Feeding Ideas for the Toothless Horse

[StormyDay]

Yes the equine dentist was my first call after I discovered the lack of teeth. He came out on Wednesday for him. There were a few bits that needed to be pulled (some remnants of teeth than had broken and fallen out at some point) and he was in desperate need of a float. One of his lower teeth had grown into the open cavity where the missing upper tooth was, plus he has lost some back molars and the tops were growing into the gum line. So he certainly wasn’t in great dental shape.

The sad thing is this guy is actually pretty young IMO. It’s just that he has had such poor care for years.

[StormyDay]

I’m debating once he gets a little more used to everyone and calms down sticking him in the paddock area with my mini at feeding time. She’s too short to eat from the grain buckets. At this point I don’t think he had ever seen a mini mule before and he’s still a little leery of her.

I will try the alfalfa pellets un-soaked. It does worry me a bit but he is eating the grain just fine. Maybe I could blend it up so it was more of a powder…

[carman_liz]

Is he on any pain meds or antibiotics till he heals? It could just be waiting till he is healed up a little more. I hope he pulls thru and starts eating better asap for you!

[StormyDay]

He’s on bute right now. He actually ate the best he has tonight; almost 4 pounds of grain in one sitting. Mornings he is still not eating at all.

[sascha]

@StormyDay

He’s on bute right now. He actually ate the best he has tonight; almost 4 pounds of grain in one sitting. Mornings he is still not eating at all.

Bute + not eating in the morning are red flags that my horse needs gut support. She was so bad for so long that there was no point feeding her in the morning. She was far too busy needing to get out for her social time. Her guts are good now, but she still only gets about half cup of soaked feed in the am and her “giant” feed (kilo alf pellets + 3/4 kilo senior + 1/2 kilo ration balancer + 2 cups oil + supplements soaked) at night. She does have access to hay and/or pasture 24/7.

Fwiw, bute is The Worst for my particular horse. I cannot give a single dose without Sucralfate or she will go off her feed. Banamine, I can get away with 2 doses. Maybe. Previcox, 2 weeks before having to start the gut meds.

[StormyDay]

He’s only been on it since Wednesday (and I actually gave him is last dose today; I figure thats enough time that his mouth shouldn’t be hurting anymore) but I will definitely be starting him on something for possible ulcers. Even without the medical stress he’s been though, he’s had a lot of change in the past week and a half.

[Mango20]

One thing to try is to find the right amount of “soaked” the horse likes. I had a pony with missing teeth and he would refuse to eat really soupy food, but was perfectly okay with it being soaked enough to absorb all the water, with no extra water.

For mine, he was on Triple Crown Senior, with an additional meal of soaked beet pulp and orchard grass hay pellets. Before that, he got TC chopped forage, but eventually he started only eating the softer bits of that and it’s too expensive to throw away half of it. I was gone from home about 11 hours per day, so was only able to feed him 3 times per day on workdays and 4 times on days I was home. To get additional meals in, can you bring in his friends, too? Bring them all in for 1/2 hour for him to eat as much as he will during that time, then toss them all back out.

[StormyDay]

That’s the only thing I really can’t do. The property isn’t set up super well for horse feeding time (and I’m renting the barn until I get my property all complete, so I can’t change anything) and it would take me approximately 30 minutes to bring everyone in, which I don’t have time for during the day. Everyone is in for morning feeding (at least right now, I do eventually switch to 24/7 turnout in the summer) but it doesn’t seem to matter; he’s not interested.

[stressgirl37]

Have you tried soaked beet pulp? You can add pellets or a complete senior feed in as well. If he likes that, try adding some ground flax for fat and omegas.

[StormyDay]

I haven’t yet; it’s on the list to try. I have to go to the feed store tomorrow anyways.

He currently is getting ground flax, I feed it to all of my horses along with copper. Zinc, biotin, and salt.

[blob99]

I would also recommend soaked beet pulp with the right kind of balancer/grain combo to get him his nutritional needs. Most horses love beet pulp and it’s a good added forage source when he can’t really have much hay.

I’ve found that most are happy to do the kind without molasses, but you can also try the molasses kind if you think it’ll encourage him to eat it more

[carman_liz]

It doesn’t help much with eating, but if he ever has hydration issues and founder is not a worry, my mare would get a bucket of soaked safe starch forage to pick at if she wanted. We would soak the chopped hay and then put it in a feeder spread out for her and leave the bucket of warm water from it soaking and she would drink up the entire thing. We would also take like half the bucket of water from the hay and add it to her regular stall bucket to encourage her to drink more. She never really wanted to drink though so it was a huge help with keeping her hydrated.

[StormyDay]

Just an update; he seems to have finally calmed down and is eating well.
He still never finishes his grain, but I’m wondering if the scraping feeling of getting the last bits is a feeling he doesn’t like; he always leaves about 1 pound behind. Tonight he got 6 pounds; ate 5. This morning he ate about a pound and a half; I had put in 3. He still refused to come in to eat a lunch; the new grass shoots are much more exciting I guess.

He also has started eating hay; he’s eating from the communal hay pile and actually seems to be eating it pretty well. I’m hopeful that he will be able to eat more hay than I originally thought.

I also picked up TC Senior Gold and will be slowly switching him over to it.

[walktrot]

5-6 pounds of grain is a day’s worth for my horse. He gets it split into 3 meals: morning, evening, and late night, which is when they check the barn in the evening. He was on Blue Seal (or Kent) Sentinel LS for many years but we switched to Sentinel Active Senior recently. Fat, fiber, protein and low carbs are about the same in both the LS and Active Senior. There some differences in nutrients like amino acids and anti-oxidants that are better for an older horse. Also, many manufacturers including Blue Seal have 2 or more senior formulas that take hay intake into account. There also is information about how much to feed. No “scoops,” you need to do some math and convert weight into scoops and draw lines with a sharpie so everyone feeds the correct amount.

My gelding is 28 and his teeth still are okay. I have seen a few changes recently. He still eats a day’s worth of hay as long as he gets the bales that don’t have much of the chewy stuff. I have taken apples off the approved treat list because he doesn’t chew them well enough. I found some freeze-dried apples in little packets that he loves. His dentist has done his teeth for 12 years. He is on a 6-month schedule now. The dentist will be here next Monday morning. I’ll take our dentist any day. He has an amazing way with the horses. The last visit was an exam and a hand float. It is about $60-75 for the float plus the barn call. I don’t like to sedate any of my animals if it can be avoided.

[Wyndwolfe]

Taking in an any horse that has been neglected involves some effort. You have gotten several good suggestions. The key is simply trial and error. Your guy needs time to become more secure. As that happens, you may see changes in eating habits. FWIW, I have taken in two rescues that had histories of neglect - not abuse, just neglect in feeding and care. Each has taken time to become secure. Both of mine were somewhat food aggressive when I brought them home. What you describe sounds more like anxiety and/or insecurity. TB’s are notorious for being anxious and high energy. They also have a reputation for ulcers, but I would not rush to that diagnosis. Give him time first.