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19yo TB- Should I feed ration balancer in addition to Senior Feed?

Horse Care
#1

Background: 19 year old TB in moderate work, Dressage, Jumping, occasional Hunter Pace or XC. Summer in Georgia is always especially hard on his weight, but he is noticeably lacking in topline this summer although excelling in dressage lessons and muscling elsewhere.

Feed/Turnout situation: In for appx 10 hrs per day, during the peak time of heat. Free choice coastal bermuda and 2-3 flakes of Alfalfa while in stall. Plentiful grass during remaining hours of the day turned out (12-14 hours). Currently eating 8lbs per day of Triple Crown Senior, as well as a daily electrolyte (Kentucky Performance).

My question: Would it be worth feeding a ration balancer as a supplement for added protein to enhance topline? I am worried about selenium overdose, which I’ve read is a real risk when going for RB in addition to a complete feed.

Alternative suggestions are welcome. I will be consulting with my vet as well. Have toyed with the idea of adding Tri Amino or Omega Horseshine, but have not acted on it. Also intrigued by the muscle specific supplements by smartpak or cavalor.

Thanks in advance!

#2

I think 8 lbs of TCS means he’s definitely getting the recommended quantity. I don’t know if I would do a RB on top of that. Combined with everything else, it seems like he’s eating well and especially considering the alfalfa, I’d think he’s getting enough protein (but I will defer to the feed gurus here!). If you are debating adding flax, I can only recommend you do it as it is amazing, especially for the old guys.

I will say, talk to your vet about testing for Cushing’s in the fall. He’s at the right age, and under-muscling is a common first symptom.

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#3

@firefoot flax would be an no brainer. Could for sure add that in. Will consult on cushings test as well!

#4

Yes, you’d be fine adding the TC 30 to the Sr. Is his overall weight good but he lacks topline, or does he need weight gain all over? TC is great to talk to, you can email, call or chat with them. I’ve fed as much as 12 lbs of TC Sr plus TC 30 at their recommendation.

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#5

@Palm Beach his overall weight could use maybe a touch more but it is mainly the top line that has raised my eyebrows recently. I upped him from 6 lbs senior to 8 two weeks ago so I am seeing what that does for overall weight as well.

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#6

I currently have two geriatric TBs: a hard-keeping 25 year old and a toothless 33 year old. They eat about 9 lbs and 16 lbs of senior feed, respectively, a day.

Both of them get about 0.5 lb TC 30 daily as a top dress in addition to their TC Senior. I feel like it makes a BIG difference in their top line and muscling.

I don’t like to go over 0.5 lb because of overdoing it on the selenium, as you noted. Honestly, I haven’t crunched the numbers, which is kind of embarrassing.

I tried Tri-Amino (well, Horsetech’s Nutramino) a few years ago and it seemed to be effective. Quite frankly, I use the TC 30 because it’s easier and cheaper, since I already have it on hand for the horses on calorie restrictions.

They also get flax, but I don’t feel like that has any impact on their weight or muscling. It does a lot for skin, coat, hooves, and overall health, which are the reasons I feed it.

#7

@Texarkana ooo this is most helpful!

Thank you! I’ve ordered omega horse shine because I feel as if that can’t hurt. Don’t think it will be enough of a calorie add, leaning toward top dressing tc30 now.

Ill sit sit down and try to crunch numbers tonight!

#8

@HunterJumperGin

I just did the math for the horse getting 9lbs of TC Senior

9 lbs TC Senior (4 kg) at 0.5 ppm selenium = 2 mg of selenium

0.5 lbs TC 30 (0.2 kg) at 3.40 ppm selenium = 0.7 mg of selenium

I live in a low selenium area, so that is perfectly safe. AAEP recommends keeping supplemental selenium under 3 mg in most instances.

Based on numbers alone, my toothless guy could probably tolerate a little more selenium in his diet than what he’s currently getting.

#9

I really like triamino or nutramino for this. You’re already feeding enough TC Senior–adding a ration balancer on top of that is concerning for overloading nutrients.

I find my old mare does need more help with her amino acids/protein than my younger horses, and often supplement (with great effect) triamino or nutramino when she’s not eating as much alfalfa, even though she’s technically getting “enough” protein/lysine/methionine/etc.

#10

Not disagreeing, but I find the old hard keepers seem to benefit from more of everything… with the exception of selenium because of those toxicity thresholds. They just don’t absorb nutrients as readily as their younger counterparts.

I’ve had to way “over do” the nutrition on all of my aging TBs to keep them looking their best. :yes:

Oh, to have a TB’s metabolism… :lol:

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#11

Oh no doubt :smiley:

But this horse is in Georgia, where soil selenium levels are all over the map (hahaha) and is eating hay and pasture in addition to his grain. Unless the horse’s selenium levels have been tested, and the hay has been tested, I’d err on the side of caution and not pile on more nutrients when triamino or nutramino could solve this problem.

Selenium toxicity is uuuuugly. Other nutrients can also be toxic. But it’s awfully hard to overdo the lysine :wink:

#12

A few things:

At 19 and losing topline with the diet you laid out would have me wondering about early PPID. Or, perhaps the chewing surface of his molars isn’t what it used to be. OR, he’s just reaching that age where he just needs more quality protein.

The Coastal - is this the exact same batch of hay he ate last year? My guess is not, so it may be that this hay isn’t as nutritious as it was last year,

TC Sr is a complete feed, which means you could be feeding 16+lb a day, so adding even 1 lb of the TC 30 wouldn’t likely be overkill, but to know for sure, especially the Se side of things, you’d need to know where his body is, and for that you need blood.

But the TC 30 is also adding some calories, which he may not need, or may be insignificant (1300-ish isn’t a lot in the context of what he’s already eating). You can add amino acids though, as already suggested - Nutramino or Tri-Amino.

#13

I’m going thru the same thing with my tb right now. I am contemplating adding rb or Purina supersport. He already gets 1 cup a day horseshine I think I’ll try the supersport first.

#14

I pulled my 19 y.o. off of Supersport after 3 months… did almost nothing for him in terms of supporting muscle development. At $45 per 25lb bag, I just couldn’t justify the cost and the lack of results. Switched him to 1lb of Purina Enrich Plus in addition to a small quantity of TC Senior, and I’m thrilled. His topline is filling in again, and his coat and hooves are in great shape. The Enrich Plus runs about $30/ 50lbs in my area, so it’s significantly cheaper and yielding better results. Might be worth a shot!

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#15

Thx that is good data. I already feed 7lbs per day senior feed so I’m a bit concerned about adding the rb. But maybe 1 lb would be ok.

#16

what about rice bran oil?

#17

When you run out of the Omega Horseshine, check out TC’s Ground Flax. It’s stabilized and less expensive than the Omega Horseshine.

1 Like
#18

^^This. OP, again, you can contact TC directly to get answers to all your questions. They are wonderful.

#19

I also have a 19 year old gelding that was losing his topline. I talked to a Seminole feed rep, and ended up putting him on 1 lb Seminole Equalizer (ration balancer) daily, along with 2-3 pounds of Seminole Dynasport. The change in his topline was impressive. His topline returned within 2 months and he even dappled out. Dynasport is higher in fat than TC Senior, and I think may be a bit higher in protein as well, although I’m not sure about that. I don’t know if you are interested in changing feeds but this may be something to consider.

#20

That is only going to add calories not protein for muscle development (whih may be fine, because oil is a very efficient way to add calories!)

I would second JB’s idea of checking for PPID if for no other reason than an early baseline for an older horse can’t be a bad idea.

But if I have two problems: weight+muscle, my first choice would be more alfalfa/more fat and only then consider Tri-Amino. Don’t get me wrong, I feed Tri-Amino and am very happy with it, but I have the opposite problem - trying to make sure a superduper easy keeper gets enough amino acids to support muscle development

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