What do you feed your Veteran Cushings Horses, please?

Eaglestone

Eaglestone

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Motor who is a 14.3hh, 28 year old Cushings horse, at a very high risk of Laminitis, now has very limited teeth grinding capacity.

He now tends to favour his 'bucket' feed and eats little hay, although saying that, he has never eaten just for the sake of it, if you see what I mean
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He is now polishing off 2 big feeds of 1 Scoop of High Fibre Nuts (D & H) and 1 Scoop of Happy Hoof (Spillers), with a small amount of Corn Oil and Carrots (I know he should not have these, however
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) mixed with a litre of water.

Do you think this is ok, as I am a little worried that this is too much in one feed, although it takes him quite a long time to eat .... sometimes he eats it in dribs and drabs and other times he seems to just tuck straight in and continues eating until it has nearly gone
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Weight wise, he is looking very good, possibly too good (in Vets eyes), as the Vet did suggest in the Summer that he lose some weight
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. I did reduce the feed and then he started to look ribby again, so I increased it again and now you can just see his ribs, but I am happy with his weight ... but not 100% sure what the Vet would say
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So what do you feed your Veteran, who has the same health and risk issues as Motor?

After finding out what has been tried and tested on any of your Cushings horse's out there, I will discuss with Dodson & Horrell and Spillers feed helplines.

Thank you
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I used to have a dentally-challenged Cushingoid pony who eventually couldn't eat long hay at all, so I used to feed her big tubs of Happy Hoof as a hay replacer. As it is fibre, it doesn't matter that it is a big feed - just like giving a big haynet.
 
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I used to have a dentally-challenged Cushingoid pony who eventually couldn't eat long hay at all, so I used to feed her big tubs of Happy Hoof as a hay replacer. As it is fibre, it doesn't matter that it is a big feed - just like giving a big haynet.

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Thanks for your reply TGM .... do you think the High Fibre Nuts as well, is ok?
 
My cushingoid veteran boy is fed two feeds a day, one consisting of a stubbs scoop of HiFi Lite and a stubbs scoop of Mollichaff Hoofkind for him to munch on at his leisure in the morning along with adlib hay. Then in the evening he has a scoop of wet speedibeet a double handful of Hi Fibre cubes and a scoop full of Mollichaff hoofkind with his supps added in as well. He's keeping a nice amount of condition at the moment, but if he was a little lighter, i would add a bit more speedibeet or introduce a veteran mix. In the autumn he was on Allen and page Old Faithfuls blend with a bit of chaff but this seemed to do him a bit too well for my liking so i took him off it.

My other cushingoid pony who we lost in 2006, struggled with her teeth and keeping weight on in the last few months of her life and we found D&H 16+ cubes were fantastic for condition and seemed very palatable for her too. We used to give her upto 5 small feeds a day of varying chaffs and cubes/veteran mixed so that she got the nutrition she required.


Hope this helps!
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Benjis_girl that is a great help, thanks
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.... I will google the D & H 16+ mix to see what they say about it
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What sort of Supplements do you feed?

Thanks very much
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Mine is on 16+ and speedi beet
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Thanks
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.... Motor always had Sugarbeet (Molassed) in his youth, but did not really take to the unmolassed cr@p (his view not mine
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), but perhaps he will enjoy it more now, as he used to hate Happy Hoof, but now enjoys it
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I'm currently struggling to feed my little mini-shetland with Cushings too. She doesn't keep weight on well and is really fussy with feeds. She's getting soaked hay (quite soft rather than stemmy hay), soaked alfalfa pellets and Healthy Hooves with Blue Chip Lami Lite. I've got to steer clear of sugar beet, but if she tolerated it, I would probably use speedibeet or A&P Fast Fibre (which they seem to love and is safe). I've found the feed companies brill for advice and free samples. I've been advised to stay clear of any mixes and veteran stuff as it's usually quite high energy and mollassed.

Sue
 
One of mine is cushings, he's 21. Gets speedi-beet and a tiny bit of applechaff (purely because pony is very picky and this helps him eat otherwise boring speedibeet!). Has a high spec vit & min supplement and joint supplement mixed in.
 
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What sort of Supplements do you feed?



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Benjis just on Formula 4 feet and Vitex 4 Equids for his feet and cushings.
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I'm currently struggling to feed my little mini-shetland with Cushings too. She doesn't keep weight on well and is really fussy with feeds. She's getting soaked hay (quite soft rather than stemmy hay), soaked alfalfa pellets and Healthy Hooves with Blue Chip Lami Lite. I've got to steer clear of sugar beet, but if she tolerated it, I would probably use speedibeet or A&P Fast Fibre (which they seem to love and is safe). I've found the feed companies brill for advice and free samples. I've been advised to stay clear of any mixes and veteran stuff as it's usually quite high energy and mollassed.

Sue

[/ QUOTE ] Sueeltringham
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... I will look up some of the products that you have suggested
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Thanks
 
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One of mine is cushings, he's 21. Gets speedi-beet and a tiny bit of applechaff (purely because pony is very picky and this helps him eat otherwise boring speedibeet!). Has a high spec vit & min supplement and joint supplement mixed in.

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Magic_Magpie .... thanks for your reply, I have not been adding Vits atm, as he is on the full quota of the HFN and HH ... but feel that I ought to add it again
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What sort of Supplements do you feed?



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Benjis just on Formula 4 feet and Vitex 4 Equids for his feet and cushings.
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Thanks benjis_girl
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Hi Eaglestone,

my old Cushings boy has trouble eating hay ( he gets some as a token gesture, but finds it really difficult) and he is an arab cross who is now starting to struggle to keep weight on. He has 4 feeds a day, each containing a scoop of high fibre cubes, Alfa A and Speedbeet sooked in enough water to make a mash. To top this up he has a tub to Mollichaff veteran available to snack on for extra fibre. Supplements (apart from his medication for Cushings) he only has vitax.

However, you said you boy is fine weight-wise so you are probably ok sticking with what you feed, but maybe you want to consider adding some chaff to add fibre to his diet if he is eating less hay now.
 
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Hi Eaglestone,

my old Cushings boy has trouble eating hay ( he gets some as a token gesture, but finds it really difficult) and he is an arab cross who is now starting to struggle to keep weight on. He has 4 feeds a day, each containing a scoop of high fibre cubes, Alfa A and Speedbeet sooked in enough water to make a mash. To top this up he has a tub to Mollichaff veteran available to snack on for extra fibre. Supplements (apart from his medication for Cushings) he only has vitax.

However, you said you boy is fine weight-wise so you are probably ok sticking with what you feed, but maybe you want to consider adding some chaff to add fibre to his diet if he is eating less hay now.

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Thanks Tangotime
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You saying that your boy is having 4 feeds a day with a scoop of High Fibre Nuts etc, has reassured me no end
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When Motor was a wee boy, he never had the full compliment of 'Hard' feed as he kept his weight on ok, even though a very fussy eater. But over the last year he has happily started to eat the feeds and even the Happy Hoof, which he used to turn his nose up to
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I will definately look into the Alpha A, Speedibeet and Mollichaff Veteran now
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......

Remind me ..... how old is your boy and what size is he?

Thanks.
 
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Standard Alfa A is molassed. Don't think Alfa Oil is & I think there is a "lite" version as well.

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Thanks for that info Hairycob, I don't want to feed him any molasses
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Mine is 28 too, but she has no probs eating hay/ haylage, so has plenty off that, along with a locally sourced coarse mix (she doesn't like nuts), sugar beet and a tiny amount of Graze on - shes not very keen on that.

Fortunately she has never suffered from the 'L' word, so maybe she's a little easier to manage than other Cushing horses.

She also out for 8/9 hours a day, even in this weather.
 
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Mine is 28 too, but she has no probs eating hay/ haylage, so has plenty off that, along with a locally sourced coarse mix (she doesn't like nuts), sugar beet and a tiny amount of Graze on - shes not very keen on that.

Fortunately she has never suffered from the 'L' word, so maybe she's a little easier to manage than other Cushing horses.

She also out for 8/9 hours a day, even in this weather.

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I wish Motor still had decent teeth, it only really started to be an issue in February and then we found he had a slab fracture and had to have that removed
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I also wish I had never come across the 'L' word too
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Motor has always preferred nuts to mix ... I tried him on Pasture Mix yonks ago, thinking that looked nicer for him
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.... but he did not like it and if I recall rightly, he went nuts on it (excuse the pun!
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) ... and believe you me, he did not need whizzing up!
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I hope your girl continues to stay healthy, as that would be lovely
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Don't know if it would be suitable in your situation but Allen and page fast fibre is brilliant as it's very high in fibre but easy for them to eat, my friends mare loves it and she's 34. Also Allen and page are very helpful and I'm sure they would send you some samples if it was suitable for motor xxx
 
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Don't know if it would be suitable in your situation but Allen and page fast fibre is brilliant as it's very high in fibre but easy for them to eat, my friends mare loves it and she's 34. Also Allen and page are very helpful and I'm sure they would send you some samples if it was suitable for motor xxx

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Thanks Annie&Amy, I will be googling all these suggestions and everyone has been very helpful
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... hope you are doing well?
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He'll be 31 in April, is a Welsh-Arab-Cross and 137cm which is I think about 13'2".

NB. I tried Allen&Page fibrefast as it sounds like a useful product, but non of my horses will eat it
 
My laminitic is fed Fast Fibre..along with my other 5. They love it. It is barley and mollassess free
 
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My laminitic is fed Fast Fibre..along with my other 5. They love it. It is barley and mollassess free

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Thanks _HP_ .... hope that does not mean you have about 6 oldies
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I'm fine thanks, getting a little easier to cope with time and helps that I've got my friend's pony to help look after. Hope you're well and motor too, I've said to my friend that we need to get her pony dentures so she can munch properley again but she does well on all her special feed ( she has readigrass, fast fibre, hifi senior, baileys veteran mix, alfa beet and molichaff ) costs alot but it's worth it, she can only eat a little hay now but with all that she's getting she looks fantastic, obviously she's got no issues with laminitis etc xxxx
 
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My laminitic is fed Fast Fibre..along with my other 5. They love it. It is barley and mollassess free

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Thanks _HP_ .... hope that does not mean you have about 6 oldies
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Hi...sorry no real oldies. Just thought I'd add my vote for fast fibre
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I do have a pony with dodgy teeth though and she really appreciates the Fast Fibre
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I dont have any Cushings horses ATM (x'ing fingers for the forseable future) But I did have one in my care for a short time. It was too late for me to do a great deal for her as she was too far advanced when I go her. However I did get involved with a Cushings forum on Google so that I could be better prepared if I do end up with one in the future (and try to avoid future problems with my other horses - prevention and cure and all that) My old boy is 26 and realistically "systemic problems" are a big chance, if you get my meaning (full of cold and head hurting ATM)

They advocate a special diet for Cushings horses (medically researched - Dr Kellon is the main honcho) They also advocate staying away from mollassed products and cereals. It may be worth checking out the forum for any hints / tips / ideas.

With that in mind (avoiding sugar spikes, natural diets etc) I have mine on A&P Fast Fibre and Grow Well Fibregest. That ranges from the 26yr old (approaching denture time) to the 3yr old.
 

Hi. I have a 30 year old PBA with mild cushings.

His teeth are still pretty good so he still manages his haylage well. He is fed Allen & Page Fast Fibre and Speedibeet. For vit & mineral requirements he gets seaweed, brewers yeast and linseed,, plus mint for yumminess, he also gets dandelion for kidney/liver function. I have changed him on to this diet this winter (previously he had hi-fi and veteran mix) He lives out 24/7 and is thriving, doing far better than he has in previous years.
 
I feed the same as you: Happy Hoof and Fibre Nuts to my 22yr old Cushings (recovering Laminitic).... BUT I also feed Formula 4 Feet (as a vit & min supplement & to help his feet recover) and Equine Gold (to make sure he has the best environment in his tummy).

I only feed half scoop Happy Hoof and quarter scoop high fibre cubes in each feed as he is not greedy and just won't eat more than this, so in winter (like now), he also has a cup (dry) of Alfa Beet split between his feeds - I do the quick soak method in boiling water, which then makes his feed lovely and warm when he eats it! And he loves it and is a perfect weight!

To be honest, I would be wary of coming off a Laminitis Trust approved feed unless you have the time and expertise to fully analyze the other feeds and work-out which are suitable.

If he's having trouble eating, you could always pour boiling water over his feed to make it more into a mash, let it cool and feed it to him warm.... you could also steam his hay which will make it nice and warm and softer/easier to chew.

I have a Happy Horse Steamer, but you can just put his haynet in a dustbin, pour a few kettle of boiling water over the top, put the lid on and leave until the steam has gone and it's cooler - probably 30mins to an hour?
 
My cushings pony hasn’t had the L word and is underweight and fussy so I have to keep changing him onto different feeds. He is currently on happy hoof and maybe alfa-a lite, high fibre nuts, high fibre mix, speedibeet or fibrebeet and micronised linseed. Have also recently had him on alfa-a oil (not too keen on that anymore), hi-fi lite, fast fibre and equijewel which is good but he was wasting feeds with it in and it is just to expensive to waste so have switched to linseed instead to see what that’s like.
 
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