Help with Hay Pellets & Increasing Water Intake for an Older Horse

[MustangTwist]

That’s reassuring!

My horse isn’t a particularly picky eater, so I was surprised he wasn’t finishing his pellets. That being said, he has gained weight since we made the switch so it’s possible he’s just full. We’re still experimenting with the right amount to maintain his body condition. He has a salt block but doesn’t seem to like it. I also add a small dash of electrolytes to his grain, but will up the amount given dehydration seems to be an issue.

What balance between pellets, senior feed, and beet pulp do you give?

What my vet suggested once he comes home from the hospital is:

breakfast - timothy pellets (no change)
lunch - timothy pellets (no change)
dinner - stable mix senior formula pellets (instead of his current alfalfa flake)
grain - triple crown senior w/ supplements (no change)

She said if he still seems to be having colic issues in a few months, we should try a chopped hay or hay cube diet, but believed soaked pellets would be easiest for him to digest and the easiest on his stomach given the state of his teeth.

[MustangTwist]

Thanks stb. I’ve seen 3 vets since this last colic incident - his regular treating vet, the vet on-call for night 1 at the equine hospital, and the vet on-call for night 2 (who he’s seen before). I’ve peppered them all with numerous nutrition questions since we’ve ruled out some of the more common colic causes (stones, ulcers, etc.). I told all 3 vets that the only major change in his routine this year was adding pellets. They all seemed to think the pellets weren’t the cause and that pellets should be easier to digest than hay (even chopped or cubed hay) for an older horse with bad teeth. They all suggested trying an all pellet diet. That being said, it seems like too much of a coincidence.

I had a good long talk with the last vet about it, and she said if it was her horse, she would try a different pellet formula for a few months to see if that helped. If there was no improvement or things worsened, then she said it’d be worth looking into chopped or cubed hay. He’s been eating the regular “stable mix” pellet formula at the equine hospital, so I’m going to slowly transition one or two of his daily meals to the “senior stable mix” formula to see if that helps. We’re also going to increase his turnout time so he can walk around and graze a bit more. Hoping this combination does the trick, but if not, we’ll definitely keep experimenting.

I’ll have to look into the TC safe starch because I don’t know much about it!

[Scribbler]

Do you know what kind of colic? It’s such a general term.

Is it hindgut impaction? That is generally from not enough water. Is it has colic? That might be about a specific food. Is it small intestinal blockage? Etc.

[MustangTwist]

Unfortunately we don’t have many answers. Both times he went into the hospital they did ultrasounds, bloodwork, and x-rays. They even scoped him for ulcers. They think it might be gas, or a large colon displacement which is resolving itself by the time he makes it to the hospital. On the rectal the vet at our barn performed, she said he felt a little distended, but not awful. He was a little dehydrated both times, but it’s unclear if it’s gas causing pain which leads to him drinking less water, or drinking less water itself causing the colic.

His teeth have gotten progressively worse, so the vets think maybe his ability to digest his hay is getting worse which may be causing GI issues. On the other hand, the switch to pellets for some of his meals is the only real external change he’s had in his routine over the last year. Admittedly, the pellets have improved his manure a lot - he used to get diarrhea, and you could see some stemmy bits in it from the hay he wasn’t chewing too well.

So we’re treating it as if it’s a combination of gas and dehydration - making small adjustments to his diet (like partially switching him to another pellet formula and feeding them wetter), adding more electrolytes to his grain, and increasing his turnout time so he can walk around the graze more.

[seabreeze]

I might have missed it, but unless there’s a reason to feed timothy pellets, try some alfalfa pellets. Your horse might like them more. Also, you can mix in a few starlight mints and then pour hot water on the pellets (electric tea kettle) and mix with a wooden spoon. The mints will melt and your pellets will be infused with a mint flavor. Good luck!

[MustangTwist]

He was originally still eating 1 flake of alfalfa a day, so we didn’t want to feed him alfalfa pellets + alfalfa hay (risk of developing stones and increasing colic risk). Now that he’s coming off his alfalfa hay we’re replacing it with a different pellet formula that has alfalfa as one of its main ingredients, hoping he’ll like it more. If he does, we’ll replace some (or all) of the timothy pellets with this formula.

I love the idea of mixing some mints in! I’ll have to try it.

I was out at the barn last night at 2 AM with a water heater to make sure he felt comfortable drinking from his bucket. Of course, it took like 15 min to heat the water up and he still didn’t seem particularly interested in it, but maybe he drank some after I left

[demidq]

My mare also loves her “tea”- warm water with a handful of fibre chunks or feed added. She will drink a whole bucket of this! She gets it after our ride, and yells when she hears me preparing it… I am only at the barn 4-5 days per week but I figure that is still 20-25 extra gallons of fluid a week.
Re: added electrolytes- why not just add some extra salt to the feed? He probably doesn’t need the extra potassium and calcium or whatever your 'lyte powder contains.

[Elsari]

Apologies for disappearing.

I feed this twice a day :

2 quarts of timothy pellets
1 quart of alfalfa pellets
1 cup of beet pulp pellets (prior to soaking)
2 quarts senior feed (drop down to 1 quart during sprint/summer)

He’s in a small pasture, so he still nibbles a bit on grass. He’s a very easy keeper and a small horse.

[Greys]

When I was boarding and needed to steam hay pellets for my old guy, I bought a big church-social-type coffee urn. It was the fastest way to get a good quantity of water warmed up in a reasonable time frame.

My guy had no interest in soaked pellets. Steamed, though, he dove right in. (Sometimes rather literally!)

Good luck with your guy. Aging horses are not for the faint of heart,

Greys

[CindyCRNA]

I did not read all the answers but I have 2 younger horses that I have on a beet pulp mash every day and it is the highlight of their day. I tried beet pulp and alfalfa pellets soaked but neither liked it as much as beet pulp and alfalfa cubes. I am assuming they did not care for the mushier pellets. I put a lot of warm water on it, let it soak for about 30 min then put it in their corner feeder and put a “crunchy topping” of their favorite grain and their heads don’t come up until it is finished. There is a magic formula. Twice as much alfalfa cubes to beet pulp.