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NOTE: Horses are individuals and so always adjust your horse’s feed ration to suit his temperament and condition as well as his work load. The use of chaffs can mean that old horses swallow this feed without it being ground by the teeth or having enough saliva to lubricate and start the digestion process. Chaffs are not a substitute for the crushing, mashing and mixing with saliva that normal chewing accomplishes. YouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. If a horse is prone to laminitis then access to grass should be carefully controlled. Many laminitis-prone horses do well on late, leafy autumn and winter grass, but as spring and early summer arrive, the simple sugars in the grass fluctuate and high levels can trigger both low-level and full-blown laminitis. In this respect, it is best to either strictly control grass access to the early morning only or remove the horse from all grass onto a turn-out area which allows for movement.

The final consideration is to make sure the horse has sufficient time to consume his meals, in an environment where he will be protected from other horses. If a total replacement diet is needed then an area to munch, for an hour or two, in peace will be needed. This could be in a stable or in a fenced-off area. Although difficult to manage, this is the only way that a horse, which needs a considerable percentage of its diet as a soaked feed, will be able to consume enough food to maintain weight and health.A reliable indication of poor chewing is an old horse that begins to lose weight despite getting adlib hay and what should be enough calories. These horses typically do much better on pasture, which is high in moisture and easier to chew, than they do on hay or haylage, so they may have particular difficulties in winter. How does Cushing’s disease affect a horse’s teeth? Healthy Tummy plays a major part in Fritz on-going management. It provides him with plenty of slow-release energy required for his workload and condition. There are many old horse or veteran complete horse feeds on the market, but they often contain bulk fillers such as oat and wheat feed in high amounts, which are not necessary in the diet of horses. In addition, most of these feeds supply high amounts of molasses which is not desirable in large amounts when substituting hay for an old horse. We believe the smart horse owner buys the separate single feeds and mixes them so that the horse has the best chance of health.

Divide the total daily amount into as many feeds, per day, as you possibly can. Keep meal sizes small for optimum digestion and to avoid overloading the horse’s system. As a guide, we recommend no more than 0.5kg of mix/cubes/balancer per 100kg bodyweight, per meal. Do not exceed a total of 1½ - 2 kg (3½ -4 lbs) per feed for a horse and 1¼ - 1½ kg (3 - 3½ lbs), for a pony (including additional chaff or sugar beet pulp, if fed). He is looking remarkably well on a much reduced amount of mix, so my current plan is to let him eat as much hay as he will, up to say 25lbs, keep the hard feeds small and feed grass nuts as required to maintain the weight. If I can remove the mix entirely I will but Spillers have a new veteran mix which is higher in fibre than the one I have been using, although slightly lower DE/kg.

As they age, horses tend to fall to lower positions of status within the herd. Research carried out on Icelandic horses indicated that rank in the herd could affect horse’s food availability considerably. Insufficient fermentation in the large intestine may become a problem for the older horse. Research suggests that the number and variety of protozoans greatly reduce in many elderly horses. Protozoa are important, along with vast numbers of bacterial strains for efficient fermentation. 5. What about colic in the older horse? He is eating more hay now, probably as the grass is reducing, but mid winter he would normally eat about 30lbs of hay a day plus a small amount of hard feed. That's a lot of hay t o chew! Divide hay replacersinto a minimum of 4 meals for those without access to grazing. Try to ensure the first and last meals of the day are given as early/ late as possible to avoid long periods without forage overnight.

Healthy Tummy contains ADM Protexin In-Feed Formula, which supplies prebiotics to promote a healthy microbial population that is vital for fibre digestion and gut health We covered the whys of dental health affecting older horses at the start of this article. A basic rule is that as a horse progresses into their mid to late twenties the power of the teeth’s grinding capabilities will reduce. Elderly horses often drink less. This could be due to arthritis or mouth pain, cold weather or when they are bullied by other herd members. Decreased water consumption increases the risk of impaction colic.Karyce realised she was going to have to make some drastic changes to the lifestyle of Della her Welsh Section C mare – she had to lose some weight as she was at risk of getting laminitis. Ageing can be associated with reduced production of saliva, the normal lubricant for food. Digestion also starts in the mouth with special enzymes that are contained within the saliva, so a reduction in this means the digestive process can be compromised. Less saliva also means less buffering of stomach acid which in other species has been documented as being low in elderly animals. 3. How can stomach acid affect an old horse? His teeth are getting down to the enamel, hence the need to preserve them but he does eat any feed put in front of him and doesn't quid (he had a trip to the RVC about 3 years ago to fix a problem tooth). So no apparent problem chewing at the moment. It is very important to understand the daily feed should always be supplemented with a forage-focused mineral and vitamin balancer which is high in minerals which are commonly deficient in a forage focused diet. This should be fed throughout the year to all horses as grass is also deficient in the same minerals as hay.

It is also important to consider that fibre is very lightweight. At Dengie, we commonly liken fibre feeds to a ton of feathers compared to a ton of coal, which represents cereal feeds. Although both are the same weight, the feathers or fibre take up a much larger space than the coal or cereals. Conner was suffering with faecal water issues that were particularly bad after being on fresh grass or if he was stabled. Gemma also believed that Conner had ulcers from the stressful upbringing he had before she bought him. It was suggested that Gemma tried Conner on Dengie Healthy Tummy which she says made a huge difference. The amount and kind of work your horse or pony is doing is an important factor when calculating the quantity and type of feed to give. Good quality fibre sources such as Alfa-A Original can meet the energy requirements of most horses and ponies in light to medium work. Just add a balancer or supplement to balance the diet. And I will add Thunderbrook balancer as the mix reduces to ensure he gets his vitamins etc, although I do feed less than they advise. Dengie also do a product called Alfabeet which is alfalfa and unmollased sugar beet combined in one bag. You could substitute grass pellets and separate beet pulp with this product as long as you don’t feed more than a total of 1 kg of alfalfa per day. 9. Should you test the hay and grass your old horse is eating?Arthritis may lead to less movement. Movement is crucial to reducing the risk of impaction and gas colics. Faecal egg counts and the new saliva tests for tapeworms, done before deworming with a paste, will tell you if your worming programme is working. Making sure you do these on your old horse will tell you if you have a problem with resistance. If your worm counts identify species not normally found in adult horses such as ascarids or stongyloides, then you know you have a problem with resistance. Spotting gains or losses in weight early allows you to adjust your horse’s diet before the weight loss or gain is too significant ,allowing you to keep your horse or pony in perfect condition all year round. Horses vary in how wet they like their soaked feeds. Some like them just moist enough to barely crumble, while others will eat/drink their feed in soup consistency. As a general rule, the more water the better. This makes the feed similar to pasture, improves digestibility, helps protect against choking and keeps an old horse well-hydrated. Good hydration stops food from moving slowly in the guts and reduces the risk of spasmodic or impaction colic. How long will it take to soak old horse feed? Caitlin O’Kane shares with us her horse’s story and transformation – from being diagnosed with grade 4 ulcers to a happy, healthy horse.