Feeding an older pony with poor teeth

[nikanita]

Daughters pony is 21 and has very poor teeth. Is ok weight wise at the moment but am worried about keeping weight on over the winter. Had to take him off haylage last year as it caused mild colic and put him onto hay. He is struggling to chew his hay and I find loads of bits where he has chewed it and spit it out. Got dentist coming in a couple of weeks to check him out, but wondered what else you would suggest to feed him.

I've heard about feeding chopped hay or chaff. At the moment I give him 2 scoops of happy hoof at night and thats it.

If feeding chopped hay or chaff do I just leave a big bucket of it in the field - I could put it in his field shelter - so he can eat it as and when he likes? Presumably it is not wet at all. Can this cause any blockages i.e. choke?

Hope this does not go on the list of ridiculous questions to ask!!!!

 

[nikicb]

Dengie Hifi senior - it's brilliant. My old girl (34) is on it ad lib even when she is out (in a large bucket). It's made all the difference and she maintains the weight.

ETA can soak with water (as with my girl) or mix with sugar beet.

 

[Three]

I give my boy (no grinding molars) giant trugs of ReadiGrass and Veteran or Apple Mollichaff in the winter.

I don't soak or wet it at all. I did try filling his haybar up with it but it got damp and mouldy unless I emptied it completely every day and gave it time to dry out (the hay bar not the molli! ).


He can manage grass perefectly well so lives out until there really is none left then comes in at night.

 

[Jane_Lou]

My friends pony has not been able to chew hay for over 10 years now. He gets a feed of chaff, speedibeet and Baileys No1 and a sparate bucket with a stubs scoop of spillers fibre cubes soaked into a mash. Instead of hay he gets a bucket of Hi-Fi and Redigrass mixed - a medium sized tub trug over night - and looks amazing. He is now well into his 30's and keeps his weight better than he did before he started this diet.

 

[piggyinablanket]

We had a 26 yr old with very poor teeth on loan. he also dropped weight in winter. We fed him fast fibre in a seperate bucket as an addition to his hay, plus build up cubes and sugar beet as a main feed. twice a day up to 3 in winter. Worked well while he was with me. He had to be well rugged to and on good grazing.
The Fast fibre was soaked and it was like a bran mash in consistancy which made it easier for him to manage. Good luck!

 

[nikanita]

Thanks for the reply's. He has to live out 24/7, so I am presuming that if I put a big bucket in his field shelter, dry, he would just munch on that as and when he wants. Would you put hay out as well or not bother?

Last year I hung a hay net in his field shelter, but most of it got wasted on the floor.

 

[Louby]

30 odd year old pony on my last yard could eat hay so she fed him a large rectangular bucket of sugar beet, soaked grass nuts and soaked alfalfa nuts. It was like a big bucket of mush!

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

The oldie here (was 40 this year) had a trug of Allen & page Fast fibre and Mollichaff Veteran which was just topped up as necessary - at least once a day - all year round and an extra bowl of Fast Fibre with Equi Jewel in the winter. He lived out year round on paddocks with the longest grass and some hay to chomp on in winter. The hay was more is a gesture as he would have a tantrum and yell if he didn't get any

 

[howengold]

Hi. Every pony is different but here is what I feed my three veterans and a bit about them to give you a rough idea what to feed.

Willow is my younger one at 23 years old, he is a 12,2hh section a. Generally in good health but is know to suffer colic in winter. He is fed two buckets of Hi-fi veteran it is soaked and I add him a bit of beet, veggies and oil. He can manage a haynet but it takes him a while to get through it so I keep him in a seperate paddock now so he can be left alone with his food as the others will steal it.

Mon-ami is 30 years old, in excellent health has a parrot jaw but can still manage hay. She has 2 kg of hi-fi, a stubbs scoup of sugar beet and 500gm of soaked Rowan Barbary Ready Mash extra with veggies and soya oil. Since being on the Ready Mash her health has been better than ever.

Sovereign is 37 years old, she has very few teeth left and can't eat hay at all. She has 2kg of hifi, 1kg of soaked ready mash extra, a stubbs of sugar beet, veggies and soya oil. She gets this in two feeds with a couple of extra buckets of hi-fi soaked when I go up between feeds.

Ready Mash is brilliant stuff and I swear by it. I buy three sacks a months and it does all five of my ponies during winter and only costs around £12 per bag. It is soaked and ready to use in 10 mins. I am lucky that although the grasses nutrients aren't so good in winter there is enough on my veterans paddocks to help supplement their hay. I have had to stop stabling at the moment due to a struggle in finding a bedding supplier but I think my new method is working well. I have had to seperate my heard of 5 into three. My two younger ponies live in a paddock together as the NF won't let the shettie nick her food. Willow is on his own as the shettie and NF both steal his food and he steals Sovereigns food. Sov and Mony are together on a bigger paddock full of grass as Mony wony steal Sov's dinners and they are very close.

I would get an EDT out before winter really sets in and see that everything is as good as it can be. Mine all have their teeth checked and treated at the beginning og October and then again in March and it really has made a difference to their health and weights over the winters.

 

[glenruby]

I would do as others have suggested and swop onto chaff/alfalfa and grass nuts to supplement forage. I would make hay available but as someone else said - as a token gesture. Speedibeet will supplement the grass nuts/chaff nicely and is good for weight gain.

 

[nikanita]

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Just one more stupid question. If I put out a big trug of "something" in his field shelter i.e. readigrass and hi-fi. - Do I need to measure it out or just fill it up - I worry that he will just eat and eat and then it will cause him problems such as colic?

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Just fill it up after the first couple of days when they shovel it down they get used to it being there and just graze from it throughout the day and night as they want. The old boy here never had problems with colic etc as it was soft, short and easy to chew but most importantly it is all fibre so it makes them feel full and keeps their gut functioning properly so they maintain their weight and their body temperature. Constant gut function means they are less likely to colic.

 

[kateelliott]

Im also a big fan of Fast Fibre for my fussy 27yo TB. He also has Ride and Relax from Allen and Page but am tempted to try their new Veteran Vitality which looks similar but more conditioning. Short chop like readigrass by the bucket doesnt really interest him. Sugar beet seems to disagree with him - his droppings are good consistency but they come out with a watery liquid each time which leaves him with a very dribbly bottom when on sugar beet. I think he could be sugar intolerant? I bought some Carrot Express dried carrot slices but he wont eat them either - £9 wasted!!

This winter is first one i am tackling with him totally unable to chew hay so am really grateful for ideas from this thread - may try some some n soak ready mash as everyone seems to rave about it.

 

[howengold]

may try some some n soak ready mash as everyone seems to rave about it.

its definately worth a try. My mare had tried everything and she even had a balanced diet put together by my vet and a nutritionist , it worked for a short while but then she lost more of her teeth and I had to look elsewhere. She has been on ready mash now for three months and she has her old spark back and her weight has come back to how it used to be before her teeth fell out.