Supplement for senior horse

[thehorsedream]

Hi all. I did some searching on this forum but I couldn’t find anything specifically regarding supplements for senior horses. I did find senior feed suggestions but I’m happy with the one I’m feeding now.

My horse is current 19. He eats forage, alfalfa and LMF senior. The current supplement I have is a flaxseed based one from his last owner and it’s almost out. We just hack around though I’m considering getting some training in dressage basics. (Obviously while taking into consideration his comfort. He may be 19 but he still has a ridonculous amount of energy.)

I’m not looking for anything in particular. Just suggestions on a good all around or hoof/coat supplement to add to his feed.

[SuckerForHorses]

1. Turnout to keep him moving
2. A balanced diet with adequate forage - increase calories as necessary
3. Save your money and don’t buy additional supplements

[King_Creole]

My old man is 26. Other than his recent colic scare, he’s doing pretty good with his current routine.

You mentioned you like your senior feed, so I’m not really recommending here, but just sharing what works for my guy.

Feed:
-big handful of Equi-safe
-cup of timothy grass pellets
-1 scoop Country Acres Hi Fat Pellets
-1 scoop Seminole Wellness Senior (for the love of me I can’t remember the exact size of the scoop to give you better info…and I mixed feed last night! oy!)
-currently getting 1 flake of alfalfa a day (not part of his usual diet, but after his scare we were trying to entice him to eat and it helped…so now he gets to finish the bale)
-He has hay available to him all the time though he’s not a huge hay eater.

Supplements:
-SmartPaks in the AM - SmartFlex Senior and SmartGain
-Moorman’s Minerals

Turnout:
He’s out as much as possible. He was on 24/7 until I moved states. Now that it’s starting to get hot, he will start staying in during the day but has a nice sized run/paddock attached to his stall so he can go out and stretch. This winter, he was pretty much out 24/7 unless it was bad weather/rain.

[Brian]

[QUOTE=thehorsedream;8665116]
Hi all. I did some searching on this forum but I couldn’t find anything specifically regarding supplements for senior horses. I did find senior feed suggestions but I’m happy with the one I’m feeding now.

My horse is current 19. He eats forage, alfalfa and LMF senior. The current supplement I have is a flaxseed based one from his last owner and it’s almost out. We just hack around though I’m considering getting some training in dressage basics. (Obviously while taking into consideration his comfort. He may be 19 but he still has a ridonculous amount of energy.)

I’m not looking for anything in particular. Just suggestions on a good all around or hoof/coat supplement to add to his feed.[/QUOTE]

How much LMF Senior is he getting? If I looked at the right LMF Senior feed, maintenance requires 13-15 lbs per day for 1000 lb horse. If you’re feeding less than that amount, you may be a little short in meeting his protein needs.

Generally speaking, hoof/hair coat supplements contain ingredients that are protein sources.

[TWH_Girl]

I’ve used this product on my senior guy, it covers joints hoofs, digestion and omegas.

https://www.smartpakequine.com/ps/smartcombo-senior-pellets-11381

[Greypolopony]

My mare is 23. She gets alfalfa cubes x2 per day and then I mix her an evening bucket with:

2 fistfuls of wheat bran
X2 scoops of Grand Complete (hoof/coat/joint supplement)
X2 scoops of senior feed
X1 scoop electrolytes
…And then psyllium pellets for the first week of every month to prevent colic.

I’m not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but she keeps on weight/energy on this diet and we haven’t had any colic scares. The Grand Complete has a lot of great stuff in it that covers most of what you would find in a senior supplement. We’ve had success with this diet, but she’s also an unusually active senior (she still plays low goal polo).

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=Brian;8665497]
How much LMF Senior is he getting? If I looked at the right LMF Senior feed, maintenance requires 13-15 lbs per day for 1000 lb horse. If you’re feeding less than that amount, you may be a little short in meeting his protein needs.

Generally speaking, hoof/hair coat supplements contain ingredients that are protein sources.[/QUOTE]

Holy cow that’s a lot of feed. OP, you might save yourself a little money if you do try something else.

[kashmere]

Rice Bran pellets put an absolutely wicked shine on my mare, and help to provide a little extra fat in the diet.

[CFFarm]

Unless your horse has a deficiency, nothing beats a curry comb for a nice coat.

[kasjordan]

If anything, I would up the alfalfa and just add whole flax. Especially if all is working well now- just for the added boost.

[thehorsedream]

I definitely do not feed 10-15 lbs of feed. It doesn’t seem to be causing my horse any problems though. He has a pretty good weight on him. I figured I’d have to feed a bit more if we started working harder but I don’t seem to recall needing to feed 10-15 lbs a day.

I agree with CFFarm on the currying. I definitely make my arms tired grooming him.

I hadn’t thought about adding just whole flaxseed. That’s probably not that expensive. I might look into that.

[zpiper]

Smartpak’s “Smart Combo Senior” Pellets. Runs @ $50/mo for my 950 lbs gelding who just turned 24. His coat is so shiny since adding this to his grain @ 4 months ago and his thrush prone, splitting hooves are looking great now…even see an improvement in his normally sheddy frogs. He’s not hog wild about the taste so I mix it in his pm grain. He always comes back to finish it off. My guy gets 1 3/4 #s of Purina’s Strategy Healthy Edge twice daily and free choice hay in slow feed haynet. He has a sensitive system and tolerates Tifton best. He only gets grass @ 3 hrs per day but his weight is perfect:) Hope this helps.