Older horses feeding

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Does anyone feed their older horses

Dengie HiFi Senior

Or

Dengie Healthy Hooves Molasses free

Looking for how they looked on it, if they ate it ok and if they went of it at any stage.

I have a fussy veteran and I'm running out of ideas

 

[be positive]

I had a fussy veteran and he wouldn't eat any of the chops I tried other than a grass one, cannot remember which it was, I think they tend to get enough fibre from good hay or haylage and that the feed that comes in a bucket needs to be kept small and easy to eat so it is not overfacing them or too much like hard work to get through, unless he wont eat it I would give him a pelleted grass/ alfalfa that is soaked it is far easier to chew, any supplements can be added and they will need less quantity to get the same value from the feed.
I rarely feed chop to anything as I think it a waste of money as they all have adlib hay or grass, I do currently have a bag of Thunderbrooks grass chaff which one horse gets to just top up her intake but I don't think it really makes much difference and if she is not in the mood she will leave some.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Thanks I am thinking of avoiding but his guzzling concerns me it would help me keep costs down as I don't feed anywhere near the recommended amount of chaff, a bag does me a couple of moths as it's just enough to stop him sucking down the feed too quickly.

He currently gets a balancer measure soaked and grass nuts and beetpulp (handful) soaked but your talking a couple of inches in the bottom of a bucket daily as it's summer and he's out 24/7 for him to get his meds and supplements.

Last year I had issues with him eating long fibre, I had to source softer hay for him (teeth were fine done regularly and due again just before end of autumn ) so he had a softer fibre bucket feed of the above with a chaff to stop him guzzling and also a soaked hayblox which he has since decided he wouldn't be eating again

He is a proper fuss budget and worse as I can't add tasty offerings of mixes or anything with cereal as he is cereal intolerant and now has Cushings. I try and stick to as close a barefoot diet as possible (fibre and oil) as he is barefoot and it seems to work for him

 

[be positive]

Getting a really wide bowl should stop too much guzzling as they cannot grab much if it is spread out, is he inclined to choke as it is something I have only ever seen 3 times in many years of having a yard full of many different horses, 2 out of the 3 choked on hay not feed so it is not something that overly concerns me if they are just a bit greedy I will feed in a flat bowl and would consider putting in a big stone or something to help slow them down a bit, if I had one that choked more than once I may be more careful but of those 3 it was just one off situations and I didn't feel the need to change anything.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I feed my Cushings horse (and the others) on soaked Agrobs Wiesencobs. It must be tasty as even the fussy ones love it, meds and supplements just disappear.

 

[tristar]

i feed my pony alpha straw and alfalfa chop with her fast fibre linseed and oats because she loves a big feed twice a day as well as adlib hay so you get the different nutrients and she is very slim.

 

[Jamesy123]

I have a 30 year old Connie who was starting to look really really ropey a month or so ago. A friend of mine suggested Global Herbs Old Age Formula to be added to his food along with a gut balancer - instead of changing his whole feeding regime - and it's made the word of difference; he's put weight on, has more energy and is finishing his food!

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Thanks everyone

He had never choked, he has only colicked once in 16yrs of ownership, I have however seen too many cases in my short 30yrs in horses of choke. In the past four years I've seen 6 cases one was bad as when the vet tried to force the tube down the ponies throat she slit the oesophogus and the pony was very very ill.

I'm just a very funny owner that way, I won't feed anything unsoaked except his balancer in winter, in summer it gets soaked but actually doesn't fluff up just turns to mush lol I'm just a bit fanatical about things like that

The Agrobs wisencobs he turned his nose up at, he did initially eat the muesli (soaked of course) but after about 1/2 a bag he refused to eat that as well yes he is a bleeding pest!!

He will eat grassnuts and beetpulp soaked, it's pretty much a staple in my horses diet as a fibre filler, he's not a good diet for being a Welsh cob x Appy he just seems to not want to eat what's good for him ie the balancer the supplements and the meds

 

[NOISYGIRL]

My horse is 38 turns his nose up at all feeds I've tried him with other than what he's on he is really fussy.

I've tried ALL the thunderbrooks range and other chops he will not eat any chop feed

He was on Cushcare for weight gain but there were quality issues and he stopped eating it.

By a stroke of luck my friend had Topspec fibre plus cubes and I tried them and he's been eating that as a mash with senior lite balancer for approx a year. If he stops eating this I don't know what I'll feed him with.

He ate Saracen releve for about a year also soaked into a mash as he'd choked previously so any feed will have to be soaked into a mash.

He sort of ate solution mash