Feeding Ideas for the Toothless Horse

[StormyDay]

This is going to be a novel, sorry.

I took in a horse about one week ago who has some significant teeth issues. He’s missing about 6 teeth, including one front one, and the rest are barely there.

He was in an situation where the owners did not know he was toothless. They were giving him free choice hay which he wasn’t really eating at all, and about 4 pounds of grain a day. He’s underweight but not horribly so. He eats the grass just fine.

The problem is that he doesn’t love feeding time. He will eat about 2-2 1/2 pounds of grain Purina senior active; I will be switching him to a different grain since that isn’t a complete feed (so suggestions are welcomed) and about 2 pounds of soaked alfalfa pellets at night. Barely eats anything in the morning.

Things I’ve tried so far;

Leaving him in so he could eat essentially free choice as much soaked alfalfa pellets as he wanted, along with getting his full grain meal (I’d like him to get 4 pounds morning and night). That didn’t work; he’s too nervous in the stall even with company and didn’t eat anything. Was left in for 6 hours.

Feeding him out in the run in with the other horses locked up. He ate about 2 pounds of each again, and then just wandered around the run in area uninterested for the next 2 hours.

Feeding him in the run in with the other horses locked out, but not stalled: no dice. He wanted out to play. Maybe ate a bite of grain, then just paced. I let him out after about 30 minutes as it clearly wasn’t going anywhere.

Tonight was his best night so far; I’ve been doing option #2 since it seems to work the best. He ate about 2 1/2 pounds of grain and about 3 pounds of alfalfa. But it’s still not enough calories for him; even doing it twice a day.
There is some grass in the field but no where near enough to be calorically sufficient for an older OTTB.

I’m frustrated at this point. Ideas? Options? Should I go buy some marijuana to give him the munchies? (Kidding. Maybe.) Maybe he just needs more time?

[SuzieQNutter]

Boil whole barley. You get an apple rump and it does not go to their head.

[M]

A varied natural pasture is best. My horse chooses what to graze including various herbs. Unfortunately not an option often. He is intuitive as to which herbs he need to eat.
On reg basis:
Slight variation of SuzieQNutter –
His staple is steamed rolled barley with some bran. It needs to be soft and the added moisture is a plus. Recently, I have been adding some carrot juice to lunch serving and apple juice to dinner serving for flavor variation. He is a connoisseur. His turkey guests like it too. I used to add wheat germ oil + apple cider vinegar but worried the oil could be rancid.
(Nutrena was the best rolled barley- softened and absorbed boiled water quickly - like quick oatmeal.)
Depending on weather and his whims and how he feels, I’ll leave other food. He is older with teeth problems so hygiene and flushing necessary also.

[moonlitoaksranch]

They’re all different. We used to have old gelding that loved sloppy senior feed and chopped hay.

Our current tooth challenged pony eats senior and Timothy pellets, but they have to be dry. She hates wet food. Honestly, soaked feed smells rather nasty after a very short time. If they nibble slowly, they might not like the wet food after a bit.

Also, three small meals might go down better (hahaha) because a horse’s stomach can only hold so much grain.

[StormyDay]

@SuzieQNutter @M interesting, I used to feed barley to a different horse. I’ll have to see if I can find it locally.

@moonlitoaksranch I wish I could give him 3 meals. I tried, I went and pulled him from the pasture and gave him grain but he was just too worried the whole time about being away from the herd. He was alone with no horses in sight for about a year before I got him and I think it’s lead to some attachment issues.

[Marla_100]

Things to try-
Cover senior pellets w water- makes it easier to chew- TC Sr. softens in 1 minute. And it’s a complete feed.
Hand pick the hay bales you buy. I find the finest, softest bales and if Alfalfa- the leafiest.
Soaked alfalfa pellets- most horses love it.
Soaked beat pulp shreds-
Leafy alfalfa hay or peanut hay has good protein content and is easier to eat.
It may take a week or two til he calms down and eats more.
Good luck and thanks for taking such good care of him.

[clanter]

really need to provide a separated paddock for the old guy to allow it to eat at its own pace

Our older (45 year old) pony finally crossed the bridge a few months ago. For the last ten or so years he was kept in a private paddock attached to his stall that was next to the others. he could come and go as he pleased.

He was fed a mash of senior feed three to four times a day. Whenever he decided he was not going to eat,the addition of a few iced oatmeal cookies made him go at it again. At times the addition of apple sauce was a good enticement.

He was in good health to the end.

[walktrot]

My horse is 28 and his teeth are still okay. The dentist comes in a couple of weeks for the spring float; he gets another visit in the fall. His teeth are changing but he can still eat a day’s worth of the very lightweight fluffy grass hay. He won’t touch the chewier stuff. The hay comes down from Canada and it is beautiful. 20 horse barn. They have thrown out one bale in the 18 months I have been there. Something dripped on it. Barn staff pulls out fluffy bales for him so he can avoid the chewy parts. He is not an easy keeper but he is easy to feed. He maintains his normal body weight on what he can consume in a day. Free choice hay and 6 lbs of grain split into 3 meals. No danger of getting fat in the 21 years I have owned him.

There are far more options in senior feeds these days. Go back 15-20 years and a few companies had a senior grain. There are so many choices these days that it is worth the time to compare nutrition information for each option. Blue Seal/Kent has their Sentinel line which I like because each type is extruded so the digestibility isn’t an issue. He was on Performance LS for many years. We have a company-owned store with an excellent manager who knows her products and the competitions’ well. He has been maintaining his normal body weight so she recommended switching to Senior Active. Protein, fat and fiber are similar, and low NSCs. Senior has amino acids or things in that realm with nutritional values for older horses. The switch was easy.

You have to figure out what they will eat and feed them that even if it is not convenient for you. My guy was wasting a lot of hay when they put it in the corner. He pooped and peed close by. I suggested we feed him on the party wall with the next stall. He disassembles the flakes and whips them around in the air to fluff them up. He makes a nice mound that runs the length of the wall. He usually pushes some out the backdoor to his runout. His grain can be found in a couple of gallons of water. He slurps it out of the tub and licks the walls and nibbles the hay. After the last hay delivery they swept up the remnants and tossed them in a mound in his runout. The plan was to remove it until he was caught snoozing every day. He is in heaven.

[Montanas_Girl]

Quick correction: Equine Senior Active is not a complete feed. It is meant for horses who are still able and willing to eat hay and/or pasture. If he needs a complete feed, Equine Senior would be a better option within the Purina brand. (Full disclosure: I work for a company that is affiliated with Purina.)

That said, have you thought about trying to feed him using a nose/feed bag? He could stay out with his buddies without them being able to steal his feed.

[StormyDay]

@Marla_100 he’s getting soaked alfalfa pellets now and while he likes them, he just isn’t eating enough. I think you are right, he may just need more time to calm down.

@clanter he is fed in a separate paddock; the problem is that even when he is in there he just isn’t eating. And if I leave him in there 24/7 he is not ok with that. He paces and freaks out.

@walktrot there isn’t really an issue of convenience; I work from home so he could have 10 meals a day if he wanted. The problem is he just won’t eat. Per my equine dentist he probably shouldn’t be given any hay because he’s a choke hazard. I’ll look into the blue seal grains; I’m not sure if the feed stores around here carry that.

@Montanas_Girl yeah, Im going to switch him over to a different grain since it isn’t a complete feed but I didn’t want to do that too quickly since everything has changed so much for him in a week. The feed bag is a great idea! I will order one. Maybe wouldn’t work for his alfalfa pellets (I don’t want to water board him, LOL) but for his grain that might do the trick.

[sascha]

Don’t underestimate the potential for an unhappy belly/guts leading to his lack of appetite. My first go to for a picky eater with or without the stress behaviour is Sucralfate. If that’s not on hand/owner doesn’t want to buy it, I use aloe vera gel - 60cc 2 x day. I have seen some remarkable results.

[rubygirl1968]

@StormyDay
We have a 32 year old mare with 7 teeth left. She currently gets 2 lbs TC sr gold and 1 pound of Ultium morning and night. Gradually been switching from Ultium to the Sr gold.

She’s out in the pasture by herself in the daytime because the fatties are in a paddock next to it and gets Timothy balance cubes, soaked beet pulp and chopped alfalfa to munch on through the day.

I know your guy isn’t happy with being separated right now to do the free feeding thing but maybe with time he’ll settle down if he can see the others and be happier munching all day.

I’d consider ulcers if he’s come from a situation where he wasn’t happy and lonely. Also, ours is just getting pickier with age. Food too wet, no. Got chilly the night before, nope, can’t eat it all.

Her teeth have gotten fewer this past year and she’s quidding everything now so we had to switch to a senior feed high in calories and fat since Ultium isn’t a complete feed.

Peppermint extract in the beet pulp and forage cubes helps too.

[NaturallyHappy]

People use APF for horses who are experiencing the Pergolide veil. I wonder if that would help.

[StormyDay]

@sascha This could definitely be a factor here. I am definitely going to put him on some sort of supplement for possible ulcers.

@rubygirl1968 I can try again keeping him away from the herd but I’m just not sure if the stress it causes him is worth it. He just paces back and fourth. I think I may try again in a few weeks; he’s just so excited to have friends again it may be too much to throw at him at once.

@NaturallyHappy Sorry, but what is APF? Is that a supplement?

[stb]

I would strongly consider the possibility of ulcers.

Triple Crown Senior Gold is very high calorie and very palatable. It also has an added gut soother, which certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea in this situation. Triple Crown also has Stress Free Forage, which might be doable for this guy as well.

Thank you for taking in the old guy.

[lenapesadie]

Triple Crown Senior Gold is going to have the highest calorie density of complete feeds afaik. Probably a good choice as this old guy isn’t cleaning his feed up good yet. Plus the gastric buffering and hefty pre/pro biotics package might help his tummy. It’s very low starch too so quite safe on that front.

I like the nosebag idea since he seems (understandably) anxious about staying close to his new friends.

[NaturallyHappy]

APF is a supplement. I’m not using it right now so I don’t know who might have the best price. We’ve used the cookies from Smartpak but it also comes as a liquid one can top dress feed or squirt directly in the mouth. We had an older horse who just wouldn’t eat. He’d been treated for ulcers, etc. Like you, we tried all kinds of feed. We got him APF cookies and it helped quite a bit.

[rubygirl1968]

He’ll probably settle down in a while. It takes some time. I’m glad he’s eating something at least.

Good luck with him! Thanks for taking him in.

[carman_liz]

I may have missed it while reading, but have you had a vet or dentist look at his teeth? My mare had this issue, turns out the few teeth she had left were bad, one was abcessed n had to be pulled. It was winter so with her sheet and me just having a baby we didnt notice the weight loss till she went down n was stuck in her leg straps so we had the sheet off her. After pulling the bad teeth and getting her on a tcs feed, which then switched to soaked nutrena senior and soaked beet and timothy pellets, she gained weight back and was much happier and healthier. If the teeth are hurting him, he is not going to eat no matter what you feed him. Even if the vet looked him over when you got him, it might be worth a call back out for a more thorough mouth and teeth examine. Good luck and lots of love to him!!!

[S1969]

Wow, that’s a tough one. I just lost my old toothless mini, who also didn’t want to be separated from the herd. But because of her size, I set up a special run-in with a board across the opening so she could get in and out when she wanted, and eat at her leisure. It made a big difference.

Not sure if there is any way to manage that where all the horses are large. With luck he will settle down soon so that he can be comfortable for an hour or so away from the herd to he can eat. I agree that the vet may be able to improve the teeth situation, even if just a little.

Another thing is that my mini would not eat the alfalfa pellets soaked. She would bite them with her front teeth and ate more than she did while soaked. It was a little scary to watch, but I figured choke v. starvation…I would gamble on the pellets. At least you could consider making them only damp enough to fall apart easily, but not soupy.