Best Senior Feeds and Supplements?

[MustangTwist]

@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

Thanks! I think you’re right. I can try to start with 5 lbs per night of the TC Senior and see how he does. How do I determine how much to scale back his hay? He’s currently getting 5 flakes of grass hay per day with 1/2 - 1 scoop of Purina Senior at night. If I were to increase to 5 lbs TC Senior per night, how much hay should he get during the day?

I tried to talk to his current and new trainers about this yesterday, but it honestly didn’t seem like they were super well-informed about these issues so I’m trying to make sure I have a good handle on it. When I started talking about NSC content and feeding directions etc., the attitude was very much “all our horses get 1 scoop of senior a night and it seems to be working just fine.”

[Simkie]

Is he quidding?

Scaling back hay doesn’t make much sense if the horse is capable of eating it. And if he’s not capable of eating hay, he’s going to need more (maybe far more) than one bucket feeding a day.

Even quidding horses often still get hay to chew (and quid) during the day for entertainment. Horses are wired to eat hay/grass–removing it can lead to a whole lot of stress, even if the horse can’t do a lot with it. Sometimes they quid and choke, which is a worse problem, but then you’re often looking at 4+ bucket feedings a day, or working out how to do some sort of free choice soaked mash.

If he’s capable of eating hay, don’t scale it back at all. Why would you? Give him as much of it as he wants, and the ration balancer.

If he’s not capable of eating hay, you’re looking at “IF YOUR HORSE HAS DAMAGED OR WORN TEETH AND CANNOT EAT HAY” set of directions for TC Senior, and those start at 12 pounds a day. That could, maybe, be done in two feedings, although I sure wouldn’t want to do that to the horse…three would be better. Four would be best.

[MustangTwist]

@Simkie

Is he quidding?

Scaling back hay doesn’t make much sense if the horse is capable of eating it. And if he’s not capable of eating hay, he’s going to need more (maybe far more) than one bucket feeding a day.

Even quidding horses often still get hay to chew (and quid) during the day for entertainment. Horses are wired to eat hay/grass–removing it can lead to a whole lot of stress, even if the horse can’t do a lot with it. Sometimes they quid and choke, which is a worse problem, but then you’re often looking at 4+ bucket feedings a day, or working out how to do some sort of free choice soaked mash.

If he’s capable of eating hay, don’t scale it back at all. Why would you? Give him as much of it as he wants, and the ration balancer.

If he’s not capable of eating hay, you’re looking at “IF YOUR HORSE HAS DAMAGED OR WORN TEETH AND CANNOT EAT HAY” set of directions for TC Senior, and those start at 12 pounds a day. That could, maybe, be done in two feedings, although I sure wouldn’t want to do that to the horse…three would be better. Four would be best.

When he had his teeth done around two months ago the dentist said that he has lost a few teeth and that we should consider switching him to a pellet based diet (at least partially), because she suspects he is having trouble chewing hay. The new barn he’ll be moving to in March said pellets are really inconvenient and that we should try upping his senior feed first to see if that’s a workable solution.

For context, he is in full training in a full-time care lease about an hour from my house, so for the past few years I haven’t been super involved in his day to day care. I was told the dentist came out to see him for his regular floating, and I was told his dentist said his teeth weren’t great (even for his age), but wasn’t told anything else until yesterday when I asked for more details.

The person leasing him says she sometimes notices him coughing up undigested hay. He still seems to be able to munch on his hay (albeit a little slower than before), but I’m worried about him choking if he can’t chew the hay very well. I’m also worried about him not getting enough nutrition if he’s not chewing/digesting the hay appropriately. Also, I feel like I’m way more concerned about this than the current or future trainer is and I’m not sure if I’m overreacting or if they just don’t take nutrition issues that seriously.

Do you think a happy medium would be to keep his hay rations the same as they are now (5 flakes/day) and then try feeding 1 lb ration balancer, 1/2 - 1 lb TC Senior every night to see how that works?

[Simkie]

If this were my horse, I’d give him as much hay as he wanted and put him on the ration balancer. If he’s able to maintain on that, great. If he’s not, then adjust based on how much he’s not able to maintain. If you can find softer hay, or maybe some hay with alfalfa in it, that might be easier for him to eat well. But you’ve said that he’s maintaining now on the hay and sporadic Purina Senior–so he should be fine with hay and the balancer. Even if he’s quidding a bit, stick with what works. If it makes you happy to throw him a couple handfuls of Senior, sure…it won’t hurt. But it’s also not doing much, either.

Since feeding a bucket more than once a day seems to be a sticking point, keep him on hay as long as you can. Once he really loses the ability to eat hay, it’s likely to to be necessarily to have multiple bucket feeds a day. Putting that off by keeping him on hay and/or finding hay that he can eat seems preferable.

[MustangTwist]

@Simkie

If this were my horse, I’d give him as much hay as he wanted and put him on the ration balancer. If he’s able to maintain on that, great. If he’s not, then adjust based on how much he’s not able to maintain. If you can find softer hay, or maybe some hay with alfalfa in it, that might be easier for him to eat well. But you’ve said that he’s maintaining now on the hay and sporadic Purina Senior–so he should be fine with hay and the balancer. Even if he’s quidding a bit, stick with what works. If it makes you happy to throw him a couple handfuls of Senior, sure…it won’t hurt. But it’s also not doing much, either.

Since feeding a bucket more than once a day seems to be a sticking point, keep him on hay as long as you can. Once he really loses the ability to eat hay, it’s likely to to be necessarily to have multiple bucket feeds a day. Putting that off by keeping him on hay and/or finding hay that he can eat seems preferable.

Thanks - I think your suggested approach sounds great. He will be switching to a new hay at his new barn and the trainer seems to think it’s pretty good quality, so we’ll see how he does on that plus a ration balancer (with a scoop of senior thrown in every night - since the trainer is willing to include this for free I figure it won’t hurt so long as it isn’t making him fat). You’re also lowering my blood pressure significantly, so thank you for that lol.

[lorilu]

My old gal gets Purina Active SR, a newer product. You don’t need to feed quite as much as a typical SR food because it is meant for horses who still eat hay. Because senior horses often have poor nutrient absorption, she also gets Seminole Ration Balancer. https://www.purinamills.com/purinamills/media/PDF/Horses/Products/Equine-Senior-Active-Sell-Sheet_REVISED-FINAL_1-22-15.pdf?ext=.pdf

[findthedistance]

I feed a bunch of senior horses. If he were mine, I would get a bag of Equine Senior to take for transition since that’s what he’s used to eating, and feed it in the rate he’s accustomed to eating. Keep everything as much the same as possible so he can adjust to the new farm and new hay. After a week or so, assuming all is going well, start to transition to your desired feed (TC Senior?). I’d do a slow transition to the same volume if you’re going from Purina Senior to TC Senior – they’re pretty similar. Once he’s settled in, pause to take stock of his condition and how well he’s chewing.

My general philosophy is to keep the old guys on free-choice hay for as long as they are actually eating at least part of it. Hay replacement is expensive, hugely annoying, and not as entertaining for the horse, so I put it off as long as possible. I put more stock in the horse’s ability to eat hay than how the vet/dentist says the teeth are.

I’m not sure where you are, but professional programs that only feed stalled horses once a day – or not quite every day – are unusual in my area. As this horse loses his ability to chew, he’s likely going to need 2-3 meals a day. You might keep an eye out for a barn that can meet those needs when/if the time comes.

[MustangTwist]

@lorilu

My old gal gets Purina Active SR, a newer product. You don’t need to feed quite as much as a typical SR food because it is meant for horses who still eat hay. Because senior horses often have poor nutrient absorption, she also gets Seminole Ration Balancer. https://www.purinamills.com/purinamills/media/PDF/Horses/Products/Equine-Senior-Active-Sell-Sheet_REVISED-FINAL_1-22-15.pdf?ext=.pdf

I’ll look into this, thank you!

[MustangTwist]

@findthedistance

I feed a bunch of senior horses. If he were mine, I would get a bag of Equine Senior to take for transition since that’s what he’s used to eating, and feed it in the rate he’s accustomed to eating. Keep everything as much the same as possible so he can adjust to the new farm and new hay. After a week or so, assuming all is going well, start to transition to your desired feed (TC Senior?). I’d do a slow transition to the same volume if you’re going from Purina Senior to TC Senior – they’re pretty similar. Once he’s settled in, pause to take stock of his condition and how well he’s chewing.

My general philosophy is to keep the old guys on free-choice hay for as long as they are actually eating at least part of it. Hay replacement is expensive, hugely annoying, and not as entertaining for the horse, so I put it off as long as possible. I put more stock in the horse’s ability to eat hay than how the vet/dentist says the teeth are.

I’m not sure where you are, but professional programs that only feed stalled horses once a day – or not quite every day – are unusual in my area. As this horse loses his ability to chew, he’s likely going to need 2-3 meals a day. You might keep an eye out for a barn that can meet those needs when/if the time comes.

Good idea! Thank you. He does seem to still enjoy munching on his hay, and everyone I’ve talked to has said that switching off hay 100% is a pain, so if he can stay on it a bit longer (safely and while getting enough nutrition w/ ration balancers and such) that would be great.

Do feed stores ever sell small bags of Equine Senior, or is my best bet to try and get some from his current barn for the transition period? The barn I’m moving to feeds LMF Senior.

The barn itself feeds hay several times a day, but the trainer only feeds grain once a day (at night). If he really needed to be grained more than once a day I could go up early in the morning to do it myself, but this gets challenging as I travel a lot so I’m not always around.

[Simkie]

@MustangTwist

The barn itself feeds hay several times a day, but the trainer only feeds grain once a day (at night). If he really needed to be grained more than once a day I could go up early in the morning to do it myself, but this gets challenging as I travel a lot so I’m not always around.

When he gets to the point of needing to be fed from a bucket multiple times a day because he no longer has the teeth to chew hay, he’s going to need a barn that can accommodate that–potentially up to four or more feedings a day, if he’s one that is totally off grass. Even two feedings a day isn’t really enough for those oldsters who don’t get anything from grass or hay.

Equine Senior is sold in bags of 50#s, and no smaller. Taking some with you to transition would be best, but since he’s on so little, it’s not strictly necessary. Just ramp up his other items over a few days.

[MustangTwist]

@Simkie

When he gets to the point of needing to be fed from a bucket multiple times a day because he no longer has the teeth to chew hay, he’s going to need a barn that can accommodate that–potentially up to four or more feedings a day, if he’s one that is totally off grass. Even two feedings a day isn’t really enough for those oldsters who don’t get anything from grass or hay.

Equine Senior is sold in bags of 50#s, and no smaller. Taking some with you to transition would be best, but since he’s on so little, it’s not strictly necessary. Just ramp up his other items over a few days.

Thanks - I’m planning on retiring him in 8 months - 1 year anyway, so hopefully his teeth will last him until then. Are most decent retirement facilities equipped to feed horses with who can no longer eat hay? I imagine it’s a situation they must deal with fairly often.

[Simkie]

@MustangTwist

Thanks - I’m planning on retiring him in 8 months - 1 year anyway, so hopefully his teeth will last him until then. Are most decent retirement facilities equipped to feed horses with who can no longer eat hay? I imagine it’s a situation they must deal with fairly often.

That’s a big ol’ “it depends”