 feeds a day spread from 7 to 10, all forage based, sugar beet and linseed. Spillers senior mash is also seeming to be helpful. Equi Jewel is also very useful as is Copra. A hard winter will probably finish my old lad but all we can all do is make whatever time they have left as comfortable and happy as possible. Good luck to all with golden oldies.

A fabulous post. As Goldenstar says, we can all only do our best. I do think this might be my old girl's last winter and I'll cry buckets if that is the case, but I'll do whatever I can to make what time she's got left as comfortable and happy as possible.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Reading this post with interest, as my rising 28yo has started to have chewing issues, and has slowed down his eating from usual cob-speed. Several dental checks have taken place this past year, and he is now on six monthly checks at least. I am chopping his haylage into three or four inch lengths for him, and have reintroduced Fast Fibre along with Pink Mash, and a handful of soaked Alfa A mixed in. So far so good, but he is definitely not holding his usual condition.