Very Old Very Thin Very Much-Loved Gelding Feeding Tips Please

[HazuraJane]

35 (?) year old Arabian gelding, he's eating just enough to go on living, but not enough to sustain himself through upcoming rainy season. I would appreciate any tips for actually getting food inside him. He currently gets his choice of oats soaked in hot water, bran mash, a senior-horse all-inclusive feed, Gleam and Gain, molasses/alfalfa, soaked rice bran, grass hay and alfalfa hay. I feed him small amounts of four of those items (changing which items to hopefully entice him to eat) three times a day. Is there anything anyone else has used that has worked to encourage a geriatric horse to eat?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Is he comfortable in his mouth? If he is sore then that would make him unwilling to eat. The vet had to sedate our late 30s pony so that he could rasp his remaining teeth (there weren't many left). The pony was far happier after that and ate well again.

 

[be positive]

Can you leave him a tub all the time so he can browse when he wants rather than having just 3 feeds a day, the old boy I had here that was not carrying enough weight had 3 or 4 small high calorie meals and was left overnight with a tub of soaked grass / alfalfa nuts/ whatever was his choice at the time as he changed frequently, so he had the option to eat as and when he wanted, obviously that will not work if out with others but if he were mine I would probably find a way to separate him for at least half the day or at night so he has time to eat as slowly as he wants, haylage may also be worth trying as would giving some chopped apples/ other fruit or veg that he may enjoy picking out of a tub as and when.

 

[meleeka]

It sounds as if you aren’t UK so hopefully someone will come along and know which feeds to recommend. Feed as much fibre feeds as he wants. As above you need to keep him ‘grazing’ most of the time for his gut to be efficient. Linseed is always good to add If you have that.

Also second get teeth checked under sedation.

 

[peanut]

Grass pellets (soaked) are very easy eating for older horses and great for weight gain. You could put something like micronised linseed in it for additional calories.

 

[splashgirl45]

depends where you are but make sure he is warm enough, instead of a big heavy rug put a couple of thinner layers on to hold the heat in. teeth are important as is worming and worm counts are very useful to make decisions... any of the soaked feeds should help as they dont need so much chewing, so sugar beet, fast fibre grass pellets. i wpuld also let him have access to any sort of hay that he will eat all of the time. also, is he in pain at all because pain will stop them eating so a vet check may be a good idea and if needed pain relief. good luck with him....

 

[SEL]

Can you mix a little straight oil into the feed?

 

[Auslander]

i've got a 30ish TB here, who is a skinny old boy with no top teeth (cribs like a demon). He's does best on good grass, and he is kept separately from the others, partly for his own safety, and partly so that he doesn't have to share the grass in his paddock with the others. Hard feed wise, he eats mostly copra, as he likes it, and it keeps his weight within acceptable levels. He doesn't digest hay very well (there's a lot of fibrous matter in his droppings) but he likes a net to nibble on, and what he wants, he gets! The most important part of his diet is his hay replacer - a mixture of Dengie meadow grass, HifI, soaked grass nuts, chopped veg, and Equibites (vit and min nuggets) - he has a corner manger full overnight, and an extra bucket if he's going through a hungry phase. He also gets a bit of haylage if he fancies it
We keep him well rugged, in light layers, rather than single heavy rugs, and his teeth are done very regularly, to give him the best chance of eating properly.
He's very keen on his grub, which helps, and full of beans - despite being a bit wobbly on his pins! He kicks off in fine style if I'm late getting him in in the evenings, or getting up to the yard at breakfast - he can still bust some serious moves when the fancy takes him!
He also enjoys scowling at me, trying to bite me, and waving his legs at me. No other horse would get away with that here, but I figure that if it makes him happy, I'll let the old boy give me a bit of grief!

 

[Equi]

I would be inclined to soak a large tub of grassnuts and let him free munch on it and a large bucket of soaked chaff beside it. A 30odd TB at my last yard had this as he couldn't manage to eat hay or haylage cause it was too long for him.

 

[HazuraJane]

Is he comfortable in his mouth? If he is sore then that would make him unwilling to eat. The vet had to sedate our late 30s pony so that he could rasp his remaining teeth (there weren't many left). The pony was far happier after that and ate well again.

Teeth were done three weeks ago. Vet gave him a shot of B12 today to stimulate appetite. 24 hours to start eating or we are going ahead with PTS plans. He's so painfully thin and winter is coming.

 

[HazuraJane]

Can you leave him a tub all the time so he can browse when he wants rather than having just 3 feeds a day, the old boy I had here that was not carrying enough weight had 3 or 4 small high calorie meals and was left overnight with a tub of soaked grass / alfalfa nuts/ whatever was his choice at the time as he changed frequently, so he had the option to eat as and when he wanted, obviously that will not work if out with others but if he were mine I would probably find a way to separate him for at least half the day or at night so he has time to eat as slowly as he wants, haylage may also be worth trying as would giving some chopped apples/ other fruit or veg that he may enjoy picking out of a tub as and when.

We're doing most of those things. He lives in a paddock with neighbours but not in the paddock with him. He is fed pretty much as you described. What troubles me is that his eye is tired. He perks up when I get to the yard, but within four-five minutes, he's dull in the eye and stands with his head level with his (bony) withers. It's so sad.

 

[be positive]

It sounds as if he is very tired and it may be time to let him go, it is sad but it is often the kindest thing for them, I had my old collie pts a few weeks ago mainly because she looked as if she was giving up on life, the previous week she had been bright and happy so it came as a huge shock when she went downhill so fast with no obvious reason.

If he were mine I would not wait until he goes down and cannot get up which could be very stressful for you both, thinking of you it is so tough when they are a long time friend xxx

 

[Goldenstar]

B12 shots can work really really well .

 

[throughtheforest]

Teeth were done three weeks ago. Vet gave him a shot of B12 today to stimulate appetite. 24 hours to start eating or we are going ahead with PTS plans. He's so painfully thin and winter is coming.

I know it's easy for me to say this as I have no emotional connection to your horse, and actually that provides a less biased opinion. I have read through the posts and the final one sounds like you know what to do and it's just about taking those steps and going along with the plans that have been made. Wish you all the best.

 

[JillA]

I imagine he has been tested for PPID?
My old arab mare, who was cushingoid and dentally challenged lived mainly on unmollassed beet pulp, Ready Fibre Mash, micronised linseed and grass pellets. She made it to 35 despite looking very poor but she nibbled what she could. She had lost a fair number of molars so couldn't really grind food down. Eventually her immune system let her down and she got some sort of infection or circulation problem that gave rise to generalised oedema, and the vet said there really was nowhere else to go with her.
My current poor doer has more protein than the others, including whey powder, to help him keep his ribs covered.

 

[splashgirl45]

so sorry he is still not eating, from your last post it sounds like he has given up and is tired. good luck with whatever you decide...

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Sounds as though he is ready to go. He is a very good age.

 

[HazuraJane]

What kind things you've all said; he is one of those horses that I'd love to know his history. His owner is traveling down to see him today to make the final decision. I need to encourage her to be with him for an extended period of time as he rallies at first when his person (currently me) comes around, then he just slips away into dozing. Bless his valiant, forward, pushy, non-obedient heart. I love him so.