What do you feed your older horse that’s still in work?

[cheekywelshie]

Jet is now 20 - he’s on spillers life and lean, happy hoof molasses free, protexin gut balancer and turmeric. Wondering if I should move to a feed suitable for older horses , esp if they include joint support and probiotics etc

 

[Sussexbythesea]

If he’s doing well on what you’re feeding then I wouldn’t change. My WB is 26 this year and ridden 3-4 times a week. Last autumn he didn’t look as good as he normally does and he started to struggle with forage as his teeth are cupping out.

He was on Pink Mash and unmolassed chaff with the same supplements as below. He’s now on Saracen Releve, Heygates conditioning cubes, Equijewel, extra micronised linseed, brewers yeast, Buteless and Equimins balancer. He’s looking good and has more energy. I didn’t think any of the veteran offerings were better or quite what he needed. I’ll keep reviewing and over summer if there is plenty of grass his feed will probably change.

 

[Auslander]

Grass chaff, speedibeet, Topspec Comprehenaive balancer and linseed

 

[windand rain]

Grass chaff, soaked grass nuts equibites and a small yoghurt pot of linseed 25

 

[Flicker]

Grass chaff, speedibeet, Topspec Comprehenaive balancer and linseed

Very similar when I had an older fellow on loan. I also added Equivite and he had sunflower oil for calories. He always looked well and approached schooling and hacking with enthusiasm.

 

[cheekywelshie]

What do you feed for energy without adding calories? Or maybe that will come back with fitness. He always matches out on the way back, not quite so much on the way out!

 

[atropa]

Ad lib hay, pink mash, joint supplement, skin supplement, gut supplement, Topchop Zero. The supplements aren't necessarily due to her age, she's just a bit special

 

[Mosh]

My 27 year old is on rowen&barberry fibre mash, honey chop light and healthy with Boswellia, turmeric and mint.
She looks spot on and feels more than okay of tonight's antics are to go by! She gets a bute a day and 1.5 if doing some harder work than normal.

 

[asmp]

Anyone tried Allen & Page Veteran Light? I was thinking about it for 21 yr old who is a good doer.

 

[cold_feet]

Baileys ease and excel and ad Lib haylege.

 

[huskydamage]

Following- I fed my 28 yr old alfalfa plus oil, sugarbeet and baileys stud balancer.(plus supplements cortaflex and pink senior)
Unfortunately due to her aging teeth I can no longer feed the alfalfa or anything 'chaffy' , I've replaced it with allen and page calm and condition and chucking more micronised linseed in but she has lost weight. Hoping to see some better suggestions for mushy feeds on this thread!

 

[Cowpony]

Mine is 18, so not as old as some. She gets Thunderbrooks Synergy (used to be Base Mix) and Meusli with a bit of extra linseed and her supplements. She loves it and you can make it as wet as you like if they need a sloppier mix

 

[spotty_pony]

Currently Topspec Lite Balancer, Alfa A original and pegasus pony nuts. He has ad-lib hay when in and plenty of grass when out. He was on a joint supplement years ago but since having his hocks medicated I haven't bothered as *touch wood* he seems fine without.

 

[Spotherisk]

Rowan Barbary Readimash Extra. Harl is 29 this year and has been on that for a few years, ridden and retired, all I add is a glug of oil and Equis Health Winter Glow. He loves it. Photo taken a few weeks ago.

 

[cheekywelshie]

Jet now 20 (4 months and1week on from colic surgery) on spillers lite and lean unmolassed chaff, turmeric and protexin gut balancer although no idea if that does anything!

 

[SpotsandBays]

Following- I fed my 28 yr old alfalfa plus oil, sugarbeet and baileys stud balancer.(plus supplements cortaflex and pink senior)
Unfortunately due to her aging teeth I can no longer feed the alfalfa or anything 'chaffy' , I've replaced it with allen and page calm and condition and chucking more micronised linseed in but she has lost weight. Hoping to see some better suggestions for mushy feeds on this thread!

My 30yr old does really well on soaked grass nuts. She has lost quite a few teeth now so can’t really do hay/chaff so well anymore, but I do still add a handful of chaff to her feed for abit of consistency (but it’s mostly grass nuts!) and also micronised linseed. ?

 

[teddypops]

My 30yo gets the same feed as she has always had. No special veteran food. She looks amazing and is still in full work. Don’t change anything if your horse is doing well.

 

[Fjord]

My girl is coming up to 24 and a very good doer. She gets speedibeet, top chop zero, supplements for joints (she has arthritis), Marstall Force balancer and a handful of Baileys high fibre nuts. I feed a balancer as a lot of the time she has soaked hay and very little grass.

 

[tiga71]

Mine is 23 and is ridden about 4 times a week. I jumped him this morning and he was in fine form.

He gets a scoop of Hifi lite molasses free, joint supplement and hoof/multivitamin pro hoof supplement once a day. Out at night, in for about 6 hours, hay net and a big net of straw. He is a very good doer.

 

[zandp]

Thunderbrook or Agrobs Muesli, extra linseed, boswellia, foot balancer (pro hoof at the moment but may change as she won't eat the recommended dose after a year of trying), recently introduced hay cobs or hay nuts soaked which she has with her soaked hay overnight - her teeth are beginning to struggle with hay. She was 27 last Monday.

 

[Annagain]

Monty's on box rest at the moment but we're very hopeful he'll come back to work, he's only really hacking and doing the odd session in the school anyway.

He has a sugar allergy so is on a very low sugar diet. It's very fibre based as I read somewhere that older horses need more fibre as they don't digest other sources so easily so need more fibre (in proportion to other sources of energy) to get the same benefit as before. Since his last dental check, he's not allowed any chaff as it was getting stuck between his teeth and causing gum problems so he has fast fibre, and high fibre cubes as he likes a bit of crunch!

This is in addition to ad lib haylage and (normally) at least 12 hours a day on fairly decent (even now) grass.

 

[tiga71]

Thunderbrook or Agrobs Muesli, extra linseed, boswellia, foot balancer (pro hoof at the moment but may change as she won't eat the recommended dose after a year of trying), recently introduced hay cobs or hay nuts soaked which she has with her soaked hay overnight - her teeth are beginning to struggle with hay. She was 27 last Monday.

I struggle to get mine to eat the full dose of the pro hoof supplement too. I really need a very low calorie mash as I think it is easier to hide than in a chaff.

 

[Orangehorse]

I recently changed my 22 year old to Top Spec Veteran Lite (could I have chosen something more expensive?) with a small amount of chaff and sugar beet pulp. I only give him 1 mug as he is also still on Forage Plus Pro Balance. He has been on that for years and years but I decided that it was a bit of a "low" diet and he was getting quite lethargic.

He has put on weight, which wasn't really the object, but I would also say that he is more energetic.

 

[zandp]

I struggle to get mine to eat the full dose of the pro hoof supplement too. I really need a very low calorie mash as I think it is easier to hide than in a chaff.

When I first started it both horses licked the bowl clean - and I felt very relieved as hadn't thought to build it up slowly, 3 weeks very clean licked out bowls and amazing hoof growth on both of mine (the other's 14).

Then they both went - nah not eating that anymore and they're now just tolerating maximum half dose. I mix into sugarbeet or the hay cobs/nuts or make the muesli very wet so it goes into a mash, I don't feed chaff.

Feet are still looking good so I'm not worrying too much.

Good luck !

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Following- I fed my 28 yr old alfalfa plus oil, sugarbeet and baileys stud balancer.(plus supplements cortaflex and pink senior)
Unfortunately due to her aging teeth I can no longer feed the alfalfa or anything 'chaffy' , I've replaced it with allen and page calm and condition and chucking more micronised linseed in but she has lost weight. Hoping to see some better suggestions for mushy feeds on this thread!

I think adding the Equijewel (stabilised rice bran) has really made a difference to mine over winter. I also feed micronised linseed but he wasn’t gaining weight on that. I also added conditioning cubes for a bit more energy (demo of result in clip below see end) so not sure entirely sure what of the additional feeds did the trick.

https://imgur.com/BS2nWMb

 

[Equi]

Conditioning mix. Doesn't necessarily need condition anymore (but he did over winter) but it gives him a little boost of life and he loves it. At his age he can just have it.

 

[huskydamage]

I think adding the Equijewel (stabilised rice bran) has really made a difference to mine over winter. I also feed micronised linseed but he wasn’t gaining weight on that. I also added conditioning cubes for a bit more energy (demo of result in clip below see end) so not sure entirely sure what of the additional feeds did the trick.

https://imgur.com/BS2nWMb

Looks fab!

 

[sjdress]

20 year old fed hifi molasses free, everyday balancer and speedibeet in winter. As much hay as she will eat too!

 

[ZondaR]

My 30yo gets the same feed as she has always had. No special veteran food. She looks amazing and is still in full work. Don’t change anything if your horse is doing well.

This. My 25/26 year old is on the same feed as he always had - ad lib hayledge, and a scoop of course mix morning and evening in winter. He gets only grass in the summer, May to September. He's not stiff and his teeth are fine so far. His work is trekking, a bit of schooling in the arena and a little bit of jumping, max 90cm. Altogether he works 4 or 5 days a week. This will obviously change if he needs it changed but right now he's doing great.