Condition on an old horse

ecaf

Theres an old mare in our yard 26 y/o TB, she's loosing condition since the winter and is being feed nearly a bucket of course mix with oil throughout the day. She's mostly out on grass, but it being scarce this year, she is also in a bit with hay.

Any tips on anything else we can try to put condition back on her? Not my horse by the way, but I've know the horse a good number of years, and she feels like mine at times. Of course she's not being ridden but its hard to put down an old pet that has been in good form up until now.

fits

Nothing could beat a good field of grass I reckon. Can you get her to a field with good grass? I presume shes wormed up to date.

I have the opposite problem with my oldy. She's an expert at guilt-tripping me over the strip grazing too. That horse has me wrapped around her little finger...

ecaf

Thanks for the reply, the grass is the problem, it isn't growing that much. I'll check about the worming too, but I'm sure she must be as the vet was out with her a while back for another issue. Maybe they can see about moving them temporarily to better grass, to give that grass a chance to grow back.

smileypony

I find most common causes of weight loss (underfeeding aside-doesnt sound like your issue at all!) in older horses are worms and dental issues. Id worm her again(make sure your wormer gets tapes), get her teeth done if they havent been done in the past year and failing that get your vet to give her a once over. Often an underlying problem can be picked up with routine bloodwork by your vet.

Best of luck!:)

togster

It is often teeth or worming.

Watch her eat. Does she chew properly?

ecaf

I'd say its probably teeth, I think my friend said that she was eating less haylage over the winter (or leaving it behind), probably because of her teeth. Out at grass I can't see that she's doing to badly in terms of eating, but there isn't a lot of grass at the moment.
I can't do anything more only pass on the info, as it isn't my horse - just as I said I know her so long and we used to look after her for a few years that she's a bit like one of our own.

Chindato

The coarse mix won't be doing anything for her - it's all carbohydrates, which gives energy rather than puts on body fat. The oil is a good start - substitute the cooked mix with a senior feed.
If chewing's an issue, look for ways of feeding sloppy, easily digested food. Red Mills have a nutritionist - ring them up and get some advice.
Agree with others that often weight loss is related to pain, and in older horses this is often to do with teeth. It could also be chronic low-grade pain, say like arthritis in joints (is she stiff) or even low-grade laminitis (you don't have to be on rich grazing)
Hope the above gives you something to go on

togster

Yes.

Make the food easy to eat. Also beet pulp is good to add weight. It surely is her teeth. We had an old mare (27 y o) who had a very difficult time to chew hay. Not much you can do, other than get them checked.

turtle21

Same subject,different horse!My oldie (17) has had her teeth done and is wormed with EQUEST.

She's out (well and suitably rugged when appropriate) the whole time as she weaves.This I concluded was why she wasn't putting on weight.But now the silly mare is weaving at the gate!And dropping condition as well.

She's getting sugar beet twice a day (brek and supper) then barley with chaff , Alpha A , vit supplement , garlic and cod liver oil for lunch and late supper so she's getting fed 4 times a day total.

She's in light work (a happy hack) which is getting even lighter until the weight goes back on!

Suggestions for fattening feeds please?

shanagarry

Adding flaked maize seems to work well with the mare we struggle to keep weight on.

@turtle, I'd be most concerned about stopping the weaving. Is she turned out on her own? Another horse might keep her company? My mare with the weight problems used to weave but hasn't in years (turned out full time in company) but she only did it close to feeding time, so I always made sure she came in first/got fed first.

Theponylady

With old horses, like many people mention, it's usually dental and/or worm issues.

Have a horse dentist-NOT a vet unless they are also a dentist(most vets only get minimal training in doing teeth, many don't like doing it, and they do a very poor job-I could spend hours telling stories about the very poor jobs I've seen done by vets) float the teeth.

Often in old horses, they have loose or missing teeth that prevent them from chewing properly. When a horse eats, by the time he swallows his food, it is mush, like baby food. In a horse that can't chew properly, the food is swallowed not properly chewed, in bits an inch or more longer, which the horse can't digest. Grains that aren't chewed properly also aren't digested properly. You can feed the horse a huge amount, but it won't help much, because it's passing through the horse and the nutrients are not being absorbed.

One of the best ways to get useable nutrients into a horse with dental issues is to feed pelleted feeds(called "cubes" here in Ireland). Pelleted feeds are made up of hay or nuts that are already ground up into a size the horse can digest. They break apart as soon as saliva gets to them, or you can put a bit of water in the feed(takes very little, you don't have to "soak" the pellets) to help them break up more easily and to reduce the risk of choke in a greedy horse. The horse will use all the nutrients in the pelleted feed, without any waste. While they are a bit difficult to find(Flynns is the only place I know of to buy them, but I'm sure there are other places around the country), you can feed hay pellets rather than hay or sileage to a horse that has difficulty chewing.

Short green grass is useful to a horse with dental issues, as the high water content and softness makes it easier to chew and digest.

Dental issues that prevent correct chewing are a huge cause of colic in horses of all ages, as the longer bits of feed are not digested correctly, and can clog up the intestines and cause impaction colic.

Encysted strongyles(worms that burrow into the stomach lining, doing damage and preventing the horse from absorbing as many nutrients from his feed as he should) are a real problem for many horses, older horses in particular. Regular wormers don't kill them. Equest supposedly does, but there are some safety issues with it. If a horse is in poor condition already, they can sometimes get sick from it, and I've seen a few colics where there was too much worm die off too fast.

Using a Panacur power pac(can be bought in the states, here you have to make up your own) is a great way to kill encysted strongyles without the fast die off and chance of toxicity of a single dose wormer. To do a powerpac, you need to give a double dose of the Panacur for 5 days in a row. The easiest way is to buy it in tubes, but it's expensive. The least expensive way is to buy a liter jug of Panacur liquid, get a big flushing syringe(you can buy them at the vet stores), and use that to do the double dose. If encysted strongyles were the problem, you will usually see a change in the horse within 10 days of getting the five day dosing.

Nicker2009

a field of lush grass and good hay does wonders for putting condition on a thin horse, along with a couple of feed a day of sugar beet with grain and oil. I've seen the difference in less than a week on very thin horses.

Chindato

Nicker2009 wrote: »

a field of lush grass and good hay does wonders for putting condition on a thin horse

Don't follow this advice without consultation with your vet. Sudden introduction to lush grazing may cause colic and/or laminitis. Horses were not designed for lush grazing - they pass food through their systems relatively quickly so that they can get by on low nutrient fodder. Lush grass is the extreme opposite of this and should be treated with caution.

ecaf

Chindato wrote: »

Don't follow this advice without consultation with your vet. Sudden introduction to lush grazing may cause colic and/or laminitis. Horses were not designed for lush grazing - they pass food through their systems relatively quickly so that they can get by on low nutrient fodder. Lush grass is the extreme opposite of this and should be treated with caution.

She can't really follow this anyway, as grass is scarce around our way. Not much growth there.
I'm suggesting beet pulp and maybe speaking to red mills nutritionist.

That's as much as I can do as it is not my horse, and it is not in my care.