Feeding for elderly mare

[Crugeran Celt]

I have a rising 30 year old TBxWelsh that is losing weight rapidly. She is fed Veteran Vitality twice a day with added veg oil and linseed and a handful of chaff, she also has two feeds of grass nuts. She has started to struggle with eating hay, she has her teeth checked every six months and having had them looked at recently I know she has more lose teeth than solid ones. She will not live in so is well rugged. I have already made the decision to call it a day this summer as every winter she has struggled more for the last few years. I do not want to go down the route of blood tests as I would not treat her for anything at this stage so I would like some advise on an alternative for hay that is suitable for an animal with teeth issues. I have tried giving her more feeds through the day but she just doesn't eat it all. She likes her hay but it's just got too difficult for her. Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[Hollylee1989]

Grass pellets are great for partial hay replacing Have you taken a look at pure grass or redigrass? You can dampen these and scatter them, hi fi senior sounds like a good option for her teeth. On the dengie website it gives you good advise for full hay replacers. 30 is a great age

 

[meleeka]

I’ve put mine on D&H Cushcare and it’s made a massive difference. It’s not a hay replacer, but is excellent for weight gain. Mine also gets Veteran Vitality and a trug of Fibrebeet.

 

[Zuzzie]

I have a 29 year old gelding who started to struggle with eating hay - quidding. Vet confirmed he has lost teeth and advised to switch to a short chop hay replacer as, apart from the horse losing weight etc, there is also the risk of impaction. So I now feed him Spillers Happy Hoof unmolassed in a tub which he absolutely loves. It should be dampened. He gets 13 scoops of this split into various amounts during the day and at bedtime - he is 16hh. You need to work out how much to give with regard to the size and weight of your horse but the info is there to help. It's not cheap to feed this replacer but there is very little alternative. He also gets 4 feeds of Top Spec Fibre Plus cubes with Spillers Senior Mash (just a jug of cubes and half a jug of mash) - this is also soaked. Just for fun, I give a couple of handfuls of hay for him to peck at.