Feed for 31 yo horse with Cushings

[SaddlebredHunter]

My surrogate horse, Cassanova, is a 31 year old Morgan with Cushings. He is not insulin resistant and is on Prascend for the cushings. He also is sensitive to colic.

Recently, he had some dental work done after we discovered he was dropping a lot of feed and having difficulty chewing. The dentist said that he should be switched to a bran mash instead of grain because his teeth are quite small now and there isn’t much they can do other than fix the sharp edges.

Currently, Cassanova is on Peanut Hay and Impact Grain. I’ve done some research and don’t think that having him on a twice daily bran mash is good for him.

I’m looking for help on what to feed him in replacement of grain that will provide energy as well as keep the weight on him. Also, I am wondering if soaking his peanut hay would be enough, or should I get chopped hay, or simply change that as well? Should he also be on a hay stretcher? Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

[csaper58]

There are several wonderful ‘Senior feeds’ on the market. with most you just add water to create a soft mash, or even a soup.

I would say no to plain bran mash as your main food source, it is lacking several key nutrients.

[newhorsemommy]

I really like Triple Crown Sr. It’s low NSC and puts weight on quickly. It’s a softer feed to start with and I add water as well. My gelding just gets a few pounds a day to help keep weight on in addition to his hay. Soaked alfalfa pellets might also be helpful. My gelding also has Cushing’s and is not IR, and does fine with alfalfa.

[Katy_Watts]

I’ve seen some toothless Cushing’s horses really do well on soaked pellets 3X a day. As much as they will clean up in a few hours. Mixtures of beet pulp, alfalfa cubes, grass pellets or any complete feed.

[Marla_100]

Can’t believe a vet would recommend switching a whole feed pellet with bran mash. You’re right, it’s no longer recommended to give bran mash.

I’ll agree with Triple Crown Senior, covered with water and soaked for 5 min.
My horses love it and it has good fiber in it also.

If your horse is having a hard time eating at least 2% of his body weight in hay, you can substitute some hay with soaked cubes or soaked hay pellets.

[RedheadTB]

I had an older TB mare with Cushing’s (once-in-a-lifetime horse who sadly passed away this spring). She had never been an easy keeper, and maintaining her weight was hard as she got older and wasn’t able to chew as well. Finicky as well! I found that Omegatin worked very well for her. She usually liked it and was able to chew it. I did soak it a few times and it did soak well in warm water. I also tried to use hay stretcher pellets - hit or miss with my girl but worth a try to keep your horse eating some forage.

[doublesstable]

I had a 40 year old horse that ate:

Soaked Alfalfa hay pellets
Alfalfa leaves
Stabilized rice bran - they can have stabilized every day. Reason regular bran is not good it is not balanced - calcium/phosphorus ratios.

Feed everything from the ground (including water source) - use a rubber pan for feeding him his mash.

I learned with colicy horses when the hay or feed is up in a bucket or net they can get air and can cause some of the colic.

Also wet feeds are good to keep that gut moving. If you decide to feed regular hays - you can soak them prior to feeding.

My cushings horse I did have on Pergolide. It worked very well for him.

Alfalfa should give energy as well as the stabilized rice bran. I don’t think you need to get different grains etc. Maybe add some beet pulp. Keep it simple.

[ladipus]

I recommend Triple Crown Senior …add some hot water and it softens up nicely to a mash …McCauley’s Alam is also good, Nuzu Stabl 1 ,

[S1969]

If you can get TC Senior, that’s one I would consider. Also Nutrena SafeChoice Senior is a nice feed and my older mare does very well on it - I had to switch from TC to Nutrena when the local feed store closed and was concerned about the switch, but I think she does better on the Nutrena. I agree that I would not be feeding a “bran mash” on a regular basis. A “mash” of sorts (soaked senior feed) - yes.

[invinoveritas]

I’m impressed by those of you who have such old horses. I wish everyone would take as good care of their old guys as you do. You have kept them and not discarded them in their old years.

[DoodlesMom]

My mid-20s gelding with Cushings is on Triple Crown Sr 3x day. He is super picky, so he alternates between having it wet or dry (his teeth are thankfully fine), but he seems to really like it. With lunch, he gets a concoction of soaked alfalfa cubes, senior food, and some extra vitamins (his 31 yr old buddy’s mom feeds lunch to both, mine just gets more feed and less alfalfa).

I will say, he looks AWESOME. Shiny, with dapples! His buddy has virtually no teeth, but is also looking great on the same diet (he’s got dapples too). Good luck!

[moving_to_dc]

[QUOTE=doublesstable;8784444]
…Stabilized rice bran - they can have stabilized every day. Reason regular bran is not good it is not balanced - calcium/phosphorus ratios…[/QUOTE]

Could you direct me to some research stating that stabilizing rice bran effects the Ca:P ratio? I was under the impression stabilization was a process necessary only to keep the fat in the rice bran from going rancid. Stabilized rice bran has a “shelf life” whereas raw rice bran will begin to go rancid almost immediately.

[Mango20]

My cushings pony did well on Triple Crown Sr. and chopped hay (Triple Crown Safe Starch Forage) for a while. Eventually, he only picked through the chopped hay, so it was replaced with soaked beet pulp and hay pellets.

[doublesstable]

[QUOTE=moving to dc;8784752]
Could you direct me to some research stating that stabilizing rice bran effects the Ca:P ratio? I was under the impression stabilization was a process necessary only to keep the fat in the rice bran from going rancid. Stabilized rice bran has a “shelf life” whereas raw rice bran will begin to go rancid almost immediately.[/QUOTE]

This is one of the feeds I use -

https://www.mannapro.com/products/equine/equine-health-products/natural-glo-rice-bran

it says - Calcium Carbonate added to balance Ca/P ratio

Here is a report from Kentucky Equine Research about stabilized rice bran -
In the report it says - Stabilisation adds considerably to the shelf-life of the bran. In addition, stabilisation involves the use of calcium, thus bring the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of rice bran into a normal range for horses.

https://ker.com/products/ker-products/international/stabilised-rice-bran-for-horses/

It also says it does not include minerals etc. but this is where the Alfalfa comes in for the horses. Alfalfa is a great hay with a lot of vitamins and minerals.

[Bluey]

Our 30 year old thrived on very soft “rabbit hay” alfalfa, that is full of leaves and the kind of senior feed that is a complete feed.

We also find a way to feed those older horses less feed more times a day, they seem to eat better like that.

The one old horse we got out of a bad spot and re-feed, once he was on his feet again also thrived on that same diet.
He went to live with another 30+ year old, as his companion and the owner fed them one of those big square dairy quality alfalfa bales, that both old horses quidded on happily all day long, along with their regular senior feed mashes.

If your horse can have alfalfa, try to find that top small stem, leafy kind.

One concern with any food once teeth get bad is choke, we feed on the ground, senior feed, if wetted or not, in a large, black rubber dog pan.
We tried the horse feed tubs, but our horses waste too much out of them.

If yours does, try the smaller pan, your horse may concentrate more on eating and won’t sling it around as much.

[Gainer]

My 33 y.o. mare lived for years on Senior feed along with some alfalfa cubes (soaked).

She maintained her weight well and loved her meals. Since I was able, I fed her 3-4 smaller meals each day. She also had hay/grass to much (quid) on.

[Hermein]

My elder is 29, has IR and early cushings. I feed him 20 lb alfalfa hay, UltraCruz Wellness pellets, and either TC Sr or Purina Ultium. These last two offer high fat (TCsr = 10%/Ultium = 15%)

*I prefer the TC Sr when I can get it because it’s 11% NSC. The Ultium is 15% NSC. When I feed the Ultium, I feed it with alfalfa pellets, which are very low NSC, just to make sure.

I’m pleased with the results of the Wellness pellets. He seems more involved and perkier. Although he has all his teeth, he’s still thinner than I would like.

[cayuse]

My old coot who had both Cushings and dental issues lived on soaked complete senior feed, soaked hay pellets and a couple flakes of soft hay to keep him occupied. We gave him his “gruel” four times a day and he looked good right up until the end. I fed Blue Seal Sentinal Senior.

[SaddlebredHunter]

Thank you all!

We tried wetting his hay and looked into changing his feed to TC senior. We ran into a few road blocks. Cassanova refuses to eat wet hay, which is alright because he only picks off the leaves of the peanut hay so we switched back to dry hay. Also, we remembered that he used to be on TC senior and that was the feed that turned his black coat RED. It was very strange and we took him off per vet recommendations. We believe it had some sort of reaction with the Prascend.

Now we are looking into Seminole Senior feed as an option while we currently give his impact grain soaked with warm water. I’m also trying to find the best alfalfa leaves or pellets.

This guy means everything to me and his best friend (My horse). We will do anything to keep him happy, healthy, and living a quality life.

[SaddlebredHunter]

Thank you all!

We tried wetting his hay and looked into changing his feed to TC senior. We ran into a few road blocks. Cassanova refuses to eat wet hay, which is alright because he only picks off the leaves of the peanut hay so we switched back to dry hay. Also, we remembered that he used to be on TC senior and that was the feed that turned his black coat RED. It was very strange and we took him off per vet recommendations. We believe it had some sort of reaction with the Prascend.

Now we are looking into Seminole Senior feed as an option while we currently give his impact grain soaked with warm water. I’m also trying to find the best alfalfa leaves or pellets.

This guy means everything to me and his best friend (My horse). We will do anything to keep him happy, healthy, and living a quality life.