Feeding my 16 year old throughbred

P

Poppys Nannan

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 September 2011
Messages
163
Visit site
Hello there

Having had my daughters horse for a month now - to the eye and in certain light she looks to have lost a tiny bit of weight - in other lights she looks absolutely fine.
Prior to buying her she wasnt really in work but my daughter is starting to ride around 5 times a week - half hour each time ish
She is on grass and hay ad lib - not had any hard feed as yet.
The horse is 16 years but doesn't look it or act it, however she seems to be losing her vigour and a little energy.

Wlecome any suggestions
Advised by different feeding merchants

Dodson & Horrel 16+ mix with daily vits and mins and alfa a
Baileys horse & pony cubes with low cal balancer and alfafa blend
Simple systems - blue grass pellets with lucerne nuts and total eclipse powder
Allen & Paige - veteran mix with alfa a
Does anyone have any experience / preference for any of the above

Many thanks
 
I would start off with Allen and Page Calm and Condition, and use this as your base feed: it is a complete fed, and you don't want to start with a mix of things, after a fortnight you can asses the condition, you don't really know the horse well enough, but you may want to move on to a veteran mix or a competition mix, the condition and performance will guide you.
Linseed meal will be a good supplement for skin and hoof and condition, it is a source of slow release energy, I feed less than 100gm per day and it took a fortnight to show in the skin health.
If she is getting the full manufacturers recommended rate of food she should not need added vits and mins, and as you are worried about loss of condition, and as it is coming in to autumn, I would go for plenty of feed, as long as she can take it,
She will change in shape even with such a small amount of work, which I assume will be gradually increasing, but please do not worry, she will be settling in so one would expect her behaviour to settle down, it is much easier to school a quiet horse than a mad skatty one!
 
Last edited:
A fibre based diet is the thing to go for, this will release energy slowly and should avoid gut upsets, you are not doing any "work" really, when she is up to an hour a day of "non sweating" exercise, you are probably in "light" work, only when it gets up to an hour more of real hard work, including cantering and jumping, can you say she is in moderate work.
Only competing horses are really in "hard work".
Get some scales to weigh out her feed, split her ration in to two, preferably three meals per day, and take a note of all your changes on a spreadsheet, as it is difficult to remember all things that happened,
I also have my farrier records, [I book him in every six weeks], get the teeth rasped, I prefer a dental technician, but it can be cheaper to use the vet if they are coming for routine jabs anyway.
Find a good instructor, I prefer mine to have in depth experience [competitive background] but it depends on each individual.
Sounds like a nice type, so we hope to hear of her successes very soon.
You can measure the horse to asses the weight changes, but she should change shape as she comes in to work, less belly, more topline.
 
Last edited:
I'm going to go the complete opposite and say stick to straights if you can.
I would start her off on boiled barley and add some linseed (micronised linseed is much easier as you dont have to cook it first!).
The chaff base I would chose would be alpha A oil.
You could also try sugarbeet (pretty staple for most over winter anyway!).
So I would start with
1 scoop of alpha a oil, and a handful of boiled barley, and slowly increase.
Some sugarbeet and some linseed and I would imagine job done!
The other big factor is to get her teeth checked. That could make all the difference!
 
The Veteran Vitality by Allen and Page is an amazing feed, its really low in starch and it has no barley or mollases, its high in fibre and oil.
If I was you I would follow their advice and feed that with the Alfa chaff.
 
firewell said:
The Veteran Vitality by Allen and Page is an amazing feed, its really low in starch and it has no barley or mollases, its high in fibre and oil.
If I was you I would follow their advice and feed that with the Alfa chaff.
Click to expand...

-ditto-

My tb is 15 yo and she is on A&P Calm and Condition which really suits her.

If your mare is on the same diet as before she was being ridden, she is bound to lose a bit of condition because of the work she is now getting. You really need to be a nutritionist to feed straights and supplements in the right quantities for the work being done, so I would stick to the feed companies advice. Ring Alan & Paige and I am sure they will recommend a suitable diet.

Simple Systems are also very helpful.

Oh yes, get teeth checked every 6 months once they start getting older.
 
I feed my 16.1hh TB Bailey's veteran mix plus Alfa A, he's also in "light" work and thrives on it. I add a dollup of codliveroil and cidervinegar to keep him supple as he's 20 now.
 
Thanks all for your advice,

I have rung feed companies and i think i am going to go with the veteran mix by A & P with some chaff / alfa mix

Will i need to add anything else x
 
The veteran mix is a complete feed, so you shouldn't need anything else - see how he goes and if you have any concerns ring them again and I'm sure they will happy to help you.
 
Poppys Nannan said:
Thank you for your posts they are really helpful - I am assuming i need to add a chop / chaff - which one do you use

thank you:)
Click to expand...
You don't need to add chaff if you start with Allen and Page feeds, they are designed to be complete, high fibre and low cereal
You will probably be tempted to add chaff to add a bit of interest, I also like to feed a mix of fibres, but my horse is sensitive to sugars, so I feed no molasses: Dengie Hi fi Molasses Free, is very palatable, but expensive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top