Veteran good doer now struggling with weight

[Beccahh]

Hi hoping someone could help
I own a 24 year old welsh sec d who has always been a good doer .. lives of fresh air
However this year he’s struggled with his weight and coming into winter I really don’t think he’s looking as well as he should
He was weighed a couple of months ago at 495kg he’s 15.1
Was worm counted last weekend and no worms found also had his teeth done and dentist was really happy with them ( done regularly)
Has been checked for Cushing and vet confirmed doesn’t have it and said it is probably just him getting on in life
He’s fed hay that’s soaked for 20mins due to copd but soon will go to Haylage (this is adlib) fed ready mash extra as this is what my other elderly horse did well on but I can still see ribs .. he has lost muscle as he’s not in as much work now
Does anyone recommend a feed or just keep doing what I’m doing .. he’s not emaciated and vet was not worried about his weight at all .. grass at the yard is very short and not the best of grazing and Iv kept him out a lot this summer with a feed mainly as a break for me as the winter was harsh .. he’s bright and alert .. the picture is the most recent I have of him taken end of august .. not the best pic tbh

 

[ycbm]

I'm not sure from what you write if your vet actually ran a Cushings test or just thought he had no symptoms? If he didn't, or if it was the ordinary cheap one, I would ask him to run the more expensive and more reliable TRH stim test.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Micronised linseed or Equijewel are my go to for condition used both on a few older horses and they worked well.

You don't have to feed loads either so alot of goodness in quite small feeds.

 

[GrassChop]

I've recently put mine on Veteran Vitality with extra linseed and she's looking so well already. First time I've used it but would recommend it so far. Copra is good too.

 

[olop]

My older boy has just turned the same, he’s 23 always had a gut but this year he’s struggled and not looked the same. I had his teeth checked and they are just not as good as they used to be and so I’ve been advised hay replacers in the winter. I’ve also found linseed added to the feed also really helpful.

 

[9tails]

I'm in a similar situation with a 23 year old. She's neither a good nor a bad doer but this year she's slim, ribs can be seen at a certain angle and she's lost topline due to not working (I'm out of action rather than her). Our grazing is almost non existent now as they're out 24/7 in summer, I'm putting out at least half a small bale of hay for two of them and she's getting the lion's share. I've added Cushcare Condition to her evening meal and taken out the fillers so that everything is designed for goodness. The horse is absolutely full of herself, so I'm not concerned, but like you she could look better.

 

[PurBee]

You may find the switch to a good quality haylage will give the extra condition youre looking for. When i switched mine, they had less of the hay belly look, with some slight ribs, and filled-out properly/evenly.
Like you i was soaking hay for dust reasons, and as hay quality varies so hugely, they’d be leaner no matter how much i fed, despite me not soaking for long as i didnt want to leach sugars.
Haylage being wrapped preserves the nutrient values at baling.
I feed less volume of haylage and get better overall condition, than feeding loads more volume of hay, is what im trying to say

ETA: also as mentioned already, linseed suits my older D mare wonderfully.

 

[Beccahh]

Will give my vets a call and will check with them .. unfortunately he also annoyingly can’t have micronised linseed he’s never had an issue until last winter when he developed a skin issue and after a process of elimination from the vets it cleared when we stopped linseed .. I have however fed him feeds that state they have it in and no reaction .. just seemed when he was getting a mug full .. maybe it was too much? I can’t think back to last winter really haha

 

[Britestar]

Grass nuts help my oldie who is skinny and has terrible teeth.
Worth a try.

 

[humblepie]

Mine is similar though only 20. He doesn’t have Cushings but going to try D&H Cushcare so see how that goes.

 

[PurBee]

Will give my vets a call and will check with them .. unfortunately he also annoyingly can’t have micronised linseed he’s never had an issue until last winter when he developed a skin issue and after a process of elimination from the vets it cleared when we stopped linseed .. I have however fed him feeds that state they have it in and no reaction .. just seemed when he was getting a mug full .. maybe it was too much? I can’t think back to last winter really haha

Many do feed a mugful without issues, but some posters also mention theirs have linseed sensitivity, so maybe dose plays a part?
I feed half a mugful, and that gives good results. I had a rough RDA in mind when i figured out that dose. People feed more than RDA for weight gain usually.
Have you tried cold pressed raw linseed oil?
I have wondered whether the sensitivity is due to the ‘anti-nutrients’ that most hard-seed shells have - natures way to make sure all seeds aren’t gorged on and some make it to germinating the next generation. Its a known sensitivity in humans too hence the soaking/sprouting of grains and seeds ‘movement’, as that process of soaking seeds (or cooking them), ‘de-activates’ the intolerated compounds of the shells. That might be why old-school horse care was known to boil linseed to feed to horses, than feed it raw.
So potentially dose is the key factor between it having benefit, or setting off a gut/allergy reaction due to the shells.

Mine really really love the taste of linseed oil, lick the bowl clean again and again. 50ml for shiny coat, more for weight gain.

 

[9tails]

Micronised linseed made my life a misery! Rats had a lovely time rummaging through the poo in the bed and birds scattered the poo in the field. My life was so much better when I stopped feeding it, literally 24 hours later.

 

[Spotherisk]

If you’re able to feed more often it will be worth a try. Appreciate that with work and just life in general it’s not always easy but four small feeds a day rather than one large will be easier for him to process too.

 

[Goldenstar]

I would give him a quality balancer. He is a veteran and he has higher need for quality sources of protein ( 12 to14% of his diet)
so make sure get’s good protein sources .

 

[Scummycat]

Hi hoping someone could help
I own a 24 year old welsh sec d who has always been a good doer .. lives of fresh air
However this year he’s struggled with his weight and coming into winter I really don’t think he’s looking as well as he should
He was weighed a couple of months ago at 495kg he’s 15.1
Was worm counted last weekend and no worms found also had his teeth done and dentist was really happy with them ( done regularly)
Has been checked for Cushing and vet confirmed doesn’t have it and said it is probably just him getting on in life
He’s fed hay that’s soaked for 20mins due to copd but soon will go to Haylage (this is adlib) fed ready mash extra as this is what my other elderly horse did well on but I can still see ribs .. he has lost muscle as he’s not in as much work now
Does anyone recommend a feed or just keep doing what I’m doing .. he’s not emaciated and vet was not worried about his weight at all .. grass at the yard is very short and not the best of grazing and Iv kept him out a lot this summer with a feed mainly as a break for me as the winter was harsh .. he’s bright and alert .. the picture is the most recent I have of him taken end of august .. not the best pic tbh

Unfortunately I've had 2 like this, and both turned out to have the same issue. Most recently a 16h 20 year old warmblood who pretty much lived on fresh air despite working at medium dressage. In each of 3 winters he dropped weight quite significantly, having gone into them not looking brilliant, and despite various feeds, oils etc, all of which helped in a small way in the short term. Ultimately we found that he (and the previous one some 20 years earlier) had heart problems which meant that whatever was being put in food wise just wasn't being utilised properly. The heart issues gradually got worse over time until the final decision. In one of these the vet could tell that there was a problem with one of the heart valves by the sounds on examination with a stethoscope. Unfortunately in the other nothing specific was found until he finally had a heart attack and died in his field and general deterioration in heart function was diagnosed. Both of them used to pick up over the summer and drop again in the winter.

In the meantime ad lib hay, linseed oil (large quantities as recommended by nutritionalist), and making sure that they were toasty warm and not having to use any additional energy to create warmth helped them to keep as much weight on as possible. I'm sorry if this sounds negative but it would definitely be worth checking so that you can manage appropriately if necessary. If you're still working him it may also be that you need to stop from a safety perspective if he does have heart issues. I also had all of the usual checks done but the heart was the issue in both of them. They were similarly bright and alert, both were retired, but active in the field with friends until the end. The only other noticeable thing was a slight dullness in the coat of the most recent one towards the end, but before that only the weight loss.

It's always a worry when they start to lose weight but if you can find out if there's a definite issue at least you can manage it. Hope you're able to sort it out.

 

[Highmileagecob]

I have a rising 29y.o. who is very similar, although he is starting to lose the grinding surfaces of his teeth. This means that his food does not reach the foregut as shredded and chopped up as it should, leading to the hindgut not processing and fermenting properly. Last winter I mixed soaked sugar beet and Fast Fibre into ready grass with good results. He kept his weight up and his faecal water cleared up. He still had a net of haylage to keep him occupied, but two trugs of mix at night and one in the morning kept the condition up.

 

[Birker2020]

You could be me! This was my post. I had some wonderful suggestions. In the end the YO wanted to feed Allen & Page Calm and Condition. I wasn't enthused about that as I've heard bad things about it. In the end she suggesting feeding sugar beet and linseed. I wanted to get an 'all in one feed' to save her the hassle but I expect there are a few of the retirees who are in the same boat due to their age so she probably has to do this with them. I have no idea if that is what he is having now as I rarely see her when I visit but we are going up tonight as he has a possible foot abscess so hopefully I will see her.

Feed for weight maintenance

Hi, I’m looking for recommendations for feed for my 12 year old 17hh WB who is retired and lives in a mixed herd of around 22. He’s been fed Dengie Healthy Hooves for the past three years (2 years by me, one year by previous owner due to hoof issues) but I would like to alter his feed for...

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[Gloi]

The most difference to my oldie was having his diastemas cleaned out and packed with some dental filler. He needed sedating for it and it lasted about 6 months before it needed doing again.