My horse issues

[GldnValleyHens]

Hey, I’m an experienced horse owner and rider, and I am having trouble with my senior horse. He’s a 22 year old Arab, and on the thin side. I can feel his ribs easily, and before his winter coat grew in, they were quite visible. Not to mention a loss of muscle and fat around his flanks, barrel and withers. I recently got his teeth floated, and he was dewormed in the fall. All 3 of my boys are on a high quality hay, and have a 2:1 ratio of pelleted grain and cracked corn and tossed with oil ( soybean/canola) , twice a day.
( hay especially now is free choice all day)
Any suggestions or tips for helping my senior get his conditioning back? I was thinking of adding a weight gain supplement?
He’s a tough old guy, endurance horse who toured the world in his younger days. We still ride him on trails, so he’s still in light work.

 

[LlamaGirl4]

Try posting on backyardherds http://www.backyardherds.com/

 

[sassysarah]

Pictures? How often do you ride him? Do you do any lunging?

 

[GldnValleyHens]

Pictures? How often do you ride him? Do you do any lunging?

Not any recent ones that show his side. I was riding him nearly 3 times a week, but now with he onslaught of cold weather I haven’t gone out on a horse in at least a month.No lunging for William, he doesn’t need it, he’s steady Eddie and fit. My TB on t he other hand is a basket case and needs it to be focused and behaved

 

[sassysarah]

Not any recent ones that show his side. I was riding him nearly 3 times a week, but now with he onslaught of cold weather I haven’t gone out on a horse in at least a month.No lunging for William, he doesn’t need it, he’s steady Eddie and fit. My TB on t he other hand is a basket case and needs it to be focused and behaved

Lots of trotting on the lunge line will help gain muscle. Has he been wormed recently?

 

[res]

At 22 years of age, it might be time to switch him to a complete Senior feed, such as Triple Crown Senior or ProElite Senior. A lot of senior horses reach a point where they just don't metabolize hay as efficiently, and especially don't metabolize un-processed grains like cracked corn. Feeding a complete feed allows his body to access the nutrition easier. Do you know how many pounds of hay and pounds of pellets/corn you are feeding daily. Not "scoops" or "flakes", but actually weight.

The oil can be helpful, but it is 100% fat, and he may well need more nutrition than just the fat that the oil provides. I often use a ration balancer on my old guys, in addition to the Senior feed, as a way to get LOTS of calories/nutrition into them with very little weight of feed.

I don't know what the climate is like where you live, but all of my seniors that require Senior feed also get blanketed. Every little bit helps when it comes to conserving calories over the winter. I would rather my old guys expend the minimum amount possible to stay warm.

If he is beginning to have dental issues that make it hard to chew or digest hay, you may also want to consider adding soaked-to-soup hay cubes to his daily ration. I prefer alfalfa, but it can depend on what you have available locally.

 

[chickens really]

Were his teeth floated by a Veterinarian? Possibly still an issue? Are the other horses forcing him away from the feed. Was wormed with the proper wormer for the time of year ?
Can you separate him so he can have all the feed he wants and put him on senior feed along with free choice hay.

 

[GldnValleyHens]

Lots of trotting on the lunge line will help gain muscle. Has he been wormed recently?

Yes, in October. That is true with muscle building, I am just afraid of him burning more calories than I can put in him.

 

[GldnValleyHens]

Were his teeth floated by a Veterinarian? Possibly still an issue? Are the other horses forcing him away from the feed. Was wormed with the proper wormer for the time of year ?
Can you separate him so he can have all the feed he wants and put him on senior feed along with free choice hay.

Teeth were floated by my vet, he’s taken care of previous horse injuries for me too, I really like his work. Usually feed time is uneventful except for a few switches by the horses, but Will always gets his full meal. One of my guys is a mini, and of course he doesn’t get anything except scraps.
I gave Will bimectin in the fall, if memory serves me right.

 

[chickens really]

Teeth were floated by my vet, he’s taken care of previous horse injuries for me too, I really like his work. Usually feed time is uneventful except for a few switches by the horses, but Will always gets his full meal. One of my guys is a mini, and of course he doesn’t get anything except scraps.
I gave Will bimectin in the fall, if memory serves me right.

Darn.... all I suggest is separate him into a paddock/pen alone and see if any weight builds on him?
Or contact the Vet to see what his opinion is?..