Recommendations needed for feeding a veteran with bad teeth.

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Ilovefoals

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I have a 22yr old (says that on his generic passport tho dentist says nearer 30) welsh B gelding who I'm having issues with. He has Cushings so has to be carefully managed but has dropped weight over winter as cannot chew his haylage properly. I had the dentist out in Dec and she said he had a few sharp edges and a loose molar but she was happy to leave it in as it wasn't loose enough to pull without sedation. His quidding has got worse since then and today he was seen by a qualified EDT who said he has such worn chewing surfaces that they are basically smooth so they are useless for chewing something as coarse as hay and haylage. I have been feeding him fast fibre well soaked twice a day with linseed added but wondered if there is a hay substitute that anyone could recommend that I could give him a bucket of to eat overnight? I have some chopped timothy hay but not sure if that's adequate enough to help him regain some weight. Although I suppose with the spring grass coming through, it might not be a bad thing if he's a little lean. Especially with him having Cushings.

Any thoughts?

ETA He couldn't find the loose tooth either??
 
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I am sure you can feed the fast fibre as a hay replacer, if not unmollassed sugar beet, grass nuts, fibre mash there are loads of soaked feeds about now and suitable for laminitics bit of trial and error really see what he eats and see if its gaining the weight.
 
Not to gain weight, but generally for a tasty chew ive not known any turn down dengie healthy hooves (not happy hoof, that's drier and sharper bits, the dengie one is moist and yummy) - might be worth trying? It does have v small pellets in it tho - don't know if that would be manageable.
 
I think pellets would be fine for him. Thanks guys. I'm going to the feed shop tomorrow so will have a look at those. Can I just give him a big bucket of soaked FF for overnight then?
 
I used to own a virtually toothless golden oldie (now cantering around at Rainbow Bridge) who used to enjoy chewing Readigrass over night as he couldn't cope with hay. I also used to give him an "extra" feed every night in addition to his nor,al hard feed (fed well dampened). This comprised a large scoop of high fibre nuts placed in a feed skip and covered with enough water to just cover them. Leave for 15 - 20 mins to allow them to disintegrate into a porridge like mush and add a good scoop or un-molasses soaked beet and several carrots grated in with a coarse cheese grater. Mixed into a porridge, he loved it and it gave him a supply of much needed fibre. This, with a good portion of Readigrass fed in a tub, kept him happily chewing overnight.

Top marks to you for doing your absolute best for your oldie. Good luck.
 
Readigrass is excellent if they like it ( they either love or hate it so see if you can borrow a bit from someone before buying a huge sack- speak from experience as neither of mine will touch it) some with very dodgy teeth find it too sharp for their gums but if they take to it it is very nutritious. Not sure about its status re the cushings so worth just checking that,
 
Yeah I was going to ask if Readigrass would be suitable for a pony that could be prone to laminitis. I have some HIFI Light which I'll give him meantime and get to the feedshop later for some advice on other options. Tried him with the FF overnight last night and tho he'll eat it in his tea when it's mixed with linseed and some high fibre cubes (all well soaked), he'd left most of it this morning. He's pretty fussy so it could have been too bland for him.
 
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