Feed advice for an oldie needing condition

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DesertAuction

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Hi I’ve a 23 year old mare she’s sadly starting to look her age a little now. She’s not bad but looking a little “tucked in” and on the lean side. Looking for a feed that will help her gain weight and add condition. She is only on hi fi lite and spillers cool mix as she has been for the past 10 years. She recently recovered from ulcers about 8 months ago so something to help prevent that too. She is only in light to moderate work ridden 4 times a week hacking (or schooling if the weather is bad) What would you recommend?
 
I like Alfa A oil for weight gain and it’s good for ulcers, as long as teeth aren’t a problem. I feed my 20 year old that with unmolassed sugar beet and micronised linseed and he is in perfect condition.
 
Saracen Releve cubes soaked and extra micronised linseed. If the linseed doesn’t do it then I’d look to adding Equijewel it is expensive but you only feed a cupful or two a day. My 27yr old looked superb on this even though he had trouble eating hay.

Obviously make any change slowly and just change or add things one at a time.
 
Allen & Page Soothe and Gain is fab. It worked wonders for my old Friesian mare. So much so, that I had to cut down her ration as she ended up looking a little too well.

Current old cushings pony is on D&H Cushcare which is also great for condition.
 
Allen and Page Veteran Vitality, beet pulp, omega oil. Also I give substantial amounts of chaff to my older poor doer. Increase the number of hard feeds so she is on multiple small feeds a day, mine is currently on 5 feeds a day, but has had as many as 7 when she has been underweight.
 
My 20 year old was tucked up and lean after colic... senior mash (think its spillers) with topspec high fibre plus cubes soaked ...2 meals a day and hes looking fab after a few weeks.
 
My old cob was very similar to yours last winter. This winter I have added soaked Graze On mixed with soaked Fast Fibre to his diet, as well as a bucket of veteran haylage. He still gets his normal amount of netted haylage. This winter he has worn a 200g fill rug instead of the usual rain sheet, and he has held his weight and condition a lot better. My lad is 28, and fully retired from exercise.
 
Spotherisk said:
Rowan Barbary Ready Mash Extra. I just feed one product, rather than mixing up different ones.
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I have followed the routine of feeding one or two products only, due to EMS. Then he developed Faecal Water Syndrome that steadily worsened over time. I am currently awaiting the results of a gut biome analysis, but am following Equibiome's advice to add variety to the diet to try and increase the gut flora. Two months down the line and I haven't seen FWS since he started coming in at night. Unsure whether it is the addition of short chopped forage or the addition of variety, but something has worked!
 
I switched my oldie from high fibre cubes (all he's ever needed in the past) to Ease and Excel cubes this winter and he's doing well on them. I'd also get his teeth checked by a really good dental vet if you haven't had them done recently. Mine told me to avoid chaff with him as bits were getting stuck in his teeth, causing painful gums and slowing down his eating too much.
 
If you like Spillers then their veteran mix worked wonders when my old boy came out of last winter looking poor. I kept him on it last summer when the heatwave zapped my grass. His arthritis meant he sadly went before this winter, but he went looking amazing on it.
 
meleeka said:
Allen & Page Soothe and Gain is fab. It worked wonders for my old Friesian mare. So much so, that I had to cut down her ration as she ended up looking a little too well.

Current old cushings pony is on D&H Cushcare which is also great for condition.
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I feed my 32 year old companion pony Soothe & Gain and she looks very well on it.
 
Highmileagecob said:
following Equibiome's advice to add variety to the diet to try and increase the gut flora. Two months down the line and I haven't seen FWS since he started coming in at night.
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Did you happen to start on the Equibiome probiotics at that time? That small packet made a massive difference for my horse, he also gained a lot of weight with the addition of the probiotics because it let him to metabolise his food better and it wasn't all going into the muck heap.

Agree with the suggestion of changing slowly and one at a time, the micronised linseed you can buy in bulk much cheaper to try it isolated from a mixed feed.
 
tyner said:
Did you happen to start on the Equibiome probiotics at that time? That small packet made a massive difference for my horse, he also gained a lot of weight with the addition of the probiotics because it let him to metabolise his food better and it wasn't all going into the muck heap.

Agree with the suggestion of changing slowly and one at a time, the micronised linseed you can buy in bulk much cheaper to try it isolated from a mixed feed.
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No I didn't use Equibiome's products. The cob had a four week ration of Pink Mash whilst the Graze On and Fast Fibre were being introduced, and then veteran haylage was added, and a double handful of Fibre Nuggets. His teeth are starting to lose grinding ability so I tried to work out a chopped forage diet to keep him going, plus his haylage in nets to keep him occupied. He is usually hovering around 480kg in summer, and is ticking over around 450kg at the moment. He is 14hh and Dales shaped.
 
DesertAuction said:
Hi I’ve a 23 year old mare she’s sadly starting to look her age a little now. She’s not bad but looking a little “tucked in” and on the lean side. Looking for a feed that will help her gain weight and add condition. She is only on hi fi lite and spillers cool mix as she has been for the past 10 years. She recently recovered from ulcers about 8 months ago so something to help prevent that too. She is only in light to moderate work ridden 4 times a week hacking (or schooling if the weather is bad) What would you recommend?
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My mare is also 23 :) I would recommend Coolstance Copra as she loves it and it seems to add condition. Also, as others have said, Speedibeet, Fast Fibre and Micronised Linseed.
 
Cushcare was fab for mine, or straight micronised linseed. Seen an improvement in weight with top spec too, guess she was lacking minerals somewhere
 
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