Best Senior Feeds and Supplements?

[MustangTwist]

What senior feeds and supplements keep your older horses feeling great?

My horse is 24 this year and I’m moving him to a new barn in March, so I’m taking this opportunity to reassess his maintenance and see if there’s anything I should switch up. He’s currently in full training at a H/J barn being leased by an adult amateur who doesn’t jump. He’s reasonably fit and sound, but his teeth aren’t great and he has some standard-issue arthritis. In terms of current maintenance, he wears a Back on Track mesh sheet overnight, gets Legend injections monthly, gets a scoop of Equine Senior a few nights per week, and gets adjusted by the chiropractor every few months. I just bought my own Back on Track mesh sheet (PS, my wallet hurts…) so he can continue wearing it after he moves.

He’ll be moving to a place with more turnout (which is wonderful) and where he won’t be in as rigorous of a program (also good), but I’m considering switching up his feed and supplements to see if that makes a positive impact. Thoughts on switching from Equine Senior to Triple Crown Senior? He doesn’t have weight issues and can still manage hay, but I just want to make sure he’s getting the vitamins, minerals, and nutrition he needs at his age. If anything he’s got a little bit of a belly. For those who feed TC Senior as a supplement to horses still eating hay - how much do you feed and at what intervals? For reference, my guy is a 16h Irish TB.

Also, are there any joint supplements (or other supplements that are good for older horses) that you’ve seen clear and noticeable results with?

Thank you!

EDIT: I just found out that my horse’s dentist apparently said his teeth are getting pretty bad recommended transitioning him to a pellet based diet (at least partially) because she suspects he’s having trouble chewing hay. New trainer said that’s really inconvenient and wants to try upping his senior feed first. He’s currently eating 5 flakes of grass hay/day. The lady leasing him has apparently noticed him coughing up small bits of undigested hay, but I don’t think this is super common.

[Ainsley688]

I personally have great access to TC products, so usually stick to them if it’s affordable! My coming 4 year old is on TC senior, because I love the feed and love the low NSC. My retired mare, coming 23, was on TC Senior and TC 30, until she got too fat. LOL. Now it’s the minimum amount of TC 30 for her. This is the first year I have not had to supplement with amino acids to keep her top line!

i also feed everyone stabilized flax, and use TC Naturals golden flax. It’s a little bit cheaper than Omega HorseShine, and the horses like it like it just as much. MSM and Previcox for the retired mare as well. And the best hay I can get, plus she lives outside with access to her stall.

[Simkie]

TC Senior is certainly a great product, but if his weight is good on hay and just a scoop of Purina Senior a few times a week, then you may not need the calories in the TC Senior.

A ration balancer might be a better fit–you don’t feed very much (just a few pounds) but you get all of the vitamins, minerals and protein needed. If you’re not feeding the Senior at the bag recommended minimums (6 lbs/day, IIRC?) you’re shorting your horse on those things.

TC has a great ration balancer: https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/prod…tion-balancer/

Will he be able to get grained every day in his new barn?

[MustangTwist]

@Ainsley688

I personally have great access to TC products, so usually stick to them if it’s affordable! My coming 4 year old is on TC senior, because I love the feed and love the low NSC. My retired mare, coming 23, was on TC Senior and TC 30, until she got too fat. LOL. Now it’s the minimum amount of TC 30 for her. This is the first year I have not had to supplement with amino acids to keep her top line!

i also feed everyone stabilized flax, and use TC Naturals golden flax. It’s a little bit cheaper than Omega HorseShine, and the horses like it like it just as much. MSM and Previcox for the retired mare as well. And the best hay I can get, plus she lives outside with access to her stall.

Thanks! Do you think my horse would benefit from just getting a small scoop of TC Senior every night in addition to his hay? Or do you think he’d get too fat?

[MustangTwist]

@Simkie

TC Senior is certainly a great product, but if his weight is good on hay and just a scoop of Purina Senior a few times a week, then you may not need the calories in the TC Senior.

A ration balancer might be a better fit–you don’t feed very much (just a few pounds) but you get all of the vitamins, minerals and protein needed. If you’re not feeding the Senior at the bag recommended minimums (6 lbs/day, IIRC?) you’re shorting your horse on those things.

TC has a great ration balancer: https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/prod…tion-balancer/

Will he be able to get grained every day in his new barn?

Thank you! This is helpful. He has the option to get grain 6 days/week at his new barn (and I can grain him the remaining night). You’re right, his weight is fine - it’s more the nutritional aspect I’m focused on. Not sure why his current barn chooses only to grain a few times per week. I’ll look into the ration balancer!

[JB]

100% agree with the ration balancer suggestion, and for that, it almost doesn’t matter the brand. I WOULD choose TC over Nutrena, if you have the option. His weight as of now sounds like that’s the better option from a nutrition and calorie perspective.

If he needed a bit more than that, you could try TC Lite, or even do 1lb of the TC30, and 1-2lb of TC Sr. That would not be ODing anything.

[MustangTwist]

@JB

100% agree with the ration balancer suggestion, and for that, it almost doesn’t matter the brand. I WOULD choose TC over Nutrena, if you have the option. His weight as of now sounds like that’s the better option from a nutrition and calorie perspective.

If he needed a bit more than that, you could try TC Lite, or even do 1lb of the TC30, and 1-2lb of TC Sr. That would not be ODing anything.

Thanks! This sounds like a great option. I’m going to talk to his new trainer about introducing it into his diet.

[Amy3996]

I have an 18 year old gelding in a similar work program to what you described. I don’t know if Tribute Feeds are available in your area, but I’ve had fantastic results with them. A previous boarding barn introduced me to Tribute, but they fed a weird combo that didn’t work well for him. I switched him 2lbs of Kalm Ultra and 1 lb of their ration balancer, Essential K. He’s never looked better. His coat is sleek and shiny, and his weight is good. He struggles to maintain a topline, so I added Ani-Med’s Muscle Up and loved what it did for him. He came off of it over the summer and I noticed a big difference, so he went right back on it this fall. He gets 20lbs of hay in a restricted free-choice net (1" slow feed). I’ve been really pleased with this, and Tribute’s feeds can be soaked to help horses with poor dentition.

[MustangTwist]

@Amy3996

I have an 18 year old gelding in a similar work program to what you described. I don’t know if Tribute Feeds are available in your area, but I’ve had fantastic results with them. A previous boarding barn introduced me to Tribute, but they fed a weird combo that didn’t work well for him. I switched him 2lbs of Kalm Ultra and 1 lb of their ration balancer, Essential K. He’s never looked better. His coat is sleek and shiny, and his weight is good. He struggles to maintain a topline, so I added Ani-Med’s Muscle Up and loved what it did for him. He came off of it over the summer and I noticed a big difference, so he went right back on it this fall. He gets 20lbs of hay in a restricted free-choice net (1" slow feed). I’ve been really pleased with this, and Tribute’s feeds can be soaked to help horses with poor dentition.

I just looked at their website and it’s saying the closest vendor to me is in Canada!

Glad it’s working out for you though! I’ll look into the Muscle Up, too.

[Amy3996]

I really like the Muscle Up! I tried SmartPak’s MuscleMass, but it’s significantly more expensive and I honestly think the Muscle Up works better. 3 months worth of Muscle Up costs the same as 28 days of SP Muscle Mass. So if you’re looking to get bang for your buck, I’d try it! Stateline Tack and Horse.com usually have good deals on it, too. As for joint supps, I’ve had good results with Absorbine Flex Max. It’s got the highest levels of MSM, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, etc. of any of the joint supplements I’ve researched.

[bredtom]

Another vote for Triple Crown. One of the most trusted brands today.

[MustangTwist]

@bredtom

Another vote for Triple Crown. One of the most trusted brands today.

Thanks! Which formula(s) do you feed your horse and how much?

[Arabianjt]

Triple crown again! I changed my horse to TC Senior just a few weeks ago and have already noticed an amazing improvement. His coat and hooves look better than they ever have been. His energy level and attitude has also improved. My guy gets three quarts every day. I HIGHLY recommend this feed.

If he only gets Purina Sr a few times a week, I would also look into the TC ration balancer as an option. This may be a better option if he is holding his weight well and will also be in less work at this new barn. The ration balancer will also provide him with his daily requirement of vitamins and minerals, which will reduce your need for extra supplements.

For supplements, I love Source Focus Senior. My horse really thrived on this; it is a multi-purpose supplement. For some reason, a few weeks ago my guy started to refuse his grain when I would add it. Because of this, I have started him on CRS Gold Digestion Powder. I absolutely love that as well, I think that in combination with TCS has really made a difference for him. Both options are great, it depends on whether you are looking for specific or a more broad supplement. I also have my guy on FluidFlex for his joints. It’s amazing stuff! I definitely noticed a difference when he was not on it. It is also affordable which always helps.

Hope this helps!

[MustangTwist]

@Arabianjt

Triple crown again! I changed my horse to TC Senior just a few weeks ago and have already noticed an amazing improvement. His coat and hooves look better than they ever have been. His energy level and attitude has also improved. My guy gets three quarts every day. I HIGHLY recommend this feed.

If he only gets Purina Sr a few times a week, I would also look into the TC ration balancer as an option. This may be a better option if he is holding his weight well and will also be in less work at this new barn. The ration balancer will also provide him with his daily requirement of vitamins and minerals, which will reduce your need for extra supplements.

For supplements, I love Source Focus Senior. My horse really thrived on this; it is a multi-purpose supplement. For some reason, a few weeks ago my guy started to refuse his grain when I would add it. Because of this, I have started him on CRS Gold Digestion Powder. I absolutely love that as well, I think that in combination with TCS has really made a difference for him. Both options are great, it depends on whether you are looking for specific or a more broad supplement. I also have my guy on FluidFlex for his joints. It’s amazing stuff! I definitely noticed a difference when he was not on it. It is also affordable which always helps.

Hope this helps!

Yes, this is super helpful! Thank you.

I’m thinking of switching him to TC Senior at first to see how he does, and then perhaps introducing a ration balancer as a supplement and seeing if I notice a difference. I figure if I start him on both at the same time I won’t be able to distinguish the results quite as well. How did you determine how much TC Senior you should feed? If your horse still eating mostly hay?

[Simkie]

If you’re looking for a full compliment of vitamins, minerals and protein, and you are only going to feed TC Senior and no other concentrates, you need to go with the bag minimum–which is 6#/day. To put that in perspective, that’s a bag every 8 days.

If you don’t need those calories–and you probably don’t, if your guy is good on the sporadic Purina Senior, a ration balancer is really a better place to start. You feed ~1.5#/day. If you go with that first, and you don’t like what you see in a month or two, that would be a good point to evaluate and adjust and perhaps add in some senior. But with what you’ve described here, it doesn’t really sound like starting with the senior would be the best way to go.

[MissAriel]

@MustangTwist

Yes, this is super helpful! Thank you.

I’m thinking of switching him to TC Senior at first to see how he does, and then perhaps introducing a ration balancer as a supplement and seeing if I notice a difference. I figure if I start him on both at the same time I won’t be able to distinguish the results quite as well. How did you determine how much TC Senior you should feed? If your horse still eating mostly hay?

Both the ration balancer and the senior feed have recommended feeding amounts. These are the amounts where your horse will get the nutrition he needs with respect to vitamins and minerals. For TC30, it is 1-2 lb for a 1000 lb horse, for TC Senior they recommend “Begin with approximately 6 pounds of Triple Crown Senior per day and then adjust up or down as needed after 2 to 4 weeks in order to maintain desired body condition. Do not feed more than 5 pounds of Triple Crown Senior at a single meal. Allow 3 to 4 hours between meals when feeding 4 to 5 pounds of Triple Crown Senior at a single meal.”

Since your guy will be fed once per day, I would definitely start with the TC30, then add in the Senior if he needs more calories.

[MustangTwist]

@Simkie

If you’re looking for a full compliment of vitamins, minerals and protein, and you are only going to feed TC Senior and no other concentrates, you need to go with the bag minimum–which is 6#/day. To put that in perspective, that’s a bag every 8 days.

If you don’t need those calories–and you probably don’t, if your guy is good on the sporadic Purina Senior, a ration balancer is really a better place to start. You feed ~1.5#/day. If you go with that first, and you don’t like what you see in a month or two, that would be a good point to evaluate and adjust and perhaps add in some senior. But with what you’ve described here, it doesn’t really sound like starting with the senior would be the best way to go.

His current trainer actually just told me that the vet suggested he transition to a pelleted diet (at least partially) because he’s losing teeth. Would that change your response at all? Could I essentially split his daily calories into half hay, half TC Sr, and then give some ration balancer as a supplement? I’ll obviously discuss this with his new trainer but want to have some knowledge going into it!

[MustangTwist]

@MissAriel

Both the ration balancer and the senior feed have recommended feeding amounts. These are the amounts where your horse will get the nutrition he needs with respect to vitamins and minerals. For TC30, it is 1-2 lb for a 1000 lb horse, for TC Senior they recommend “Begin with approximately 6 pounds of Triple Crown Senior per day and then adjust up or down as needed after 2 to 4 weeks in order to maintain desired body condition. Do not feed more than 5 pounds of Triple Crown Senior at a single meal. Allow 3 to 4 hours between meals when feeding 4 to 5 pounds of Triple Crown Senior at a single meal.”

Since your guy will be fed once per day, I would definitely start with the TC30, then add in the Senior if he needs more calories.

Thanks! I just learned that the vet actually wants him to eat less hay because his teeth are getting much worse (sad…) so I’m wondering if I should cut some hay out of his diet and then replace w/ the senior + TC30…

[HorseKrazy]

If you’re going to feed the recommended amount to TC senior then adding the ration balancer is excessive and redundant. Basically the nutrition is the same but the calorie load is different. Easy keepers that need the vitamins/minerals without the calories will benefit from ration balancer. If your horse needs the calories (for what ever reason) then feeding TC senior is a fantastic way to go, but be sure to feed at the recommended levels and to break up the feedinibgs if they are more than 5 pounds per feeding. IMO, I’m thinking TC senior is going to be the way to go since your vet is recommending less hay in his diet

[Magicboy]

I feed my 20 year old enrich 32, a ration balancer and a Smartpak senior flex supplement he gets hay and a handful of alfalfa