Hey everyone!
I wanted to get everyone’s opinion on what they think is the best senior feed. I’m looking for LOW protein and HIGH fat due to my old mans health complications
Please let me know what’s worked well for people!
I am not a feed guru. Being in Canada, we have different options and formulations than the US. That being said, I would suggest that the senior feed most often recommended and fed as per COTH would be Triple Crown senior:
https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/products/senior/
That is the one I see recommended on here the most often.
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I would second the Triple Crown Senior, BUT, how low of protein are you talking about?
You might be better off feeding a fat, with a VM supplement.
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We need to know what “low protein” means, because it’s all about context - you’re feeding a lot more protein from hay, than you are average amounts of a hard feed.
What is the current diet?
What brands can you get?
What is the health issue, and did the vet say you needed “low protein” (and if so, what specifics?) or is that something you assumed was necessary?
You can always add fat.
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The “low protein” is not a specific amount, just a qualification for any food he gets. My horse has chronic kidney disease and the kidney specialist at our equine hospital, Dr.Schott, has told me that if I can keep his protein intake low, he will have a better chance of remaining stable. However, it is all relative because I need to balance the low protein with feeds he actually likes.
His disease is progressive, so the idea is just to put as little stress on his kidneys as possible. This means no alfalfa, no bute or other pain reliever unless it’s an emergency, no steroids,etc.
He currently gets 1 scoop of nutrena senior in the morning and 2.5 scoops at night. About a week ago I took him off his fat supplement (envision by progressive nutrition) and joint supplement (tandem oral) as he refused to eat them any longer.
I’m purchasing the new senior feed to work as a “supplement” which is what my vet had suggested as it should be highly palatable and it will keep him interested in the food he’s currently eating.
On top of that, he gets Standlee bagged Timothy hay as well as free choice first cut
The “low protein” is not a specific amount, just a qualification for any food he gets. My horse has chronic kidney disease and the kidney specialist at our equine hospital, Dr.Schott, has told me that if I can keep his protein intake low, he will have a better chance of remaining stable. However, it is all relative because I need to balance the low protein with feeds he actually likes.
His disease is progressive, so the idea is just to put as little stress on his kidneys as possible. This means no alfalfa, no bute or other pain reliever unless it’s an emergency, no steroids,etc.
He currently gets 1 scoop of nutrena senior in the morning and 2.5 scoops at night. About a week ago I took him off his fat supplement (envision by progressive nutrition) and joint supplement (tandem oral) as he refused to eat them any longer.
I’m purchasing the new senior feed to work as a “supplement” which is what my vet had suggested as it should be highly palatable and it will keep him interested in the food he’s currently eating.
On top of that, he gets Standlee bagged Timothy hay as well as free choice first cut
I was feeding a straight fat supplement and he recently started refusing to eat it, so my vet suggested “supplementing” with another feed.
It would be helpful if the vet(s) could give you a total number of grams of protein to stay under. Of course without knowing how much you’re feeding from hay, that’s still a guess.
You’re not going to find a low protein Sr feed, if by “low” you mean in the 8-10% range. But if you only feed 4lb of a 14% feed, that’s less protein than 8lb of a 10% feed.
You might need to use a grass hay pellet for calories, a good v/m supplement, and then add some fat.
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He goes back to the hospital on the 10th so I’ll ask! I tried pellets and after a month or so he just stopped eating them, so I switched to the bagged hay to add as many calories from forage as possible.
maybe I should try a different pellet brand? He’s quite picky after the initial “fun” of new food is over, and then all he wants is grain
What pellets did you try? Brand, type of hay? It doesn’t have to be pellets, that’s just the most concentrated form, so you can get more calories in, with less chew time. There are a lot of chopped hay products, TC has a chopped Timothy product and I wanna say Standlee does as well?
I tried Timothy standlee pellets because he can’t have alfalfa, and he ate them for about a month or so.
He currently gets the Standlee compressed bales of Timothy and so far he still is interested in it
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Are you using Senior for the digestive qualities or for the nutrition, or both? My guy is 25 but he gets Blue Seal (or Kent, same company) Sentinel Performance LS. it is high fat, high fiber, low carbs/sugars, protein is 12%. It is produced the same way as the Senior in the same product line. Extruded pellets and a fixed formula but has more nutrition concentrated in a smaller serving. He isn’t having problems yet with his teeth and is on free choice Timothy round bales - he is pasture boarded.
There are a lot more choices these days. LS is good for performance horses but also for hard keepers and rescues. I use it to help him maintain his weight and get a balanced serving of nutrients. Serving sizes for Senior formulas are usually much larger so you can feed more grain if they are having problems eating hay.
I like Blue Seal because it is New England-based; Kent is in the mid-west. They tend to be cheaper than a lot of other brands and I purchase it at a local Blue Seal store with a rewards program. About $18 for a 50 lb. bag. Tractor Supply products go through a warehouse and you are relying on them rotating the stock. The TS closest to me has lousy customer service and it’s expensive for other things like fly spray and Show Sheen.
I like Seminole wellness senior and most horses do to, but all the options presented here are excellent. But since protein is his taboo and not sugar, can you try adding some warm diluted molasses water to the timothy pellets? Also you might try beet pulp soaked with oil added, and get the she’s work added moly for palatability. If he likes that, it’s amazing what you can sneak in a big bucket of beet pulp.
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These aren’t senior feeds but they are low protein…https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/products/timothy-balance-cubes/ this can be fed as a complete feed as can :
[URL=“https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/products/safe-starch-forage/”]https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/products/safe-starch-forage/
Triple Crown Senior is a great feed
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Thank you all so much for the help!
Why does he need a bagged feed? If he can eat grass hay can you just feed that plus a ration balancer?
He needs to have as many calories as I can stuff in him. He isn’t an easy keeper and even good quality grass hay doesn’t always appeal to him lol! He’s a picky guy
Have you tried changing the fat source? I also have a picky hard keeper that won’t consistently eat hay well (though he is getting better). He will consume flaxseed oil in colder months but not once the weather starts to warm up. He will eat stabilized flaxseed meal year round. Pre and probiotics to make more efficient use of the food he will eat might help.
I’m obsessed with Triple Crown Feeds. I currently use the TC Senior (14% protein) on my old guy. For a lower protein I would try TC Low Starch (13% protein) or TC Lite (12% protein). If you’re not feeding the complete amount it looks like their new Balancer Gold is going to be fairly low protein (13.5%).
Seminole Wellness Senior (12% protein) is also a pretty good feed if it’s available in your area. For all of these I would add a fat supplement to increase the fat content. I’m partial to the Seminole Ultra Bloom but have used Cool Calories with success!
