Oldie that is hard to keep weight on

R

Ryehill

Member
Joined
6 June 2012
Messages
21
Visit site
Hi - I wondered if anyone could offer advice for my 23 year old gelding who is quite hard to keep weight on despite having 24 hr turnout on lovely grazing and also having 2 feeds per day. He has been checked over by my vet and other than him looking a bit ribby he has said he is fine. No dental issues either, His coat is beautiful and his eyes are bright and he is generally very happy in himself. He has worked very hard before coming to us for semi retirement 3 years ago and up until a few months ago was still out light hacking but at the moment he has an undiagnosed lameness which despite a recent visit to the vet school here we are not really any further forward with. He is not hopping lame just seems unsteady in his hind limbs if turning left or right or reversing. Other than it is definitely not neurological I think he has them stumped.....lol He has had his hocks injected although x rays were not disasterous but then again they don't always match the symptons. However he did improve a lot after those but not enough to ride.

What I am really looking for is some advice on what else we can do to keep his weight on. Would he benefit from having haylage as well perhaps a large net in the morning and one in the evening. Are there any better feeds than what he is on or better supplements.

He has a large round scoop of a mixture of spillers veteran mix and badminton veteran nuggets with a handful of build and glow twice per day. He is also on cider vinegar, cosequin and Equistro UC-ll.

Any oldie advice much appreciated

XX
 
Not sure what your silly comment was meant to achieve. Our vet is happy that he is not a wefare issue in any way shape or form so I think I will take his advice and that of the vet school over a careless comment from someone that I don't know.

My post was simply to ask for advice from other people with perhaps a similar issue as there are bound to be many - but thanks for your input.
 
It's not a silly comment - but an observation.

Elderly horses becoming unsteady on their feet, as you describe, is one of the key indicators that a hard decision may have to be made about their future.

I'm not implying the horse is a welfare case, in any way.

You also have to remember, that vets very rarely advise to put down, but depending on how a question is posed, the right answer may be arrived at.

I'd like nothing more than for you to post in a week or two saying the horse is now no longer unsteady on his feet, and is gaining weight well.

But my experience of oldies is that this is one more sign of old age, that you can't ignore.

With regards to your feeding regime - it sounds like a big ration twice a day. Consider splitting the same overall ration in to four - you should get much better results.
 
Last edited:
I can assure you that my vet WOULD have no hesitation in recommending putting a horse to sleep IF he felt that it was time. We have already discussed this thoroughly with him and he and the vet school orthopaedic specialist have both said the same, that it is not something they would be considering at this time. He is happy, canters around the field like a youngster with the others and always comes to greet us throwing in the odd playful buck en route. He does not slope off and graze alone nor does he stand looking depressed, Far from it. I appreciate you taking the time to pass on your comments and thoughts but as I say i'll stick with the advice we have already been given :-)
 
My oldie did very well on Thunderbrook base mix and extra fibre (high fibre nuts and unmolassed sugarbeet/chaff) - he actually got ribby on the veteran feeds. Fibre is the key I think when they get older.

Other feeds that worked are:
Micronised linseed
Ready Mash
Whole oats (soaked - meant to be left to sprout but I just soaked overnight).

The weakness on the turn is a bit of a worry - mine moved from a flat field to a slightly hilly field at 33 (not my ideal choice!) but it really helped strengthen his back end. Again I noticed a real improvement on the Thunderbrook.
 
I was going to suggest micronized linseed - it's brilliant stuff and a cupful per day added to his feeds would hopefully make a difference. It's great as it's not bulky, but effective.

My other advice would be to contact the veteran horse society - they gave my friend really great advice on feeding her oldie and weight gain (her horse was like a hat rack) and it gave results.
 
Micronised linseed helps my old horse. You know your horse best and dont be worried by others comments on here.

I have to say that ive noticed some people advise pts for the slightest thing!
Calm and condition is also good.
 
I tried Baileys No 1 with my old horse and that worked well. It looks like bran so you can feed a good scoop full at a time. Fast fibre is also really good or fibre beet.

I think perhaps hay / haylage as well might be a good idea. Haylage is good for weight gain - and you can get the different types (I think rye grass is the richest one?) Does he look underweight or just ribby? My tb who is now 18 always looks really ribby as his back has dropped, but he still has a huge belly that swings from side to side when he walks :)

Oh - and incase you don't know, You can 'ignore' people (add them to your ignore list in your settings. Thats what I have done with a few annoying people who just post unhelpful things all the time)
 
That's the 'ignore' setting set........:D It always seems to be the same ones that post unhelpful discouraging comments. Then again they answer so quickly maybe that's all they are on here for. Anyway hopefully that particular person is now well and truly ignored. :D

Will have a go with the suggestions given and see how we get on and thanks again for all your help xxx
 
I love old horses. I kept a 27 year old in gentle work with Bute for two years before having him pts, when his arthritis became too painfull.

I have a 33 year old still in gentle work, still shod and given the same care as my four year olds. He is a very happy horse.

For weight I have found the following, Bailey's No1, cooked barley, linseed oil.
 
I have a similar problem OP, except my girl is 29 and it is only a short term problem as she is being PTS (due to advanced arthritis and ease of tripping and falling over) by the end of October. Since all the new horses arrived and there are WAY too many grazing a small field she has dropped rather alot of weight (not surprisingly). She is fed twice a day anyway to get all her medications into her, but she is now on 14lbs of TopSpec forage replacer, 2lbs of SureGrow (yes I know it is meant for babies) and if I keep her in overnight, as much hay as she wants (has dicky teeth so doesn't eat more than about 3lbs) and about 2lbs of chop. I've managed to stop her getting any thinner but can't see any real improvement. In the last couple of days I've started replacing a third of the TopSpec with Fibrebeet for the extra protein. I've plenty of experience of feeding skinny minnies but this is proving a tricky one. Her feed is split in two although if she is in at night I bias the weight towards her supper. She has Cushings so my feed options are limited and no, I can't give her more during the day as I'm at work. She doesn't much care for added oil either, although the Topspec contains linseed and soya. She has never been a greedy horse and takes ages to chomp to the bottom of her bucket.

I do think breeding makes a difference with the weight of older horses. All the TBs I've known personally in their 20s have been lean and bony so it wouldn't be right to compare one with a chunky cob of the same age.
 
I find high fibre feeds work best. When I took on my 25 year old forester she was slightly ribby and looked in generally poor condition. She was on 16+, veteran chaff and speedibeet. Due to a liver scare, I had to change to a low protein diet and fed her fibre cubes and hi-fi. Now, I'm so cautious about her weight that she only has about 10 cubes with a handful of chaff. She looks so well.

Also, I have a 34 year old who the vet described as in perfect condition (slightly lean, but great for joints), who has build up cubes, hi-fi, speedibeet and linseed.
 
My veteran was fed Simple System grass nuts soaked and their all round supplement .It had linseed in it.Think it was called Eclipse.He had also Allen & Page fast fibre.This was divided in two feeds.After trial and error with other feeds I found them to be best in quality and keeping his weight on.Hilton Herbs Veteran daily also .I think with oldies keeping feeds as natural as possible and not over supplementing with chemicals is the way forward.My old boy thrived on this,until his teeth let him down eventually.If he is bright and happy in himself and always ready for his food then he seems to be doing fine.:)
 
My 30yr old cushings horse is very happy on 'smushie'. We soak a scoop of conditioning cubes in water and speedibeet. She finds it really easy to eat, as I think her old teeth were having a job chomping solid nuts.

I also give her hay and haylage at night when she is in, she likes the choice. At the moment she is on good grass, and holding her weight well.

BTW, she fractured her pedal bone in March 2011, I chose to not box rest her and within 6 months she was back to galloping around the field.
 
My oldie is hard to keep weight on. I definitely think getting hay or haylage into them makes the most difference. When she first had problems I fed her conditioning cubes with hot water added to turn them into mush as she has bad teeth. She seems to do better with more bulk though. Now she gets high fibre cubes and haylage through the summer.
 
OP not sure if you've already done this but I'd get bloods drawn for ACTH count for Cushings. The statistics aren't good for oldies, 80% of over 21s will have Cushings. And with untreated Cushings comes weight loss, loss of appetite and laminitis. My veteran is 28 and was diagnosed with Cushings 18 months ago, ACTH count of 200! He's on 2mg Pergolide daily and is doing just fine except I'm now struggling to keep the weight on him, and he's always been a really good doer that I've struggled to keep the weight OFF! I found out quite by accident that he adores D&H Mare and Youngstock mix so he has his ordinary D&H 16+ mix plus a shallow scoop of Mare & Youngstock on top. His weight is stable though still not gaining weight which makes me worry for the winter. If you do try your boy on high calorie feeds just a note to remember to introduce slowly. Good luck x
 
Hiya.. we had a similar prob as our old boy got older.. i found the best thing for him was Top Spec.. He had nice condition on him with that. Yes he was slightly stiff too as he too was older but like your vet our vet had a carefull eye on him and he was happy and living his life how he liked. I was totally gutted when i lost him last year at 24. i had owned him since he was a foal..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top