oldie owners... a few qusetions!

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Solstar

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please advise/help me!!!

my 'oldie' is 20. I have had him for 3 years. I know that it doesn't sound very old, but he did spend between 10-15years as a riding school pony.

He is currently stabled at night, with approx. 8 hours turnout throughout the day. He has a chaser clip, and wears a hw combo stable rug at night and a hw wug through the day. He is lovely and warm rugged like this. When it does get colder,he has a thicker rug (supreme) to go into.

Feeding wise, he is currently eating 1/2 a bale of hay at night, 1 stubbs scoop Calm & Condition, 1 Scoop MolliChaff show shine, and a handful of pony nuts. He gets a vit n min supp and Devils Relief, as he does get quite stiff in his hind legs overnight.

He is currently worked twice a week- hacking one day and gentle schooling the other. I only have 1 day off a week so unfortunately i cant hack him out any more than this.

Although he is well in himself, I do think he has lost some of his sparkle- any ideas peeps?

How do you lovely peeps all manage your older ponys?
What work are they in? What do you feed them?

Thankyou!
 
The old faithful mix and the hay bricks do wonders for a 33 year old i look after
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Solsatr your oldie sounds very well looked after- he's eating alot of food?!?!

When did you last worm him or have his teeth done?

Might be worth trying him on pink powder for a while to improve his absortion of all the goodies you are feeding him.

You could also try giving him a little haylage as a replacement for some of his hay ration.
My 19 y.o is now retired and he does well on old fashioned 'straights' rather than a veteran mix.
 
Ohh...nice place you live in
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Mine is in his 20's....does drop condition if cold but does need a full clip otherwise he's unmanageable so hes rugged day/night as per weather.

I feed Alfa-A oil, Spillers slow release cubes and speedibeet. Plenty of good hay...a good 10-12 hourse turnout per days and green-lipped mussel capsules in his tea for joints- doesnt really need them as yet but i spose it all helps.

he's ridden 2-3 times per week this time of year...more in summer. He's fit and well at present.

Possibly you could try a veteran feed if you think he is starting to show his age?
 
My old is 23 soon to be 24. He's ridden 6 days a week - lesson one day, schooled other days, lunged one day and hacked 2-3 days, maybe competition at weekend depending

He's currently fed baileys no 4 and sugar beet and equijewl x 2 per day with flexi joint supplement, pink powder and buteless.

As much hayledge as he will eat and is out on grass during the day.

I did a sponsored ride on him recently and that definitely put a sparkle into him!!

he has a very varied routine (exercise) and enjoys working and hacking out
 
he is eating alot, but the grass has dropped right off and we aren't allowed to put hay out! he looks well on it though, and clears his bowl!

he was wormed in October with Equest Pramox- there is quite a strict worming programme on the yard. he had his teeth done in September when he had his vax.
I could get him some Pink Powder from work, people seem to hold it in quite high regard on here!

If i give him Haylage mixed with hay, he only eats the haylage. If i just give him haylage, the nets gone by 10pm, even when its double netted with 2 haylage nets!
 
which veteran feeds do peeps recommend?

If i try and school Red more than once a week he has a right paddy-he turns into a bit of a bucking bronco! I might consider getting a friend to hack him out once more through the week for me.
 
Give the haylage but also leave net of steamed hay if possible--it just softens the stalks for oldies so he isnt standing for hours without fibre
(tub +haynet, pour over 2 kettles boiling water, cover with lid or opened plastic sack tied on, leave til cool---my oldie used to drink the hay tea!)
Sounds like teeth worming OK
Yea-sacc can help digestion
Putting leg warmers on at night can help stiffness
 
my 18 year old is treated exactly as he was when i got him and he was 10 - but you'd never guess his age. He's worked 6 days a week and is fully clipped and out eventing (transport allowing) scoop chaff and handful of pony nuts and your average size haynet at night, but he lives out in the summer. maybe he could do with a bit more work if he's enjoying it? Could you get someone to ride him another 2 days a week for you? IMO keeping them fit will keep them younger longer, and if he enjoys it it wont do him any harm (helps out with your bank balance too!!) x
 
My boy (22) is on 3/4 scoop nuts, double handful of HiFi Senior, and small scoop sugar beet. Also add as many carrots and apples as I can sneak past my hubby and he has ad lib hay and mix haylage when I can get it.

He is on his own self imposed limited turn out (he's a fair weather chap!) - couldthe recent bad weather be getting to yours? Do you think he might appreciate an earlier bedtime?
 
he comes in at about 3pm- he doesn't like bad weather either! my friend brings both my boys in for me cos i dont get to the yard til 5.30pm, and i don't like bringing in in the dark!

i think i will get my friend to start riding him aswell- she isn't working at the mo so it would give her (and him!) something to do!!
 
My oldies have boiled barley & linseed in the winter & never suffer from lack of sparkle.
It might be worth a try.
 
My 20 year old is out all the time, he gets puffy legs if he's in too much.
Has just had 2 weeks off after being kicked, rode him today and he was a star, which makes a change.
I feed him on TS Senior, a handful of happy hoof, same of a winergy combined, and TS calm and condition and also speedibeet.
Is out in a MW at the moment and is looking so well but is clipped.
I have known him since he was 5 and owned him for about a year now after having him on loan and he's never changed in all the time i've known him
 
My mare is 20 and lives out 24/7 , i have not rugged her yet as she as had a very good year on good grass and is over weight. So untill she burns some fat off or the weather takes a real turn for the worse she will stay rug free. I know that if i kept her in every night she would stiffen up and is better off out moving around. Feed wise she as happy hoof and speedibeet and cortaflex too help keep her supple, she is a loverly forward going mare. I think i can keep her like this as she as a very thick coat and does not need alot to keep weight on, obviously if this changes i will change her feed etc.
 
Our oldie Shiney is 22, he has 1 scoop alpha a chaff, small scoop of fibre nuts and a small scoop of barley. he has garlic and cortaflex. I have just put him on hay as they are not eating the haylage at the moment.

Excercise, we are on top of a hill, so he walks up and down all day. He gets ridden 3 times a week, once in the school, a good hack and a quick wander down the farm drive and back.

Everyone says he is getting younger. He looks great.
 
My old boy is about 24 - last winter he dropped a lot of condition - tried all these fancy feeds for the OAP's but eventually went back to nuts, chaff, sugarbeet and rolled barley oats. Dont be affraid to exercise them as much as you can, I also gave my horse last winter off and to be honest that didnt do him any favours.

He is such a wimp though, hates the rain and the cold, so far we have been able to turn out which does help his legs otherwise he gets big back legs. But what with the weather changing now means turnout limited so now exercising him lightly in the school - he hates being schooled.. but cant do much else after work with these dark nights closing in .... hack out at weekends, soon be clipping him as I swear he gets hairer every winter looks like a right teddy bear.... then get him back jumping I think as thats the only thing that gives him his sparkle !!!
 
I think as long as he looks well then your feed is right
I used to feed so much to my oldie that my feed room was a source of entertainment to the other yard people!! He was on (round stubbs scoop) 1 x scoop readigrass, 1 x scoop sugar beet and 3/4 scoop calm and condition twice a day. I also fed garlic, Blue Chip, Cortaflex, and Devils Claw as he had arthritic changes.
Alo used leg wraps overnight to help stop his legs filling. Over winter I had him out from about 9am - 5pm and he was worked 4-5 times a week in the school or hacking
 
The 33 yr old I help look after is fed hifi senior or Alfa a oil, spillers senior conditioning mix, alfabeet and succulents. She's the only horse on three acres so has loads of grass to eat and is currently out 24/7 well rugged up but she will come in at night in the next few weeks.

She looks and acts like a four year old, she doesn't get ridden by my friend now but her grandchildren occasionally ride her round field or we take her for walks in hand xxxx
 
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