Feeding an oldie?

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montysmum1

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Hi there,

Just wondered what the general opinion is on changing your feed regime for age?

My old lad (20yrs) is on D&H Build up (+ alfa a, sugar beet and pink powder), and has been for YEARS, and is looking great, with a shiny coat, and ribs not visible but easily felt. He has his teeth done every 9-10 months (following vets advice), is wormed as regularly as worm counts dictate, and is barefoot, not in work. He gets stiff when stable for long periods, so is currently out 24/7, and will be out as much as possible over the winter, weather/ground permitting. His grazing will be supplemented with good quality ad lib hay, when grass stops growing/he comes in.

I was wondering at what point I should be changing him onto an 'older horse' feed, like 16+? I'm stuck between 'if it aint broke dont fix it' , and not wanting him to suddenly deteriorate and struggle to look well again...

What do you think?
 
montysmum1 said:
I was wondering at what point I should be changing him onto an 'older horse' feed, like 16+? I'm stuck between 'if it aint broke dont fix it' , and not wanting him to suddenly deteriorate and struggle to look well again...

What do you think?
Click to expand...

I do the same as you, and my oldie (22) is still doing well on minimal feed; no veteran supplements or hard feed. If he begins to lose condition then I'm always willing to reassess :)
 
mine was on a basic nut, nothing added, and looked fab. He deteriorated due to age, and I changed his feed and he picked up within days.

Don't change anything until you see he needs it. I've never known one go downhill through old age and not pick up when the feed's been changed to suit.
 
My boy is 26yr old and still in work. He was doing fine on the feed he was on (hi-fi original, bailey's economy cubes & mix). I just decided one day that maybe he should be on a feed designed for older horses so switched the bailey's feeds for the dodson & horrel 16+ cubes and mix. Everything just carried on as normal but then I wondered if he really did need both the cubes and the mix so stopped the cubes as the mix 'looked more interesting'. Boy did I notice a difference when I stopped his cubes! I took him showjumping and he just kept running out of the jumps and just wasn't 'in it'. I put this first disaster down to an off day but when we had the same performance the following week I knew there was something wrong. The only thing I could think of that had changed was that I'd stopped his 16+ cubes so I put him back on them, took him showjumping a few days later and he brought the ribbons home as he had been doing before. I didn't know the cubes were doing anything until I took him off them. This might not apply to your boy as he's not in work but I do feel that the 16+ feeds do benefit them whether in work or not.
 
Thank you for your replies, i'm just paranoid about what i do with him! He's my world and i only want the best for him. I'm on my own yard so have no-one to bat ideas about with so really appreciate the input of people on this forum! :)
 
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