The vet was recently out to my barn and she thought my 33 year-old gelding was looking a bit thin, and I agree - It’s becoming more apparent now that he is shedding his winter coat. She checked his teeth and they are in good shape. He was also recently dewormed with Quest, and his blood work (CBC) came back normal in all categories. He can still eat hay and I am thankful my barn feeds a soft orchard grass and leafy 2nd cutting alfalfa. We have already upped his alfalfa. He has always had hay in front of him 24/7, but now it’s more alfalfa and less grass that he wasn’t as thrilled to eat. He currently gets 3.5 lbs of Triple Crown Senior Gold, 2lbs Haystack Special Blend, 1/2 serving of Arizona Copper Complete, and 1/2 quart (dry) of soaked alfalfa pellets (this is all he will eat, any more and they end up dumped on the ground).
I live in an area with high iron. I have noticed marked improvement in his hoof/coat condition and overall comfort level when I switched him to AZCC. However, I’m wondering if I should instead bump up his TCS gold to 5-6 lbs and drop the AZCC. If I do this, could I add additional cu/zn to his senior feed in order to balance out the iron?
Right, wrong or indifferent I have been adding copper and zinc supps to my horse’s TCS for years. Like you, I live in a notoriously high iron area. Note I am not feeding the Gold version so that may make a difference.
I like your plan of bumping up the TCS Gold.
Thank you! I’m glad to hear this has been working for you. I really hate to pull him off the ACC, but I definitely think he needs more digestible calories from the senior feed. And unlike the alfalfa pellets, he loves the TCS Gold, so I know he would readily eat more :).
Are you on Facebook? There is a group called Equine Nutrition Education that has an upcoming seminar on iron in horse diets. This group is run by an Equine Nutritionist (PhD) and has many other nutritionists also weighing in - many of them are working for and formulating feeds for many of the major feed companies. There is lots of good information available and it is all science based.
Also, my suggestion for your old horse is to increase the TC Sr Gold and stop with all the other stuff. It’s a great feed and is developed specifically for a horse like yours.
When my horse got older, he got 24/7 hay and fed grain three, and then four times a day. Soaked feed so he was getting hydrated too.
As for teeth, older horses need more frequent, more thorough exams.
And I agree with looking into potential metabolic issues that might be brewing.
You can’t fix adequately what you’re not aware is off.
Is that per day or per feeding?
Exactly what I’d do
