What should I feed my old horse.

[glass]

Actually, you need to be really careful when feeding wheat bran. Horses need a Ca ratio of 2:1, and wheat bran is way off from that ratio. You can cause some serious issues by feeding wheat bran frequently than say, once a week or every other week. Check out "Big Head Disease"  - I tried to link an article about it but it won't work...

Horses LOVE to eat hot bran mashes, but bran mashes actually offer little to no nutritional value to the horse.

Could you message me the link please. I have been feeding my horses wheat bran with a mix of lettuce, alfalfa/or oats mix and the vet said they were completely healthy. I had them all checked out about 2 months ago. Im glad you bring this up I dont wanna be giving ppl bad advice! Or putting my horses in danger of getting sick.

 

[res]

http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0996wheat.shtml

http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-health/feeding-bran-3151.aspx

http://www.equisearch.com/horses_care/nutrition/feeds/eqbranmash497/

These articles are the 1st three that popped up when I searched "feeding wheat bran to horses".

 

[1234ro]

Thanks for the sugestions we r currently going with beet pulp, and a local grain. Its work well so far

 

[cassie]

Could you message me the link please. I have been feeding my horses wheat bran with a mix of lettuce, alfalfa/or oats mix and the vet said they were completely healthy. I had them all checked out about 2 months ago. Im glad you bring this up I dont wanna be giving ppl bad advice! Or putting my horses in danger of getting sick.

The bran will not make your horses sick.. Back in the day when people used horses for work and transportation, bran mashes were routinely fed. Usually once a week and on a day of rest.

 

[CaraBY]

Purina Equine Sr. is amazing. If he has trouble with hay, you can soak cubes in water and make a mush for him. How is his dental health? That's a biggy with the old guys.

 

[newfoundland]

All excellent advice here I would just add that it is vital to make sure your oldies are rugged up in cold weather as they expend a lot of calories in just keeping warm. It is good to have a selection of different weight rugs and change them accordingly depending on temperature. I remember an old horsey friend who told me years ago, 'it's surprising how many people spend a fortune on different supplements only for the horse to shiver it away because it is not rugged up!'.

 

[Serenity Lane]

I feed Blue Seal Sentinel LE. They also have a Sr feed but the fat content in the LS is higher. The whole Sentinel line is extruded feed (looks almost like dog food) so easier on teeth, can be soaked if necessary. It has lots of extras in it so I personally don't have to feed supplements.

I have a mare who was thin when she came to my barn last month.. I could see a huge difference after just a week on this feed.

Her loading on the trailer to come to my barn:

7 days after arrival:

Big difference!

 

[Serenity Lane]

Oh, and it's a complete feed so that's good if your old guy has a hard time eating hay.