Tips wanted for caring for the older horse

Laura-Maybe-IV

Laura-Maybe-IV

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Hi all as some of you may know I am the proud owner of a 22 year old tb Mare :)
A little about my horse she's a TB, spirited, does suffer from mild arthiritis, she's hating this weather at the moment it makes her so stiff :( can't bear to see her suffer, but devils claw helps a lot, she's In at night out during the day currently.
I am also thinking of giving nettle a try apparently its very good for arthiritic horses I've heard and its cheap :D not that I skimp on quality for my mare! She also gets Kentucky joint liquid although I am skeptical as to weather it does anything..... Also my horse is an ex eventer :)

However I was just wondering if any if you had any tips for care or feeding that you've found really helped your oldies, even down to leg bandaging etc :)
Anything will be really appreciated I just wanted to see if there was anything out there that I may not have done/tried.
 
I have an oldie (30+) and my situation is different as he lives out 24/7.
I realise this isn't possible for everyone, but being on the move (albeit not very fast) :D keeps him happier.
He has 2 feeds a day of fast fibre and chaff and feedmark benevit.
He can't eat hay as he is dentally challenged :) but scoffs grass and his feeds.
He's shiny, happy and Potters around til his hearts content.
 
Do you have any youngsters? Best year for a liveries arthritic wb was put with our 4yos 24/7

Kept her moving and thinking and she loosened up brilliantly. They weren't boisterous youngsters though.

And rugging when wet. Got a mix of haylage and hay twice daily and so a little always left over.
 
Thanks for the replies, we've just got a 7 acre field so we will be turning her out come the spring Time full time.

Funny you said about getting a youngster or putting her with one, I am thinking if getting another horse and was considering like a calm welsh sec d or a cob youngster to keep her moving and for something for me when she retires :D
 
I use Newmarket joint supplement for my arthritic mare. She's retired now but while working we went down the cortisone injection route... With mixed results. On one bute a day now but she has turnout everyday whatever the weather to stop her stiffening up. She always appropriately rugged for the field and stable. Overnight in the stable she has leg wraps or magnetic boots on.
 
I've noticed that my older boy can be quite short until he's warmed up (which usually takes around 30 minutes) so we always pop a sheet over his quarters to keep him warm and then remove it once he's moving more freely.
He's rugged appropriately for the weather and he has magnetic boots on for a few hours a day when he's in.

I condition score every few months and adjust his feed accordingly. Bailey's no.17 along with alfabeet has worked wonders on him and I didn't have to feed large quantities.
 
My girl is 33 in a month or so. I don't treat her any different feed wise other than making it wet. I tend to treat her like the others but slower.
 
Oh and watch her dignity. Mine had a kicking a few years ago and it really knocked her. I try to treat her with huge amounts of respect to counter balance what she's lost in social ranking. I also feed her first to try to help keep her up the pecking order.
 
Cider Vinegar.

Generally being a bit more aware of how the oldies are coping if in a bigger herd; am not contradicting the advice given earlier here about turning an oldie out with a younger horse, but when I had my old boy a few years ago now, two young Arabs turned up at the yard he was on, and boy did they wind him up, poor old chap! Think genteel old gentleman having to share digs with two young hoodlums!

So am just flagging this up really - the other horses on the yard are important; your old girl just might appreciate some rather more chilled out companions and yard atmosphere; although conversely she may just appreciate a good hoon with some madcap youngsters occasionally!

The other thing is to keep older horses moving as long as possible. A little gentle exercise on a regular basis can really make a huge difference, just like humans really:)

Bless her, your mare sounds lovely - and is SO lucky to have an owner that cares........
 
Mine is 21, utterly bonkers. So wired tonight she had to be left to calm down before her rugs could be changed.

I keep her warm, she feels the cold now. She also has Thermatex wraps or stable bandages on when its cold. I always work her with a quater sheet on too.

Mine is also far more likely to wind the others up, than them her. She lives with her 5 yr old daughter, my broodmare and her 8 month old son, and she is almost always the cause of mad dashes around the field.....
 
Our 23 yr old has been so much better since living out. She is still herd leader, but our herd has been together for a very long time. We try to keep her in regular work, which helps, but back off when she needs a break. She has had breathiing issues in the past, so we are careful with her when rape etc is about. We also find keeping her warm is very important.
Ours loves a good hurtle round the field, and is generally the most likely to lead the rest of ours astray.
 
CrazyMare said:
Mine is 21, utterly bonkers. So wired tonight she had to be left to calm down before her rugs could be changed.

I keep her warm, she feels the cold now. She also has Thermatex wraps or stable bandages on when its cold. I always work her with a quater sheet on too.

Mine is also far more likely to wind the others up, than them her. She lives with her 5 yr old daughter, my broodmare and her 8 month old son, and she is almost always the cause of mad dashes around the field.....
Click to expand...

Another owner of a mental 21 year old here.

In the past he has always been the type to get fat off thin air, and has always been very hot in not many rugs.

This year he is on ad-lib hay, two feeds a day and I rug him up to the eyeballs. He has 15 minutes on the walker before I get on him (appreciate this isn't always possible) and he wears a fleece quarter sheet until he's properly warmed through.

He also has a bute a day when it's mega cold, would rather he's comfortable!
 
Laura-Maybe-IV said:
Hi all as some of you may know I am the proud owner of a 22 year old tb Mare :)
A little about my horse she's a TB, spirited, does suffer from mild arthiritis, she's hating this weather at the moment it makes her so stiff :( can't bear to see her suffer, but devils claw helps a lot, she's In at night out during the day currently.
I am also thinking of giving nettle a try apparently its very good for arthiritic horses I've heard and its cheap :D not that I skimp on quality for my mare! She also gets Kentucky joint liquid although I am skeptical as to weather it does anything..... Also my horse is an ex eventer :)

However I was just wondering if any if you had any tips for care or feeding that you've found really helped your oldies, even down to leg bandaging etc :)
Anything will be really appreciated I just wanted to see if there was anything out there that I may not have done/tried.
Click to expand...

It is lovely you care for your old horse so much, but please be careful with the supplements, it is so easy to put a bit of this and a bit of that in the bucket. Before you realise it, you have doubled up on various herbal/medicinal products and are potentially stressing the liver and kidneys as those organs try to process the cocktail.

In most cases the products are just peed out, which is a waste of money. I think a wiser and more contructive way forward would be to speak to your vet and ask for guidance on a product that is proven and would help your lovely old horse.
 
AdorableAlice said:
It is lovely you care for your old horse so much, but please be careful with the supplements, it is so easy to put a bit of this and a bit of that in the bucket. Before you realise it, you have doubled up on various herbal/medicinal products and are potentially stressing the liver and kidneys as those organs try to process the cocktail.

In most cases the products are just peed out, which is a waste of money. I think a wiser and more contructive way forward would be to speak to your vet and ask for guidance on a product that is proven and would help your lovely old horse.
Click to expand...

I agree with this, my vet is very specific that you should only use one suppliment at a time.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Cider Vinegar.

Generally being a bit more aware of how the oldies are coping if in a bigger herd; am not contradicting the advice given earlier here about turning an oldie out with a younger horse, but when I had my old boy a few years ago now, two young Arabs turned up at the yard he was on, and boy did they wind him up, poor old chap! Think genteel old gentleman having to share digs with two young hoodlums!

So am just flagging this up really - the other horses on the yard are important; your old girl just might appreciate some rather more chilled out companions and yard atmosphere; although conversely she may just appreciate a good hoon with some madcap youngsters occasionally!

The other thing is to keep older horses moving as long as possible. A little gentle exercise on a regular basis can really make a huge difference, just like humans really:)

Bless her, your mare sounds lovely - and is SO lucky to have an owner that cares........
Click to expand...


Thank you :D I am lucky to own such a horse as her :) believe it or not she was given to me because no one wanted her!

Cider vinegar! Yes I am feeding that to my mare now she can't get enough of the stuff and its a really good stomach tonic so I'm told :)

Yeah I am careful with what she goes out with as one of my Shetlands does occasionally try and get the better of her, we have a heard of three so adding one more shouldn't be a problem although it will be done and slowly and In a controlled way so that no one is hurt! Bless your boy some youngsters are not the nicest with older horses!

At the moment were just doing gentle hacking but hope to do more when the fields dry up and when the weather is better! :)

Your boy sounds lucky to have a caring owner, like you too :)
 
AdorableAlice said:
It is lovely you care for your old horse so much, but please be careful with the supplements, it is so easy to put a bit of this and a bit of that in the bucket. Before you realise it, you have doubled up on various herbal/medicinal products and are potentially stressing the liver and kidneys as those organs try to process the cocktail.

In most cases the products are just peed out, which is a waste of money. I think a wiser and more contructive way forward would be to speak to your vet and ask for guidance on a product that is proven and would help your lovely old horse.
Click to expand...

Thank you :) she is on very limited supplements. I have spoken to my vet and we have agreed that D&H mobility alongside apple cider vinegar is enough for her, although come February we put her on stroppy mare because she gets bad seasons from where she's had a foal previously. She is also fed feed balancer with Alfa a original and plenty or hay as her teeth are still good, so she gets plenty of good quality fibre which I think helps immensely with older and younger horses :)
 
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