Feeding toothless senior

[rubygirl1968]

33 year old Arab mare with 7 teeth left. Very picky! She was on Ultium for awhile, but lost some weight last fall/winter on it and isn’t keeping it on now.

We changed her to TC Senior Gold but shipping has been too unreliable the last two orders. About two months ago, she stopped eating it as well and I had to start adding the Ultium back in. Now she’s back on Ultium only.

I started giving her soaked beet pulp in one tub and soaked alfalfa cubes in another during the day when she was out in the pasture by herself in the winter and she gained weight. Now that it’s summer it’s too hot to leave it out without spoiling and she’s lost a little.

She’s currently eating 3.5 lbs Ultium and two cups of rice bran twice a day. I’m just not sure what to do. When I’m there around lunch I give her some soaked beet pulp but I’m not there every day.

She’s not wild about textured feeds which adds to the issue. We have Triple Crown, ProElite, Legends, Purina, and if I drive further, Seminole, Buckeye and Tribute.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Btw, she doesn’t belong to me. I feed at the barn she’s at, talk to her owner regularly, but she can’t come out. No one is at the barn except for twice a day feeding unless myself or the one other boarder is there for their own horse.

Not the best picture, but it’s current. I stink at bcs but you can see ribs.

[Obsidian_Fire]

What feeds do you have available, that you can count on, that don’t have to be shipped to you?

I have found horses aren’t always thrilled about cubes, sometimes using pellets instead is better. I would continue with whatever senior feed works. At her age, keeping weight on is a real struggle. The body just doesn’t process the way it used to.

If she’s alone in the pasture, I would move the feed to a shady area, so it won’t spoil so quickly. Also, even toothless, if grass is available she’s probably getting some. I find with the oldie’s that they can still pinch off the soft small grass and “gum it to death”. So maybe she’s getting something that way?

In short, use senior feed at the recommended weight per day, and I’d try alfalfa pellets instead of cubes, soaked. Possibly you could top dress with some oil for extra calories. Cup for cup, flax has more fat in it that rice bran does. It’s just more expensive!

[rubygirl1968]

@Obsidian_Fire

What feeds do you have available, that you can count on, that don’t have to be shipped to you?

Purina, Triple Crown (except for Gold), ProElite, Legend, Nutrena are the easiest to access. Seminole, Buckeye, and Tribute have a limited selection of their products.

She won’t eat regular TC Sr or ProElite sr. I tried Sentinel Sr but she wouldn’t even touch a piece of it. She leaves too much TC Complete behind to keep weight on. She’s just extraordinarily picky - flax meal - no, not even a tbsp. Most senior feed, no… god forbid, no - it’s good for her.

She definitely tries to eat grass - gums it and then spits out big quids.

She’s the sweetest horse, but exasperating at times. I’ll try changing places to leave some feed out in the daytime.

[clanter]

we had a pony who finally died at 45 (+/- a few years?), the last four years he was fed Purina Equine Senior that was wetted to soften even more. He was kept in a private paddock as his vision was nearly gone and was fed usually four times a day, some days five times. The last year he did start losing weight.

We kept a hay net in his paddock with fresh hay, he often would pretend to eat the hay usually just pulling it out of the net… he may have been eating some

But he had no teeth, up to the last he was happy (or at least presented himself as happy)

[beowulf]

This is a frustrating situation for you. there is not much you can do with a horse that is not your own. You can only offer suggestions, and are at the mercy of the owner in terms of pursuing diagnostics to solve this issue.

First in order for the owner would be to get to the bottom of the pickiness, and that may require veterinarian insight. A trial of Nexium for 2 months will cost your owner under $60 and you can order esomeprazoleon Amazon without a prescription needed. If I were in your shoes that would be my first route.

Is her Ultium soaked? If not, start soaking every single thing she eats. You can break the Beep and the Timothy into smaller servings during the day when temps are higher, and then leave 2-3quarts out for them overnight to reduce spoilage. I do this in the summer with my toothless geriatric.

The seven teeth left, are they molars?

If this horse has no molars, the pickiness and going off of feed and being particular is likely related to the inability to properly masticate their food. When this happens and they still try to eat hay or even pellets, it can cause colitis. Usually in these situations, the roughage is not masticated properly enough and it is causing inflammation and abrasions as it travels through their digestive tract. This can be fixed by soaking everything and removing hay and replacing it with chaff, soaked cubes/pellets, and supplemental grass grazing. Colitis can cause ulcers, which is where a trial period of Nexium should help.

Consider adding a pre/probiotic if your owner is not needing to budget their money.

I would not be thrilled to be feeding Ultium to a senior, but right now what is important is keeping her eating. In your shoes I would address Nexium + management changes instead, and then look into a different feed. 3.5 lb is not that much - I was feeding more than that to keep my 3 y/o TB going.

My toothless gelding is on TC Senior, soaked. You really want a complete feed for the horses who can no longer properly masticate hay, and Ultium isn’t a complete feed although I certainly understand in your situation your options are limited.

Has this mare had a work-up lately? Are you able to look at her front teeth, and tell us if you see any drainage tracts or inflammation/resorption consistent with EORTH? The quidding grass is problematic and makes me think something is going on with her molars or where her molars were. Even horses without molars should be able to reasonably masticate grass.

[rubygirl1968]

The ultium isn’t soaked to a mash, but covered in warm water. It seems to be a textural thing - she won’t eat anything that is a mash, and she definitely prefers pellets to textured feed. I thought it was a 1000 miracles that she ate soaked beet pulp. lol

I would much prefer to feed a senior or complete feed but there doesn’t seem to be that many that isn’t textured. Legend senior is a pellet but it has so fewer calories per pound than Ultium I don’t know if she would eat enough to keep her weight up. Buckeye complete is a pellet/extruded feed, but isn’t sold locally. Tribute seniority comes in a pellet, but isn’t sold locally.

She’s getting 7 lbs a day, split into two feedings. 2 cups of rice bran at each meal.

She had a work up this spring. The vet said for a 33 year old horse with so few teeth and so little grinding surface left on what she has, she looked good. I’ve not seen any drainage tracts or inflammation and honestly, I don’t know which ones are missing. Her owner has always been there for dentals and I’m usually getting mine ready for his or working in paddock so I haven’t paid that much attention.

I’ll talk to her about Nexium. I feel like I’m making excuses but she’s by herself in the daytime when the chubs are in lots with fans. The barn owners chubby pony that wears a grazing muzzle quit sweating last year. She’s sweating enough not to overheat this year on one ac but I hesitate to change the turnout since no one is at the barn and it gets so hot with a muzzle on. I’m afraid she’d overheat and no one would know until the next feeding.

The barn owner lives on property but never comes out to the barn. His wife was the horse person and she had dementia the past several years - she died last Sunday. He writes the checks but its up to me to do all the vet stuff and care decisions. The board is cheap and I’m able to care for my guy the way I please or I would have already moved.

[atr]

My elderly gentleman who got picky would eat Purina Eqiune Senior, wetted down, and a small amount of nice alfalfa, (he had all his teeth, but would lose interest) and that was about it. I could sneak some rice bran meal in for extra calories, too. I know its not the best horse food on the planet, but he actually ate it and enjoyed it, so thats what he got.

[Lusoluv]

An aged, toothless mare at my barn gets Purina Senior 3-4 times a day. It quickly soaks up water to puff-up and break down so she can gum it. She also gets soaked alfalfa pellets to help her tummy, get extra calories and variety. I wouldn’t say she’s in full bloom, but she is perky, seems happy and definitely isn’t ribby.

[CowgirlCoffee]

Have you tried fenugreek powder or any of the Uckele flavorings? https://uckele.com/horse/product-categories/horse-treats-and-snacks.html .
I have a gelding that is about her age. Thankfully, he will eat most anything I put in front of him, except his vitamin/mineral supplement. I have resorted to drizzling a little molasses on it, and he eats it right up. I figure at his age, I give him what he wants. Good luck! .