Older horse advise?

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tazzsmum

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My girl, Tazz is 23 now, she is still quite fit, we hack out 2-3 times a week and still jump a little bit. Over the winter I noticed her age showing a little. She got alot stiffer than in past winters and although she always has a cough due to be stabled over night in winter, this year it seemed that bit worse. She lives out 247 in the summer and is in at night in the winter. We have a field shelter that she uses to keep out of the flys and rain when turned out. In the summer I tend just feed her the odd bucket of carrots as the grass seems to be more thsn enough. In winter she has balieys no 4 and herbi chop with codliver oil mixed in.

Any advice on any different feeds I could try as I strugle to keep the wait on her over the winter. Also do you know of any good supplements that could give her a boost?! I've always tried to keep her feed as natural as poss so I like the herb based products but have never been sure if they really work or if there just reason for people to make more money out of us!!

Any advice on feeding, exercise, stablingetc would be great. We've been together 10years now and she's my pride and joy!! xxx
 
My oldie is 33 now and I've found Simple Systems Linseed is fantastic for keeping weight on in the winter.

I also add glucosmine (to help keep stiffness at bay - like yours he's in at night but out 24/7 in summer) and a pro-biotic as his elderly digestive system isn't what it was.
 
Ditto simple systems. Sugar beet is a nice easily digestible source of fibre for an oldie, if you dont want to order , or dont order enough to qualify for free delivery you could condider alpha beet, which is sugar beet and lucerne/alphalpha.

My girl isnt as old as yours (19) but she tended to be a bad doer in the winter, but would get hyper if fed anything with cereals or mollasses. Sugar beet, lucern and chaff from SS does the job.

My girl also has mild COPD at the end of winter if stabled every night and gets stiff, so this year I left her out 24/7 in the winter too. She was so much better, i just ensured there was always haylage on offer. I also use cortflex supplement. It is exspensive but you only use a tiny amount so probably more cost effective than other supplememnts.
 
I have just lost my two old horses they were 33 and 34 and in fab health until literally the last few hours! We Hunted the 33 year old until about three years ago once a week.
My top tips:
*Regular check ups from a kind, knowledgable vet.
*Sugar beet
*Keeping them out 24/7 unless hideously wet or below 10 degrees
*Love and attention, even if you cant ride, get him in and groom, bathe in summer, keep them feeling wanted
*Strange one- Keep front shoes on him
*Regular feeds, even up to 4 a day if you can. Little and often
 
Hi there, I have a 17 year old TB mare who also get s bit stiff sometimes and I too struggle to keep the weight on her.

I use Bailey's No.17 (mix version of your No.4) with some high fibre pasture nuts and 2 table spoons of Naf Apple Cidar (in her feed)

The Apple Cidar works wonders in keep her joints supple and her coat nice and shiney and its also a appetite stimulant. I lunge her as often as I can as its good for her balance and muscle condition.
 
Our old boy is kept out 24/7/365 as this helps prevent stiffness and he also suffers from RAO. He has started losing a lot of weight over winter now and we find sugar beet is excellent at keeping the weight on. You might like to give your horse either a broad spectrum vit/min daily or put a Mineral block - one of those molassed ones in a bucket - into his field.
 
Hi HorseSOS, I'm interested in the idea of keeping the front shoes on. How did you find it helped? I'm asking because my old boy (33 years) went a bit footy after trimming this time. Got the vet out and he said thin soles due to age so I was wondering about front shoes going on again (they have been off for 10 years). Vet didn't think it was worth it but...
 
Regarding the cough ensure that you remove all the dust and cobwebs from the stable once a week by sweeping down the walls and rafters etc where dust might be hiding. Cosnider alternative bedding such as paper etc. Soak the hay for 30 minutes by immersing in clean water and feed it off the floor so that your horses sinuses can drain while eating.

As regards stiffness rug up at nights even if it is just a waterproof rug to keep draughts off your horse and feed Linseed as above which is an anti-inflamatory.

Always thoroughly damp the feeds to make them easier to chew and digest.

My two oldies 27 and 22 who are both in work get Bran, Hi-Fi Lite, Low-Cal, Formulae Feet and Cod Liver Oil.

Try and gently ride each day.
 
My 7/8 TB oldster (24) lives out 24/7. At a previous yard I used to bring him in overnight in the winter but I when I moved to my present yard 5 years ago I could keep him out as there is ad-lib hay in the fields from October - April. He's kept his weight on better by living out all the time eating his hay than when he was out on 30 acres during the day (without hay) and ad-lib haylage when he was brought in. He's arthritic so it's better that he's kept moving around. I give him Extra-Flex and he has Danolin every other day. In the winter he has a big scoop of pasture mix and sugar beet with a broad spectrum supplement, I daren't give him any more than this as he gets too fat for the spring. Although he's a little stiff I still take him for gentle hacks and he's healthy and happy with life.
I would recommend turning your horse out 24/7 if you can cope with the mud and the woolly coat. Mine is happy to come in for a few hours but never comes in overnight because he gets too miserable and doesn't eat much.
 
We fed our oldie on Allen and Pages Old faithful special blend, soaked speeybeet and calm and condition and alfaA with oil. We kept her to the ripe old age of 33, with very few teeth left.
 
Why dont you call the Veteran Horse Society? You can get their number of the website www.veteran-horse-society.co.uk they will be able to give you loads of advice on feeding and general oldie help. They were great when I was stuck with my 23 year old
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