Supporting senior horses in the winter

[Weezer]

I have three horses ranging in age from 24 to 28. They are all in good health, with the usual old horse ailments. The oldest has aged noticeably over the last year but his blood work is all good. Summer was so great and easy with them but I am a bit anxious about getting these three through the harsh winter - I’m close to Ottawa.

The youngest is a TB who is a hard keeper. I have it under control, but her weight is always on my mind. The middle horse is a mini with a history of excruciating winter founder. She hasn’t foundered during the summer in years and last year I finally figured out a good winter preventative strategy but it is a constant worry during the winter. The oldest has always been super low maintenance but I am now a bit concerned about keeping him warm enough. In the past I blanketed him fairly conservatively, but I understand senior horses tend to get cold more easily so I’m stepping up the blanketing for all horses, while monitoring closely for overheating.

In the past, hay was outside the barn in all but the worst weather but this winter I will have hay inside and outside at all times. They do have to go outside for water (which is always heated), but that’s only about 30 feet away. Breakfast and dinner includes warm beet pulp for all.

These horses are out 24/7 but have access to the barn, with stalls thickly bedded in shavings. I have considered bedding with straw in the winter, but I find it such a mess to work with. Only if it is icy, they are confined to stalls with individual 10x10 outdoor pens. This happens for at most a week every year.

I would love to hear tips on senior care through the winter. I would also love to hear from people who have super old horses in cold climates, to reassure me that it’s possible for old horses to survive cold winters.

[Pico_Banana]

Following this as I also have a senior (28). She tends to shed some weight when the grass dies as she’s not a great hay eater. So I do increase her alfalfa cubes in the cold weather so she gets them 3x a day. That’s really about the only modification I make. Oh, and I switch from cold water in stalls to warm water.

When I first got her at 26, I blanketed her more heavily than my other horse and that turned out to be a mistake. I still blanket pretty lightly and she’s much happier that way.

But she has survived the last two winters just fine! Despite all of my worrying.

[Weezer]

How did you know you were blanketing her too heavily? I’ve been sticking my hand under the blanket to feel temperature and as long as it feels like “room temperature”, I assume their fine. I make sure my hands are also “room temperature” when I do this.

Also, is beet pulp of alfalfa better for weight gain? I started the TB on alfalfa first but I wasn’t seeing much weight gain so I switched her to beet pulp and she’s been on that since the spring. She dropped a bit of weight this fall so I’m adding canola oil to her food. I think the weight loss was due to her reluctance to transition from grass to hay. Can’t blame her for that!

[Pico_Banana]

Blanket decisions are the worst. I have both of mine at home now and get to make all blanketing decisions, but I constantly second-guess myself. When I was at boarding barns, I always found myself wanting to be one weight down from everyone else.

So when I first got my senior, I blanketed my younger horse lightly and the senior like they would at boarding barns. So she always felt “very warm” as opposed to “not cold.” I thought that was okay until - wait for it - she developed rain rot from being too warm under her blankets! Even though I never let her get sweaty, it still happened. That, unfortunately, is how I learned I was blanketing too heavy.

So now I’m more like you - I just aim for “not cold” when sticking my hand underneath their blankets. For me, that generally means nothing until we hit 40 (unless rainy/windy and below 50). Then I either do a sheet with a 50g liner or a 100g blanket until we hit around freezing. Only below freezing do I pull out the mediums and it’s a very rare day when they get more than a medium.

I don’t know whether beet pulp or alfalfa cubes are better for weight gain. She gets Triple Crown Senior year round, which is beet pulp based. I usually feed her 6 lbs daily of the TCS and I guess I do also up that by a pound or so in the winter. I had forgotten about that. I like adding more alfalfa cubes just to give her more variety.

She also gets ground flax. 1/2 cup year round and I do keep that as an option to increase if I see her dropping weight. If you are adding oil, just keep in mind that you want to try to keep the omega 3 versus omega 6 ratios in line. Flax is better than canola oil in this regard, although more expensive.

You may also want to think about adding in vitamin e over the winter if you aren’t already, as hay loses most of its vitamin e rather quickly.

[Angela_Freda]

Beet pulp is more a source of fiber than anything, I believe, while alfalfa is more a source of fiber and protein. I think they are both beneficial but for different reasons and for different results.
Hopefully a person with better understanding will correct or flesh out this idea and distinction…

Weight re- gain, also takes muuuuch longer than we expect

Adding as much warm water as they will consume imo is very important

[Scribbler]

@Angela_Freda

Beet pulp is more a source of fiber than anything, I believe, while alfalfa is more a source of fiber and protein. I think they are both beneficial but for different reasons and for different results.
Hopefully a person with better understanding will correct or flesh out this idea and distinction…

Weight re- gain, also takes muuuuch longer than we expect

Adding as much warm water as they will consume imo is very important

Beet pulp has fiber and also has significantly more calories per pound than alfalfa or hay. Beet pulp is still digested in the hind gut like hay, which is good for digestion and keeping warm. Alfalfa has more protein than grass hay, but a bucket of soaked cubes isn’t enough to significantly increase overall protein in the diet. If you need more protein to build up lost muscle I’d suggest an actual amino acid supplement.

I don’t think beet pulp has more fiber than hay or grass.

I also don’t know how big a calorie boost you get from a couple of pounds of soaked beet pulp.

If the horses are eating hay fine I see the beet pulp ans/or alfalfa cube mash primarily as a carrier for supplements, in my case vitamin mineral powder, salt, and flax seed. Also it gets some water into them.

[Weezer]

I know I researched alfalfa cubes vs beet pulp like crazy several months ago and I can’t exactly remember what I learned, but the mare much prefers beet pulp and I have seen good weight gain with it. I did feed ground flax for awhile but it’s hard to get around here so that’s why I’ve switched to oil.

Interesting that over-blanketing caused rain rot! There’s always a twist when we have the best intentions! I generally try to pull their blankets for a couple hours every day so they can air out and have a good roll. That also gives me a chance to assess they layering situation.