Hints, tips, reassurance for looking after an older horse

[Titchy Pony]

Thank you! Always grateful for suggestions. I'm in France and struggling to find a provider for grass nuts, which I think would be a good idea as I've realised my mare is struggling to eat apples and very slow with pony nuts (she's booked in for the dentists next round at the end of the month).

 

[Blanche]

I don’t know whether you can get Allen and Page feed in France but their Veteran Vitality is very good. It is very palatable for oldies and keeps the condition on.

 

[Palindrome]

Thank you! Always grateful for suggestions. I'm in France and struggling to find a provider for grass nuts, which I think would be a good idea as I've realised my mare is struggling to eat apples and very slow with pony nuts (she's booked in for the dentists next round at the end of the month).

If you have a JMT near you, mines stocks grass nuts (I don't remember the brand but it was written in Dutch I think). You can soak the nuts to make them softer.
You can also get alfalfa nuts and unmolassed sugarbeet at GammVert.

 

[Titchy Pony]

If you have a JMT near you, mines stocks grass nuts (I don't remember the brand but it was written in Dutch I think). You can soak the nuts to make them softer.
You can also get alfalfa nuts and unmolassed sugarbeet at GammVert.

That's brilliant, thanks. I already buy my feeds at JMT, but what they stock seems to be very variable. I'll have a look at GammVert as well.

 

[Palindrome]

That's brilliant, thanks. I already buy my feeds at JMT, but what they stock seems to be very variable. I'll have a look at GammVert as well.

You are welcome, I know how hard it is to find stuff. I am still looking for micronised linseed as that's what I used to feed my horse when I was in the UK. I now feed whole seeds but would prefer micronised.
My JMT store are very good at ordering things if needed, I used to order Spillers high fibre nuts through them but they don't do it anymore.

 

[Sanversera]

Congratulations she's gorgeous. My oldie (28) has flu and tet vacc, equine dentist twice a year,rugs if it's cold and wet and two bucket feeds a day, consisting of alfalfa milled linseed and oats.hope this helps.

 

[Titchy Pony]

Congratulations she's gorgeous. My oldie (28) has flu and tet vacc, equine dentist twice a year,rugs if it's cold and wet and two bucket feeds a day, consisting of alfalfa milled linseed and oats.hope this helps.

Thank you. All suggestions help, now its just down to trial and error to find out what works best for my mare within my set up.

 

[UKa]

How lovely of you to give her a loving home. My late old poor doing TB mare did well on Fast Fibre. she got 3 scoops dry weight a day in the end it was huge tubs once soaked but did wonders. Benefit is they get lots of liquid and easy to eat for the oldies

 

[Frano]

Linseed meal, and look at a balancer. I use topspec Senior.

 

[Titchy Pony]

How lovely of you to give her a loving home. My late old poor doing TB mare did well on Fast Fibre. she got 3 scoops dry weight a day in the end it was huge tubs once soaked but did wonders. Benefit is they get lots of liquid and easy to eat for the oldies

Thank you for your reply. Sorry for the delay in responding, I've been away from my computer and I hate typing on my phone.
I've now so far sorted out wormer, farrier and first set of jabs. Still waiting for the osteopath and dentist to come by on their rounds and booster jabs in a month. Farrier said the old lady was very supple for her age and vet was also very happy with her general condition, so I can't be getting it too wrong!
Old lady and little madam are now firm friends and I've grown ridiculously attached to the old lady in a short time. She's such a character. She likes having her bum scratched to the extent that it can be hard to speak to her head. And she then invariably farts in my face!

 

[Follysmum]

My 2 oldies do really well on grass nuts and micronised linseed. Teeth are done twice a year.
one of mine has the early start of EOTRH which is monitored by my dentist and vet and hasn’t caused any issues but can be the cause of weight loss https://midwestvetdental.com/equine-dentistry/eotrh-syndrome/

 

[JBM]

My old lady gets bluegrass Turmash she loves it
Twice a day if needed

 

[Titchy Pony]

My 2 oldies do really well on grass nuts and micronised linseed. Teeth are done twice a year.
one of mine has the early start of EOTRH which is monitored by my dentist and vet and hasn’t caused any issues but can be the cause of weight loss https://midwestvetdental.com/equine-dentistry/eotrh-syndrome/

Thanks for the link, I'd never heard of EOTRH syndrome before, I'll have a good look at my old lady's teeth and keep an eye out for it.

 

[UKa]

Thank you for your reply. Sorry for the delay in responding, I've been away from my computer and I hate typing on my phone.
I've now so far sorted out wormer, farrier and first set of jabs. Still waiting for the osteopath and dentist to come by on their rounds and booster jabs in a month. Farrier said the old lady was very supple for her age and vet was also very happy with her general condition, so I can't be getting it too wrong!
Old lady and little madam are now firm friends and I've grown ridiculously attached to the old lady in a short time. She's such a character. She likes having her bum scratched to the extent that it can be hard to speak to her head. And she then invariably farts in my face!

I had my old mare 19 years so I owed her the love and care in her old days - I lost her to arthritis that made getting up hard at age 27. It taught me so much it was very rewarding.yes farrier, dentist, vet checks etc keep them regular . Mine had Cushings and needed medication she was also on Bute the last couple of years to keep her comfortabl. Lots of warm rugging too. Mud fever kept creeping up which I managed to keep at bay with turnout boots or drying boots after washing down. If not ridden they may still like carrot stretches Or taking for a walk….your acquisition sounds as if she still has a lot to give we Too easily discard older horses because we want to do our sport but they make fantastic people. Best of luck xx

 

[Titchy Pony]

I had my old mare 19 years so I owed her the love and care in her old days - I lost her to arthritis that made getting up hard at age 27. It taught me so much it was very rewarding.yes farrier, dentist, vet checks etc keep them regular . Mine had Cushings and needed medication she was also on Bute the last couple of years to keep her comfortabl. Lots of warm rugging too. Mud fever kept creeping up which I managed to keep at bay with turnout boots or drying boots after washing down. If not ridden they may still like carrot stretches Or taking for a walk….your acquisition sounds as if she still has a lot to give we Too easily discard older horses because we want to do our sport but they make fantastic people. Best of luck xx

My old lady is doing exactly the job I got her for: keeping my competition pony company. I specifically didn't want anything that could do much, because I would have put pressure on myself to "work" them. I will admit I wouldn't have taken on anything with huge management or medical issues though, I simply don't have the time and energy to deal with them (it is of course different when the issue develops when you already own the horse, then I would just have to find time).
The old lady happily takes me out bareback to get from one field to the next or on a short hack (no further than I'd walk myself - but even in walk, she's considerably faster than me!). Once I've got my whole set up and routine sorted (only had horses at home this time round since august and my stables still aren't ready - which does at least do away with the eternal in or out question, I suppose), I'm thinking on seeing if she's interested in some clicker training.

 

[Annagain]

She sounds lovely. My old boy is about 28 and to be honest I don't really treat him any differently from when he was 9. He's worm counted, (usually doesn't need wormer) and tape wormed twice a year and his teeth are checked every time the dentist is at the yard (about 3 times a year as the others are all on different schedules) but he tends to only need stuff doing about once every 15 months. Each time the dentist says he's fine and they're best left alone at his age if possible. He lives out 24/7 in summer and comes in overnight in winter (yard rules). I'd have him out all year round if I could as he can be a little stiff leaving his stable in the morning. This wears off by the time he's reached the field. He was tested for cushings (a few at the yard were being done so we thought we may as well do him too. It came back fine and he's never given cause to think it's an issue so we never bothered again.

Since retiring he's unclipped and naked and has done really well like this. His shoes are off and he's trimmed / tidied up every other time my other horse gets done (so every 10 weeks) which works for him. These are the only things that are different really.

He has ad-lib haylage and a token feed (as he always did) of high fibre nuts when he comes in as all the others are fed and I feel guilty that he's not but he doesn't really need it. He's always been very easy to feed, never gains or loses weight. I've always been a bit sceptical about supplements and can't say I ever noticed a difference in him when he's on them so I don't give him anything - neither general nor for oldies.

Obviously, if he needed anything more he'd get it but at the moment he's doing just fine with no age-specific support.

I wouldn't think too much about her age, I'd just deal with the horse you have in front of you. If she loses weight, feed her, if she's cold, rug her etc but don't think you automatically have to do these just things because she's old.

 

[Annagain]

duplicate

 

[Winters100]

I don’t know whether you can get Allen and Page feed in France but their Veteran Vitality is very good. It is very palatable for oldies and keeps the condition on.

I am actually having someone drive to the UK to fetch this for me every 4 months because it makes such a difference to my old girl. It was recommended to me by my childhood trainer, who is now in her 80s and still rides her oldie of 27 years every day. Before trying this it was almost impossible to keep weight on her, but she looks just great on this food.

 

[Titchy Pony]

I am actually having someone drive to the UK to fetch this for me every 4 months because it makes such a difference to my old girl. It was recommended to me by my childhood trainer, who is now in her 80s and still rides her oldie of 27 years every day. Before trying this it was almost impossible to keep weight on her, but she looks just great on this food.

That's dedication! I hope it doesn't come to that, but I may need to make sure I keep on the good side of my English holiday home neighbours! Though to be fair, they love animals and would probably bring the food for the horse even if they didn't like me.