MayberrySaint- Feed Question

[Wooden_Pony]

Look at a feed like Purina Equine Senior or Nutrena Compete

I was going to mention this we fed it to our 37 year old mare in her last few years all winter just to keep her weight up. Also like most people said a good wormer and floating the teeth do wonders as well.

Good luck, we love our "Pasture Ornaments!"​

 

[EggCentric]

I work for a horse rescue and thought I'd chime in here. In an elderly horse, proteins are more important than fat. I agree with the one poster that said any kind of whole grains is a waste of time. They usually pass right through the horse. We have a horse that is 46 years old. We feed him Blue seal senior feed, with one cup (8 oz) of fortified rice bran powder, a big handful of chopped forage and 1/4 cup corn oil in it. We add water to make it into a soup mixture and he gets this 3 times a day. Also, in elder horses, or underweight horses, the slightest parasite can keep weight off them, even if you have already wormed them, their systems sometimes still carry a few parasites. Give your horse a daily feed through wormer for at least 30 days and you should see a difference.

Also, if the Appy is blind, my guess is "Uveitis" (sp?) if so he/she needs aspirin powder given twice a day in their feed. The aspirin helps them with the pain caused from the disease. You can usually order aspirin powder through your vet in large quantities. Ask your vet's advice on how much aspirin you should give her, based on her size.

Good luck with these two and may you enjoy them for years to come!

 

[ml]

lexustami all I can say you have a super horse on your hands. I swear that app is related to mine. I did a double take of that picture.

here is a picture of him http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Plaza/5624/breeze1.jpg

He is blind as a bat at 31 still going strong. He is kind to all and loves to run. I have had this horse for over 29 years. I know those ears, they are always forward and looking for the next challenge. He is a tall 14.1 hands too.


All I can say on feeding is low sugar and carbs. Get the best NON bright green grass hay you can find. And be generous with it. Dust free and smells good hay.

Diet is so important for horses, they need lots to keep them out of trouble with. I feed Nutrena Compete, a cup in the am and a cup in the pm. I am very nervous of cushings and read everything I could on it. Treats can do your horse in fast.


As I told one friend if you love your horse dont give it carrots/treats. A good curry will make them happy.

You can teach a blind horse alot with voice and hand signals. Ya just got to be more careful.

ML

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Big kudos on taking them in and giving them a better life!

I would betcha their problem (other than their history of course) is two things:

1) Horses are grazing animals and NEED hay or good grass available pretty much 24/7. It sounds like yours are only getting roughage during the "day" when they are out on grass, which even if you put them out at dawn and take them in at sunset means 12 hours without roughage, which for a skeeny horse is just too long.

2) Being thin, malnourished and somewhat older, they need a lot more total protein in their diet - your grass this time of year is unlikely to have high protein content so you will need a hard feed that is higher in protein than just 11%. (11% is fine for fat happy pleasure horses of course).

If you can't get hay at present then beet pulp is probably your best Plan B if you can manage at all to get them to eat it. Yes, it IS digestible by horses and it DOES put genuine weight on them, not just filling up their tummies. They may need time to adjust to it though. Alfalfa cubes (from the feed store) would be another option in theory, but I'd worry that skinny older horses with less than perfect teeth and avid appetites would choke, which is unfortunately not uncommon even if you soak the cubes first. When you can get hay, obviously that's the best. Whatever roughage you use, keep it in front of them in plenty, 24 hours a day.

Purina Equine Senior is a really good feed for horses like your two - it is easily chewed, easily digested, higher in protein if memory serves me, and has some fiber in it already. If you can only obtain/afford generic sweet feed, at least use the highest protein content you can get. Or a higher-protein "fat-and-fiber" type pelleted feed.

Like everyone else says, have their teeth done -- preferably not by your "real country" vet <g> but by someone who uses a speculum and cares about salvaging older horses. They will also probably need more frequent worming, and have you wormed for tapeworms too?

Oh, and start blanketing them on cold nights and rainy/windy days... it is amazing how much more metabolic energy tthey can put into weight gain if they're not having to turn up the thermostat against the weather!!

Best of luck,

Pat, still almost totally ignorant about chickens but a long time horse person