Caring for the OTTB warhorse -- weight and feet

[KJP1115]

I realize I am opening up a can of worms, but here it goes.

I have a 7 year old OTTB who raced 58 times and was not cared for to the highest of standards towards the end of his career. That said, he’s a good egg that deserves a happy retirement and transition to my low-level aspirations. Quite frankly, I like him enough that I would retire him on the spot to live happily ever after as a lawn ornament. I digress.

As this handsome fella is my first OTTB (not first horse), I am looking to you all for some perspective and tips. My first concern is for his feet. They are sad. Getting better, but still sad. Upon investigation with x-rays, he potentially has changes in the knee (possible OA), sclerosis of the 3rd carpal bone, and a propensity to develop abscesses. Also does not hold shoes well, particularly in the hind end where he has a mild twisting motion when he walks. Probably too much information, but you never know what will spark an idea in people.

So from working in rehab situations in the past, I realize that hoof rehab takes time above all else, but do you have any suggestions to keep my four-legged friend as comfortable as can reasonably be expected? He does now wear pads on the front and is shod all the way 'round with clips to help stabilize shoes in the back. We did not do pour in pads on the front because his soles are so thin the vet was concerned about excess pressure. <-- that is an ongoing evaluation.

Final question: what do y’all feed? I come from a background of fluffy keepers and while I took nutrition in college and know the whys and whatfors, I feel that experience is sometimes the greatest teacher. He has a healthy appetite and is on decent pasture turnout for 10+ hours per day. His current workload is light – mostly groundwork – with saddle time every few weeks. I want to be thoughtful about what I am feeding and not just throwing a ton of food at him with no rhyme or reason. He currently eats Sentinel LS, oats, alfalfa pellets, and grass hay. He is also on a SmartPak combo supplement. (As a note: I am in a full boarding situation and elaborate feeding practices are not always well received.)

I am not expecting miracles or essays, just helpful thoughts for me to ruminate upon whilst assessing what will work best for him with trainer, vet, and farrier.

Thanks much!

[candyappy]

Sounds like you are doing everything right. I wouldn’t change his feed at all, especially if he is eating well and gaining weight ( if he needs to).

[KJP1115]

Thank you, candyappy, for your reply. I feel his weight is stagnant at the moment, not gaining, but also not losing. Because so many of my prior horses were the definition of easy, I worry that I’m not seeing the changes that should be happening. Perhaps his predecessors are doing him a disservice by making me overthink.

Add to original: He has been in my care since the beginning of the year.

[EmilyM]

I’m a huge fan of frog pads for those flat footed/ abscess prone horses. I’ve seen them do amazing things on two horses of mine. When I first learned of them, i was told the pressure on the frog actually stimulates circulation which can help with growth. Not sure if this is a real theory but a veterinarian told me this. Everything she said would happen through the process of using frog pads did happen, so I trust the info. It helps get the low heels off the ground too without crushing them or using wedge pads. I do believe they can cause discomfort in horses with changes to their navicular.

[KJP1115]

EmilyM – sounds intriguing! I will definitely add that to my list of things to ask vet/farrier about.

Are the frog pads a specialty item? Or is something that is relatively normal/easy for a farrier to do?

[luckycricket123]

I supplement my hard keeper with Cool Calories and Coco Soya which are both fat supplements. (Powered fat and oil respectively) I feed triple crown senior, but I think the Sentinel LS has a similar breakdown. I also make sure he has 24/7 access to hay.

To be honest, what you are feeding is probably fine! Especially for the summer months, but if you find you have trouble keeping the weight on in the winter, I highly recommend the Cool Calories and/or Coco Soya. The coco soya can get a little annoying because it is liquid oil, but it comes with a pump so all you have to do is squirt into his grain bucket before feeding.

I just had to cut back on my geldings fat supplements because he is starting to look a little chubby! I did not know that was even possible for him! :eek: I’m pretty thrilled

[luvmyhackney]

Frog pads or flip flops would work fairly well. Most farriers carry them on the truck.

For his hay could you put him on a timothy/alfalfa mix or Orchard mix with alfalfa? It would boost his calories without increasing amount he is eating.

If he is twisting in the back check his hocks. A round of Adequan or Pentosan wouldn’t be a bad idea.

[rememberthenight]

How much Sentinel LS and alfalfa pellets is he getting- in Lbs? How many feedings? How big is he? How lean is he?

[HeyJealousy]

HUGE kudos to you for giving this guy the home he deserves. I also have a war horse (90 starts!) and while it’s been quite a process to get him fat and healthy, seeing him the way he is now makes me feel really darn good.

I hate to bring up ulcers because that seems to be everyone’s go to for every issue ever, but have you treated him for ulcers or noticed any signs of them? My guy was riddled with them when he came off the track…I think 8 years of being stalled and eating large amounts of sweet feed would do that to any horse! Just a thought, as my boy didn’t really start to gain weight until the ulcers were treated.

I think the Sentinel LS is a good feed option.

As far as feet go…if he has thin walls and soles and is having trouble growing good foot, I really like the Platinum Performance supplement a lot. I am intrigued by the frog pads as well, I’ve never heard of those and they sound like a really helpful solution for a horse like this.

[Angela_Freda]

Cool Cals is a great product, but Yo would not eat powders. I had him on Nutrena Empower which has rice bran for fat.

[EmilyM]

@KJP1115

EmilyM – sounds intriguing! I will definitely add that to my list of things to ask vet/farrier about.

Are the frog pads a specialty item? Or is something that is relatively normal/easy for a farrier to do?

as far as I know frog pads are pretty standard.

[danacat]

I too have a 9 yr. old war horse – 98 starts! The only thing I will add to what others are saying or will say, is that 'the good life’ (retired from racing and with you) does wonders in and of itself. It takes time ‘to show’, but it will – in so many ways.

[KJP1115]

Thanks everyone! Lots of good things to think about while we continue on our journey.

Ulcers are on my list for the next round with the vet. My vet seemed to think that it was a lower priority for him given the issues with his feet. No hoof, no horse as the old adage goes.

I did have him on Body Builder for a few months, but he didn’t really like it from a palate perspective. I am revamping his SmartPaks as I get to know him and the Cool Calories was suggested to me by my trainer. Good to know others have had success with it!

I am in contact with an equine nutritionist and he is going to take a look at the current feeding regimen. We have reached a point with the Sentinel (8lbs/day) and oats (3lbs) that I am uncomfortable continuing to increase without guidance. The hay and pasture is free choice, as much as he will eat. I would much rather be feeding a forage-based diet with grain as a supplement, but with the boarding situation I don’t have the control over hay quality.

My other thought centers around metabolism. I do know that the “let down” times vary from horse to horse, but with your hardkeeper OTTBs, do you find that you are continuing to feed large quantities of grain or does the metabolism eventually slow with the less strenuous life? Just curious.

[suzyq]

I like ultium for hard keepers, it’s very high calorie. Can you buy Alfalfa hay and have the barn throw him a flake or two each day? That helped my ottb when we were in a boarding situation. Also a cup of oil each feeding has a lot of calories but it’s messy.

[suzyq]

Also have not used frog support pads but heart bar pads under the shoes works great on mine to grow heel. It adds pressure to the frog so I guess a similar mechanic.

[IPEsq]

My friend’s TB twists in the back really badly. He’s in his later teens now and has done it forever. Definitely check hocks, which makes that worse. My friend’s farrier uses extra nails in the shoes on the side that takes the most force from the twisting. You might want to try that in addition to the clips, because it’s really not all that hard to bend a clip.

Smartpak sells Cocosoya in a powder in the paks, which isn’t as high fat as pure oil, but it’s easier to feed, and my horse found it more palatable than the oil. I’ve since switched to flax based supplements because I couldn’t get all I needed from SP, and HorseTech makes me a custom blend, so now some fat comes from that, and I feed flax oil as well sometimes, but I have to do that myself (vs barn staff). In the short term, chia seed based fat supplement (HorseTech, Uckele and others have options) might be better if ulcers are suspected, but it’s more $$, hence the short term suggestion.

[Larbear]

@KJP1115

Also does not hold shoes well, particularly in the hind end where he has a mild twisting motion when he walks. Probably too much information, but you never know what will spark an idea in people.

Does he pull his shoes or is it just poor hoof wall? If he’s twisting behind, it could be that his hinds are not balanced. If he’s pulling shoes, it could be that his toes are long.

[luckycricket123]

@KJP1115

Thanks everyone! Lots of good things to think about while we continue on our journey.

Ulcers are on my list for the next round with the vet. My vet seemed to think that it was a lower priority for him given the issues with his feet. No hoof, no horse as the old adage goes.

I did have him on Body Builder for a few months, but he didn’t really like it from a palate perspective. I am revamping his SmartPaks as I get to know him and the Cool Calories was suggested to me by my trainer. Good to know others have had success with it!

I am in contact with an equine nutritionist and he is going to take a look at the current feeding regimen. We have reached a point with the Sentinel (8lbs/day) and oats (3lbs) that I am uncomfortable continuing to increase without guidance. The hay and pasture is free choice, as much as he will eat. I would much rather be feeding a forage-based diet with grain as a supplement, but with the boarding situation I don’t have the control over hay quality.

My other thought centers around metabolism. I do know that the “let down” times vary from horse to horse, but with your hardkeeper OTTBs, do you find that you are continuing to feed large quantities of grain or does the metabolism eventually slow with the less strenuous life? Just curious.

I am sure it varies from horse to horse, but I have had two ex racehorses - an OTTB and a standardbred. My standardbred doesn’t eat a whole lot, he’s not very food motivated so even with free choice hay he doesn’t really eat that much. Loves his grain though (but he’s such a slow eater - sometimes he’ll stop mid meal and go for a little walk.) He is the one that’s gotten a little chubby as of late. He is still a hard keeper, but after 2 years off the track I think he’s FINALLY starting to slow his metabolism.

My thoroughbred raced like 3 times and retired young, but was a hard keeper until the day he died. He could get a grass belly in the spring, but he was never even remotely chubby.

[mmeqcenter]

Free choice hay is excellent, good start. This has always been best for weight on my OTTBs. My two currently are on free choice alfalfa and I’ve been able to cut both their grain in half compared to when they got free choice grass hay. My 19 year old retired gelding has been a huge PIA the whole time I’ve owned him. Doesn’t hold weight to save his life.
Curious, maybe I missed it - why are you feeding oats in addition to the grain? The LS should be far higher calories, I would have just increased that instead of adding another food type.
At 12% fat from the LS he is already getting a lot of fat, but a fat supplement may help. Basically any oil is a good option for more fat without volume, but I prefer rice bran oil myself.
I agree with changing his grass hay to an alfalfa mix, if not pure alfalfa. More calories, same volume.
​​​​​

[Dutchmare433]

I would agree with the above…can you take away the oats and add more LS in place of the oats? Cool calories work fine, but you have to feed more of it then the 1 or 2 scoops a day SP recommends. It ends up being cheaper to feed oil (my picky eater loved the Cocosoya, but regular vegetable oil is equivalent calorically) or something like rice bran pellets 1/2-1lb per day.

Are you feeding Biotin for his feet? That’s worth a try, find something with 20mg per day…the horse won’t use more than that. It will take a while to see results…the time for the whole hoof to grow out from when you start feeding the supplement. (You are getting .45mg/lb of biotin from the LS already.)