Hints, tips, reassurance for looking after an older horse

[Titchy Pony]

Hi there, I was hoping to pick the HHO's collective mind.

Though I've owned horses (well ponies really) for a total of 9 years, I'm new to "old" horses. I have just acquired a 25 year old French Trotter mare. She's been with me for less than a month and is a delight, but I do worry about her, mainly because I don't really know her yet, and so struggle to tell what is "normal" for her and what might be a warning sign.

She's currently living out 24/7 (I am hoping to get some stables sorted before the winter gets too bad, so that there's somewhere dry for her to come when necessary) with my competition pony. They get a supplement of hay and a hard feed once a day. There's no artificial shelter, but hedges on all 4 sides of the field and multiple overhanging trees. I'm trying to wean the old lady off her fly mask which I suspect she has been wearing all summer because of the hairless, wrinkly skin underneath (but she goes crazy if a single fly lands on her face).

As she was a gift and a companion, she hasn't been vetted, but her records show that she hasn't been vaccinated in nearly 10 years, so she's booked in for vaccinations alongside the little madam. Her feet need attention as apparently she only saw the farrier twice a year, though they're not too terrible. The osteopath/dentist should be in the area at end of the month, so I'd like to give her a once over, though apparently she did have her teeth done this year, but I don't have the report, so no idea what the outcome was.

She strides out in a walk, properly marching, and from the mud on her is getting down to roll/sleep, though I haven't seen her do it yet, so I'm hoping for relatively good articulations. Her work load is a 30/40min walk hack a week as long as she's happy to, mainly just to give her something to keep her interested (I could take her in hand, but I think I'd have to run to keep up with her!).

My biggest worry is keeping the weight on her. She dropped a bit of weight when she arrived (to be expected I suppose, with the stress of the move she did quite a bit of pacing which has stopped now) and I'd like to get a bit back on her before winter sets in. She just doesn't seem as dedicated to eating as the little madam and seems to stand there and "daydream" quite a bit.
I'm also fretting about when to rug her. She came with two rugs, but it's still too hot in the day for her to wear them all the time and the logistics of only putting them on at night are a bit complicated for now. For now, here we're going down to about 7°C at night but up to 18-20°C in the day.

Any tips to keep oldies health and happy? Anything essential I may have overlooked?

 

[Abacus]

How lovely that she has found a caring home with you. Did the previous owner give any tips?

Personally I like micronised linseed and sugar beet for my old boy, apart from that he gets conditioning cubes in winter and chaff, he does ok on that. Last year I gave him haylage when his weight dropped a little, the rest only get hay. Don't think it will be long before you can pop a 100g rug on, does she have a lot of hair?

 

[Landcruiser]

I give my oldie a big feed twice a day - a mix of as much coolstance copra as he'll eat, added micronised linseed, speedibeet, Fast fibre, plus equimins. I mix and match a bit in proportions depending on the weather - heavier on the fibre element when it's colder. Later on I'll add in a handful of rolled oats, and some vegetable oil. He has his teeth (what's left of them) done twice a year but he really struggles to eat hay and haylage and even chaff based feeds. He's in his early 30s and a little skinnier than ideal, but very well.

 

[Lady Jane]

Dental issues are often a major cause of weight loss in older horses but you are going to deal with that anyway. As you are getting all the appropriate checks done I'm sure this is a pointless comment but have you taken a worm count? And tested for tape worm? I would get a worm count done and then worm accordingly. If her burden is high/medium you may need to worm now and then again - whatever advice you are given. For feed suggestions, focus on fibre first. If you give more hay will she eat it? Are they sharing a field so you can't stop the competion pony eating more too? How good is your grass? I was feeding my horse a senior conditioning mix and my vet said the sugars and starch were too high - it was like feeding him up on mars bars. As he was already getting ad lib hay, he suggested grass nuts and oil. The subject of oil is a minefield (type/quality/quantity) - I'll leave you to do the research. I would say shelter will definitely be needed in the winter but until she has had all the checks, the feed adjusted and is rugged you can't be sure. Couldn't you take her rug off when you do them in the morning and put it back on in the evening? I agree its a bit warm for day time rugs at the moment. Good luck

 

[Fabel]

I give my old boy 4 small feeds a day and as much hay as he will eat. He is on 2 prascend a day for cushings and his turnout is limited but he has a different stable to go in daytimes for change of scenery and so he can talk to different horses. I take him on a day by day basis and whatever he needs he gets.

 

[SpotsandBays]

I have a geriatric mare and in winter she has soaked grass nuts (Dengie) a handful of chaff (any) to give it abit of a consistency and micronised linseed. She lives out unless it’s particularly nasty weather. She can’t eat much hay because of her teeth, however does still enjoy picking at it so I give it loose on the floor or in a bucket. She tends to Snaffle the short bits at the bottom! Has Rugs during winter, although usually maximum 200g as she does grow a nice thick coat still. I just keep a close eye on her weight, if she looks like she’s dropping then I up the amount of feeds she has per day. She gets the best paddocks for grass in winter too. She’s in her mid 30s.
Edited to add, she’s not got rugs on yet. However I will start putting them on when we’re due rain from now on, and go up from there as the temp drops. Due to her confirmation she can only wear combos, standard necks rub her old skin on her withers.
She also doesn’t grow as much hoof as the younger lot now, so her trims are less frequent

 

[Titchy Pony]

How lovely that she has found a caring home with you. Did the previous owner give any tips?

Personally I like micronised linseed and sugar beet for my old boy, apart from that he gets conditioning cubes in winter and chaff, he does ok on that. Last year I gave him haylage when his weight dropped a little, the rest only get hay. Don't think it will be long before you can pop a 100g rug on, does she have a lot of hair?

Thank you. Unfortunately my mare was "orphaned" when her previous owner died unexpectedly in a horse related accident (nothing to do with my mare). So all my information comes from the previous owner's yard mates who weren't necessarily involved in the day to day keeping of the mare.
Thank you for the recommendations, I will have a look into them. She has a decent amount of hair and is currently shedding into her winter coat.

 

[Titchy Pony]

I give my oldie a big feed twice a day - a mix of as much coolstance copra as he'll eat, added micronised linseed, speedibeet, Fast fibre, plus equimins. I mix and match a bit in proportions depending on the weather - heavier on the fibre element when it's colder. Later on I'll add in a handful of rolled oats, and some vegetable oil. He has his teeth (what's left of them) done twice a year but he really struggles to eat hay and haylage and even chaff based feeds. He's in his early 30s and a little skinnier than ideal, but very well.

Thank you. Very interesting idea to vary proportions depending on the weather. My old lady seems OK with eating hay at the minute, but I'll keep an eye on her.

 

[Titchy Pony]

Dental issues are often a major cause of weight loss in older horses but you are going to deal with that anyway. As you are getting all the appropriate checks done I'm sure this is a pointless comment but have you taken a worm count? And tested for tape worm? I would get a worm count done and then worm accordingly. If her burden is high/medium you may need to worm now and then again - whatever advice you are given. For feed suggestions, focus on fibre first. If you give more hay will she eat it? Are they sharing a field so you can't stop the competion pony eating more too? How good is your grass? I was feeding my horse a senior conditioning mix and my vet said the sugars and starch were too high - it was like feeding him up on mars bars. As he was already getting ad lib hay, he suggested grass nuts and oil. The subject of oil is a minefield (type/quality/quantity) - I'll leave you to do the research. I would say shelter will definitely be needed in the winter but until she has had all the checks, the feed adjusted and is rugged you can't be sure. Couldn't you take her rug off when you do them in the morning and put it back on in the evening? I agree its a bit warm for day time rugs at the moment. Good luck

Thank you. Yes worming/worm count is also on the to do list. She does eat the hay, but she shares with the pony who is unfortunately very good at hogging the food if she wants it. It's in multiple piles but she eats faster and then shift the old lady to finish her share. I can't wait to have some stables so they can come in and be fed separately. If I'm taking little madam out, I leave the old lady with extra hay and feed to eat in peace. Grass is pretty rubbish at the moment but coming though now we've had some rain, part of the field has old longer grass and accessible hedges for them to browse.
I will need to find a way to store the rug at the field for the day time. My fly masks are currently hanging from a tree branch so they're accessible if needed...

 

[Titchy Pony]

I give my old boy 4 small feeds a day and as much hay as he will eat. He is on 2 prascend a day for cushings and his turnout is limited but he has a different stable to go in daytimes for change of scenery and so he can talk to different horses. I take him on a day by day basis and whatever he needs he gets.

Thank you. Limited turnout would definitely make things more complicated. My old lady is unfortunately stuck with only little madam for most the time, but they do seem to tolerate each other well, and I think I saw some signs of friendship the other day (as long as there is no food involved!)

 

[Titchy Pony]

I have a geriatric mare and in winter she has soaked grass nuts (Dengie) a handful of chaff (any) to give it abit of a consistency and micronised linseed. She lives out unless it’s particularly nasty weather. She can’t eat much hay because of her teeth, however does still enjoy picking at it so I give it loose on the floor or in a bucket. She tends to Snaffle the short bits at the bottom! Has Rugs during winter, although usually maximum 200g as she does grow a nice thick coat still. I just keep a close eye on her weight, if she looks like she’s dropping then I up the amount of feeds she has per day. She gets the best paddocks for grass in winter too. She’s in her mid 30s.
Edited to add, she’s not got rugs on yet. However I will start putting them on when we’re due rain from now on, and go up from there as the temp drops. Due to her confirmation she can only wear combos, standard necks rub her old skin on her withers.
She also doesn’t grow as much hoof as the younger lot now, so her trims are less frequent

Wow! mid-thirties is quite an age! I'd be delighted if I got my girl anywhere near that.
Unfortunately, I only have the one paddock cut in two at the moment, with (fingers crossed) 3 more on the way. But it has been impossible to fence anything due to the drought. Over here, road signs have been falling over as the ground around them crumbles.
Good point about conformation and rugs. I'll have to check the ones I've got for her actually fit her.

 

[Chianti]

Thank you. Yes worming/worm count is also on the to do list. She does eat the hay, but she shares with the pony who is unfortunately very good at hogging the food if she wants it. It's in multiple piles but she eats faster and then shift the old lady to finish her share. I can't wait to have some stables so they can come in and be fed separately. If I'm taking little madam out, I leave the old lady with extra hay and feed to eat in peace. Grass is pretty rubbish at the moment but coming though now we've had some rain, part of the field has old longer grass and accessible hedges for them to browse.
I will need to find a way to store the rug at the field for the day time. My fly masks are currently hanging from a tree branch so they're accessible if needed...

At my yard some of my pony's rugs are kept in one of those big plastic garden storage boxes. There's a small A frame inside so they don't have to sit on the floor.

 

[Peglo]

Lucky pony to land in such a loving home. ?

my old lass has lost a lot of teeth so she is on 2x buckets grass nuts a day and a small feed of spillers senior mash in the morning and big feed of senior mash, readimash, linseed and joint supplement at night. Currently out 24/7 but will come in at night at some point in October. Once in I might add speedibeet to her grass nuts. She’s on as much grass as she likes and quibs most of it but must get a bit of something from it.

I’m pretty rug happy but we’re up north with lots of wind and rain and don’t have the natural field shelter you do. max day temperature this week has been 12 degrees so she’s been rugged at night.

she spends a lot of the day standing around too and it’s more sad now that I’ve lost my old TB who would stand around with her. But she still canters over for her buckets so she’s doing no too bad.

she sounds lovely and like you’ll have a good few happy years together.

 

[Gloi]

Money spent on the best dentists and PPID tests is never wasted.

 

[paddi22]

how lovely of you to take her on, she's very lucky. your set up sounds perfect for her. I think oldies do better being out and moving as much as possible. once she has good shelter and you have stabling for extreme weather she will be fine. we get a lot of old rescues in and I found equerry conditioning mash very good for keeping weight on. the mash is also easier for oldies to eat. adding oil (rapeseed oil in supermarkets is cheap and effective) is a good way of getting easy calories on as well.

 

[dorsetladette]

My vet gave me the best advice to help me with the worry of the oldies.
She said - deal with the horse in front of you and don't second guess things. If pony is to thin, feed it more. If pony is to fat, feed it less. If he's cold rug him, if he's hot take the rug off. If he's happy and eating he's ok.

Its really worked for me with our old cob as I had myself in tears at the thought of him being uncomfortable.

Feed wise B is doing really well on spillers supple and senior balancer with boswelia or drevils claw added in. In winter I add sugerbeet and linseed if i feel he needs a bit more. He will also be in slightly warmer rugs this winter to help with maintaining weight and keeping his arthiritic bones warm.

 

[tristar]

i would wormer her with a combined wormer including tapes, or worm test immediately

i would try agrobs muesli, fast fiber or calm and condition, sunflower oil, oats if she can take them, speedi beet, selinevite E is a very good vit and min suppl ement, in two feeds per day, it sounds a lot but once you have the sacks it lasts ages, look at the use by dates

if she needs weight on some good grazing a few hours a day, if still needing weight nothing works like the boiled linseed, you kno w the sort that stinks the kitchen out, makes lovely saucepans full of snotty goo, but transforms horses into shiny, nicely covered beauties, once to three times a week

get teeth done and feet done as planned

well done for caring about her.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

I will need to find a way to store the rug at the field for the day time.

We use one of these, easily moved and totally waterproof. My mare's rug is in in plus loads of other stuff. I bought mine from Homebase but available elsewhere too.

 

[Titchy Pony]

Lucky pony to land in such a loving home. ?

my old lass has lost a lot of teeth so she is on 2x buckets grass nuts a day and a small feed of spillers senior mash in the morning and big feed of senior mash, readimash, linseed and joint supplement at night. Currently out 24/7 but will come in at night at some point in October. Once in I might add speedibeet to her grass nuts. She’s on as much grass as she likes and quibs most of it but must get a bit of something from it.

I’m pretty rug happy but we’re up north with lots of wind and rain and don’t have the natural field shelter you do. max day temperature this week has been 12 degrees so she’s been rugged at night.

she spends a lot of the day standing around too and it’s more sad now that I’ve lost my old TB who would stand around with her. But she still canters over for her buckets so she’s doing no too bad.

she sounds lovely and like you’ll have a good few happy years together.

Thank you.
Thanks for the details about your lass' feed, I'll look into some of them.
It's great that your girl still canters over for feed. Mine does actually canter (in a very gangly way), which was a surprise as she's a trotter.

 

[Titchy Pony]

how lovely of you to take her on, she's very lucky. your set up sounds perfect for her. I think oldies do better being out and moving as much as possible. once she has good shelter and you have stabling for extreme weather she will be fine. we get a lot of old rescues in and I found equerry conditioning mash very good for keeping weight on. the mash is also easier for oldies to eat. adding oil (rapeseed oil in supermarkets is cheap and effective) is a good way of getting easy calories on as well.

Thank you. Though to be honest, she's doing a very important job, keeping my pony company, and doing it well. She makes my life easy and doesn't complain when I take pony out, so it's only fair she gets the best I can give in return. Will be looking into the conditioning mash.

 

[Titchy Pony]

My vet gave me the best advice to help me with the worry of the oldies.
She said - deal with the horse in front of you and don't second guess things. If pony is to thin, feed it more. If pony is to fat, feed it less. If he's cold rug him, if he's hot take the rug off. If he's happy and eating he's ok.

Its really worked for me with our old cob as I had myself in tears at the thought of him being uncomfortable.

Feed wise B is doing really well on spillers supple and senior balancer with boswelia or drevils claw added in. In winter I add sugerbeet and linseed if i feel he needs a bit more. He will also be in slightly warmer rugs this winter to help with maintaining weight and keeping his arthiritic bones warm.

Very good advice, that I will try to stick to. I think the main issue at the moment is that I don't really know the horse in front of me, but I suppose time and observation will rectify that.

 

[Titchy Pony]

i would wormer her with a combined wormer including tapes, or worm test immediately

i would try agrobs muesli, fast fiber or calm and condition, sunflower oil, oats if she can take them, speedi beet, selinevite E is a very good vit and min suppl ement, in two feeds per day, it sounds a lot but once you have the sacks it lasts ages, look at the use by dates

if she needs weight on some good grazing a few hours a day, if still needing weight nothing works like the boiled linseed, you kno w the sort that stinks the kitchen out, makes lovely saucepans full of snotty goo, but transforms horses into shiny, nicely covered beauties, once to three times a week

get teeth done and feet done as planned

well done for caring about her.

Thanks for the advice, hopefully she can keep enough weight on to save my saucepans!

 

[SpotsandBays]

Wow! mid-thirties is quite an age! I'd be delighted if I got my girl anywhere near that.
Unfortunately, I only have the one paddock cut in two at the moment, with (fingers crossed) 3 more on the way. But it has been impossible to fence anything due to the drought. Over here, road signs have been falling over as the ground around them crumbles.
Good point about conformation and rugs. I'll have to check the ones I've got for her actually fit her.

Thank you, I’m blessed to have had her as long as I have. We just take each day as it comes.
Well done you for taking on this older horse, I’m sure they’re very thankful! Where abouts are you? I’m Buckinghamshire and we’ve also had such a drought this summer!

 

[Fabel]

Thank you. Limited turnout would definitely make things more complicated. My old lady is unfortunately stuck with only little madam for most the time, but they do seem to tolerate each other well, and I think I saw some signs of friendship the other day (as long as there is no food involved!)

My old boy is 32 ??

 

[TwyfordM]

Had a fair few ancient oldies to look after, they were all still cheeky as anything ??‍♀?
I second PPID test just so you know if that’s something you’re dealing with, definitely teeth/worming and general MOT along with that.
Feed wise once they couldn’t eat hay well was lots of little meals of calm and condition with readi grass, chaff, veteran mixes (old faithful smells amazing!) one couldn’t eat hay at all so he got a manger full of soaked chaff/grass whenever he was stabled/grass was low. Plus as much time on good grass as possible.

Kept well rugged, out as much as possible to not stiffen up and one was still hacked to the age of 35! They made it to 36 and 39 on that care!

 

[Titchy Pony]

Thank you, I’m blessed to have had her as long as I have. We just take each day as it comes.
Well done you for taking on this older horse, I’m sure they’re very thankful! Where abouts are you? I’m Buckinghamshire and we’ve also had such a drought this summer!

I'm over in France, luckily a bit North of all the forest fires this summer, but definitely too dry this year.

 

[Titchy Pony]

My old boy is 32 ??

There seem to be quite a few very lucky older horses around. What a great age.

 

[Titchy Pony]

Had a fair few ancient oldies to look after, they were all still cheeky as anything ??‍♀?
I second PPID test just so you know if that’s something you’re dealing with, definitely teeth/worming and general MOT along with that.
Feed wise once they couldn’t eat hay well was lots of little meals of calm and condition with readi grass, chaff, veteran mixes (old faithful smells amazing!) one couldn’t eat hay at all so he got a manger full of soaked chaff/grass whenever he was stabled/grass was low. Plus as much time on good grass as possible.

Kept well rugged, out as much as possible to not stiffen up and one was still hacked to the age of 35! They made it to 36 and 39 on that care!

My old lady doesn't appear to be the cheeky type, but she does have an opinion and is very good at expressing it. She moves around to make sure I scratch her exactly where she wants. And I've been told that SHE decides when its time to come in for the night in winter by either shouting at the gate or refusing to be caught. I hope I can keep her healthy and active as long as yours.

 

[Titchy Pony]

I wanted to say thank you to you all for taking the time to share your tips. Here is a picture of the old lady (at the front) and the little madam she is a companion to. We've finally got the mask off and these are the first photos I've managed to get where I can see her face.

 

[HollyWoozle]

They look in fab condition! As an extra note - we have a loan pony who is around 27 and he is on pretty much no grazing as he is a companion to our EMS mini. They eat soaked hay from small hole nets but we split them at bucket time and the oldie gets Spillers Senior Super Mash and it is a godsend. He absolutely loves it, wolfs it down, and is looking great even though his calorie-intake is otherwise limited. He also has a balancer and linseed in there too. Doesn't look like your mare needs anything more at the mo but I just thought I'd mention it as one option if she needs more condition over winter.