Feeding the Golden Oldie help needed

[AdorableAlice]

I've had older horses over the years but never one with dental problems so in the past it was a simple stuffing in of calories and ad lib haylage. However, my wonderful old lad (28) has just seen the vet and is getting towards struggling with eating hay/haylage with an associated risk of choke. Molars are smooth and some missing, incisors intact. Small amount of quidded lumps of hay occasionally seen in his barn. He has choice of dunked (not soaked) seed hay and new season meadow hay but is not eating much at present due to quantity of grass still in his paddocks. He puts himself in if it rains so does need forage indoors and if he winters, he will obviously need plenty of forage as the grass wains.

He is free range with excellent grazing at present and fed 4 x daily with various oldie type feeds, he looks ok at the moment. I need to think about hay replacement regimes. He isn't a piggy type and would pick through trugs of chop, but what do I give him, there is such a range of chop and chaff I haven't a clue where to start. Any thoughts/past experiences of keeping wobbly toothed old lads happy, gratefully received.

 

[suestowford]

I used to give my oldie grass nuts. You can soak them if he hasn't got the teeth to chew them. Mostly these are rye grass but there are timothy ones available if he has to have low sugar (I have been doing my research as one of my current oldies may need to have these soon).

 

[AdorableAlice]

I used to give my oldie grass nuts. You can soak them if he hasn't got the teeth to chew them. Mostly these are rye grass but there are timothy ones available if he has to have low sugar (I have been doing my research as one of my current oldies may need to have these soon).

Thanks, I do give him a scoop of soaked grass nuts as part of his 4 meals a day. I wouldn't feed unsoaked grass nuts to anyone given the way they swell.

 

[ihatework]

I’d give soaked grass nuts as the hay replacer separate to his feeds. Then keep the feeds calorie dense.

 

[SpotsandBays]

3rd vote for grass nuts!
If your looking for a nice soft short grass chop chaff then I recommend Northern Crop Driers Graze On. Reasonably priced too

 

[AdorableAlice]

3rd vote for grass nuts!
If your looking for a nice soft short grass chop chaff then I recommend Northern Crop Driers Graze On. Reasonably priced too

Thank you, my feed merchants have that in stock so that is a start for him. His days are very limited, but I want the last bit to be as pleasant as possible.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

I mix a bag of grassnuts, a bag of alfalfa nuts and a bag of sugar beet pellets in a big bin and soak scoops of it in tubtrugs. Makes a good soaked feed that with it being fibre you can feed as much of as you like. I did this for Kia along with feeding him suregrow the youngstock balancer and dengie hi fi senior and twice a day he got a cup of equerry condition mash added.

If he was particularly light then I bought halleys blox and soaked one in a trug, it made a lot of nice soft fibre, then added a mug of linseed and two scoops of the mush into the trug and left it in the stable over night for him to pick at. With it all being fibre and oil it wasn’t me constantly feeding concentrates ?

He was in five small feeds of the above a day in the end as his teeth were done and the cushings was taking too much out of him, only two contained the balancer and the equerry mash.

It didn’t work out that expensive for all that as the pellet mix lasted about three months and the halleys blox and mush weren’t always eaten in a day. The suregrow isn’t expensive and the equerry isn’t too expensive either. together it did the best anything else could have. He was cereal intolerant though so fibre and oil was all I could go with.

 

[mavandkaz]

With my oldie, there was the mash - soaked grass nuts, fast fibre, veteran vitality. It changed depending on the time of year.

Then for 'long' fibre, it was grass chaff and I did go though a stage of rabbit/guinea pig hay, as it was soft and cut short (she was only a mini so luckily not too expensive.)

As she got older and lost more teeth, she eventually ended up with no lower teeth and only about 6 upper, she was able to go back onto hay as her gums hardened

 

[ester]

Frank did better with soft hay/haylage than he did with even the softest of chaffs which was a bit weird. He had bucketfuls of agrobs soaked hay cobs as replacer last winter. Grass nuts mostly too high carbs for us

 

[TGM]

Soaked grass nuts usually work out more cost effective, which is an important consideration when you think how much hay you are having to replace! Chaffs generally work out more expensive and if the dental problems include diastemas then chaff can easily get impacted in those and cause more problems.

 

[Peglo]

My old lass is on spillers senior mash and ready mash as feed and grass nuts as grazing. In winter she gets speedy beet with her soaked grass nuts.

 

[onemoretime]

I give my old companion pony who is coming up to 32 years old Soothe & Gain twice a day and a bucket of soaked Fast Fibre in the evening as I leave the yard. She has a small amount of soft hay to chew as well. She is looking really well on this diet. She does not have many teeth now but does chew a bit of grass as well.

 

[Annagain]

Our dentist warned us against short-chopped fibre as it was getting stuck in between Monty's teeth and causing gum abcesses. He also had a sugar intolerance so grass nuts were out. A mash of fast fibre, High fibre cubes, Saracen re-leve, vegetable oil (he wouldn't eat linseed) and very soft hay worked best for him (although grass was what he did best on). This was part of the reason his owner decided not to put him through another winter as he always lost a lot of weight (even when young and fit) when stabled overnight. He just wasn't that fussed on eating hay / haylage or enough of the mash to replace it.

 

[MyBoyChe]

A&P Fast Fibre kept our old exmoor going for his last 3 winters, he could manage grass but not hay or straw so we soak a huge trug of this for him and he would slurp it up to his hearts content. WE would chuck in a few bits of veg occasionally and it could be fed warm initially, or cold. It also has the advantage of being a 1 minute soak so no forethought needed. He looked incredibly well on it. Its not specifically for oldies or dentally challenged but it fits the bill.

 

[Ratface]

My oldie (30) is still trundling along quite well. He's on soaked grass nuts, a good senior balancer, chaff, various herbal goodies , and will be going on soaked speedi beet when it gets colder. His teeth are (fingers crossed) good for his age. He's on last year's hay ad lib. Out on good grass with his four herd mates from dawn to dusk. He's looking good, for a tall, angular Arabian and is an only slightly modified Loon to ride,
and generally handle.
Every day he's with us is a wonderful bonus.

 

[piglet2001]

https://rowenbarbary.co.uk/readymash-extra.html

This was fantastic, tasty, high calories and a mash. Worked amazingly.

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

My late oldie had to be fed hay replacers completely for about the last 8 months. He wouldn’t eat soaked grass nuts or speedibeet. He didn’t manage chaff very well either but was ok with grass.

He loved Pure Feeds Meadow Mash so overnight I fed two scoops of that soaked in one trug and in another I fed a mix of 2 scoops Simple Systems Haycare (Timothy nuts) which is a bit more fibrous and a scoop or two of Spillers fibre nuts plus mint and fenugreek as fussy. He ate the Meadow Mash too fast to last the night which is why I did a different trug with something that wasn’t quite as delicious.

I also used to add a bit of veteran chaff to each feed to slow his eating down. As an extra to keep him busy whilst riding my other horse I’d put a scoop or two of dry chaff in a trug with a mix of dry nuts (Baileys nuggets, spillers fibre nuts and Haycare) which he could whiffle through and find the tastiest ones first.

For his main feed he had Saracen Releve nuts, Spillers fibre nuts plus Equijewel and micronised linseed.

He was in superb condition when he passed.

 

[hock]

I think the advice on here has been excellent and I don’t have much to add. Personally I would Keep an eye on his poops daily making sure everything is moving through well and a good moisture content etc. I’d also make sure he has very good, breathable but as lightweight as possible rugs and finally I would make sure he has your chosen fibre alternative dotted about in a couple of buckets in his field in more than one place.

 

[SpotsandBays]

Thank you, my feed merchants have that in stock so that is a start for him. His days are very limited, but I want the last bit to be as pleasant as possible.

Bless him. You’re a very caring owner!
I’d still offer a trug of hay for enrichment if you can. My elderly mare enjoys snaffling through to find the shorter bits etc. she doesn’t take much in at all but she’s always happy when I give her some fresh - Loose or in a bucket though, haynets are difficult!

 

[Highmileagecob]

There is also a thread running on 'how to chop haylage into shorter lengths' which is throwing up some inventive ways of making long chaff. Good luck - it's a challenge isn't it?

 

[SEL]

https://rowenbarbary.co.uk/readymash-extra.html

This was fantastic, tasty, high calories and a mash. Worked amazingly.

I used this a few years ago for an elderly pony I was looking after. Used to pour warm water over it and every other head would pop over the stable doors hopefully! Smelt lovely and seemed to help a Cushing's pony with no appetite on prascend.

Good luck AA - oldies are special

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

We fed our elderly cob who was prone to weightless, after a lifetime of being a good doer, soaked grassnuts with Graze-on dried grass chaff to help to avoid choke.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Thank you for all the ideas, this evening he has put himself to bed inside as the weather is so awful and has a choice of soaked meadow hay, soaked seed hay and a couple of kg of graze on for after his tea. Supper will arrive at 10pm. He seems to be eating without problem after his dental appointment last weekend

We go into winter number 28 with him looking reasonable, the best veterinary care possible, an open mind and a multi choice menu. We could do with feed prices to stop rocketing though !

 

[Annagain]

Thank you for all the ideas, this evening he has put himself to bed inside as the weather is so awful and has a choice of soaked meadow hay, soaked seed hay and a couple of kg of graze on for after his tea. Supper will arrive at 10pm. He seems to be eating without problem after his dental appointment last weekend

We go into winter number 28 with him looking reasonable, the best veterinary care possible, an open mind and a multi choice menu. We could do with feed prices to stop rocketing though !

He's looking great, Aus.

 

[AdorableAlice]

He's looking great, Aus.

Thank you, Frustratingly he goes from good to shocking in a nano second. This is how he came out of last winter, but despite looking like no one cares for him he was happy, active and still chasing pheasants out of his field. So wish we could stop the ageing process for our cherished animals, they simply don't stay with us for long enough.

 

[humblepie]

Looking fabulous at present. I think last winter was a weird one on them in general.

 

[Ratface]

Thank you, Frustratingly he goes from good to shocking in a nano second. This is how he came out of last winter, but despite looking like no one cares for him he was happy, active and still chasing pheasants out of his field. So wish we could stop the ageing process for our cherished animals, they simply don't stay with us for long enough.

Another one who thinks that he looks fabulous!
I, too have an oldie: a 16hh 29yr old purebred Arabian. He's very similar in shape and shine to your chap. Angular, sharp withers, but has a high croup and less rounded quarters.
Very silly when being turned out (daily for as long as there's light and the weather isn't abysmal) and displays an advanced sense of humour when being ridden.
The ridden time is only when I feel well enough and usually only for twenty minutes maximum. He always wants to go at warp speed, whereas, mostl, I don't. Negotiations usually achieve a mutually acceptable compromise.
Well, sometimes he wins and I just cling on until some sort of compromise is achieved.
We're always on our private land, so no humans, other than me, will be splatted during the process . . .

 

[Spotherisk]

https://rowenbarbary.co.uk/readymash-extra.html

This was fantastic, tasty, high calories and a mash. Worked amazingly.

Ready Mash Extra is wonderful, they all love it.

 

[blodwyn1]

I use Dodson and horrel cush care condition for weight gain in my old ponies I just feed I mug full soaked with chaff and fast fibre and liñseed.

 

[Lotsoflemons]

Hi my old horse used to choke and now all our horses are now on mash in the winter we had an incident the other week with our horse choking on some chaff and the vet said its very common this time of year so always feed your chaff wet!!