Feeding an older lady with no front teeth?

SaffronWelshDragon

SaffronWelshDragon

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 July 2002
Messages
1,408
Location
Braintree, Essex
www.facebook.com
Hi everyone,

So my lot have always been good doers - been a challenge to keep them trim if anything. However my New Forest pony is now in her early to mid 20's and her front teeth have worn away to almost nothing. Of course there's sod all grass this time of the year so I presume she's not getting much forage apart from the hay she gets - I'm sure the best thing I can do is increase the amount of hay she gets. Is there a formula for working out how much forage she needs per day? We've also recently tried her on Baileys topline nuts. She's got bags of energy when she's out hacking, but you can feel her backbone, ribs etc, through her coat.

She's been wormed, and always puts her weight back on with the spring grass so not too worried about her digestive system.
 
If she is losing weight then I wouldn't bother with a formula, I would just give her as much hay as she can possibly eat! Although, if her teeth are that bad you may find that she actually can't eat much hay and you might be better off giving her some sort of soaked forage replacer - soaked grass nuts are good (as long as she is not laminitic) or Fast Fibre (if laminitis is a worry).
 
I used to have to soak hay for my old gappy mare, she also had to have her hay and feed up high (bucket on the wall!). She was only ever on soaked dengie and senior mix and looked very well for it!

A 40yo on my yard is fed some sort of mash? He kinda sucks it all up and if he's fed enough does really well on it!
 
Id be looking at feeding thunderbrooks basemix with their bran and oats to ensure shes getting all the vits and minerals. You use warm water to mix it with and it turns out like a bran mash they lick up.

You only feed a tiny amount so its v cost effective and kept weight on a 16 yr old living out in -15 last yr no probs :)
 
Thanks guys,

The vet reckons her cheek teeth are pretty good, and I keep an eye on her whilst she's eating and she seem to manage to chew the hay ok - though her fieldmate manages to demolish her hay pile far faster. My other pony, who's in her mid 20's also doesn't have front teeth and also has a wave mouth. She chews and chews hay, then spits it out, so she's now on Simple Systems feeds which she's doing well on.

Would prefer to keep her on hay for as long as possible, as wouldn't want to have to fence her off from her friend (who will just eat whatever bucket feed I gave her if I started her on Simple Systems).

Getting a bit confuzzled as to the percentage bodyweight you have to feed in forage, some say 1%, 1.5% and 2.5% argh!
 
We used to feed a fibre replacement pellet and chaff instead of hay. We soaked the fibre pellets like sugar beet and the chaff was put in a big bucket that they could munch on. We also found that pouring boiling water onto baileys No2 cubes made a great porridge, that mixed with soaked barley rings (in a pan in the bottom oven of the aga for 12 hours) made a delicious and balanced dinner for the gummy brigade!!
 
I would not think about the % she really needs to have as much as she wants as if she eats slowly she will probably not be eating enough anyway, my old pony just gets adlib some days he eats a lot others very little. Mine is also on 3 feeds a day of the Baileys and doing well on them mixed with some Fast Fibre to increase his fibre intake.
 
Saffron_Envy said:
Getting a bit confuzzled as to the percentage bodyweight you have to feed in forage, some say 1%, 1.5% and 2.5% argh!
Click to expand...

1% and 1.5% is only for those horses and ponies wanting to lose weight - I would offer her at least 2.5% and more if she will eat it, until she is the correct weight. If she won't eat that amount then replace some of it with a soaked forage replacer.
 
i wouldnt worry about % but just feed ad lib hay/haylage, as much as she can and will eat. i'd try and section her off for a portion of the day if possible to give her the chance to eat as much as she can.

i cannot recommend allen and page fast fibre enough- that and veteran vitality made a huge difference to my 40 yr old who is severely dentally challenged. ;)

xx
 
Thanks so much everyone :) Thankfully I'm moving both Misty (the dentally challenged one) and Saffron to a place 10 minutes from my house this weekend so I'll be able to get down there more anyway. Will definitely aim for ad-lib hay and section her off as soon as I have enough money to buy some electric fencing.

Thanks again!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top