Sustaining a horse who can no longer eat hay

[Milocalwinnings]

I have an 18hh Belgian who is 26+ years old. I’ve had him 2 years. He began quidding recently and choked about 3 weeks ago on hay. He had his teeth done again right afterward and the vet noted his teeth were quite worn down and that it may be time to take him off hay. He choked again on hay last weekend, despite it being provided in a slow feed hay net, and continues to quid. I took him off hay right away and plan to keep him off it now.

My concern is how best to sustain him, especially through winter. His weight dropped dramatically 18 months ago from poor care at the last boarding facility. I spent a lot of time getting his weight to a good place. The new barn owner is a saint and she is just plain awesome. She has been soaking hay cubes for him and making sure they are properly broken up. He is turned out as much as possible, but I do bring him in when it’s wet and cold. I’m worried about a) weight, b) keeping enough forage in front of him and c) keeping him occupied when stalled, as it’s not his preferred thing.

Thoughts? Do I need to give him 20 lbs of cubes (dry weight? Wet weight?) to replace the 15-20 lbs of hay I was giving him? Any tips or tricks to sustaining this?

[4LeafCloverFarm]

A complete feed (like TC Senior or ProElite Senior) fed at recommended pounds/day may not be enough in winter. Hay pellets or cubes, soaked are great. 3 meals a day may be needed to spread the amount (pounds) of food to optimize intake of so much to eat.

There are chopped hays (Alfalfa), that are very fine and easily consumed by older horses, even those with tooth loss. They may or may not be available in your area. Standlee makes a chopped alfalfa in a 40# bag (no molassas, uses oil to control dust).

Speaking of oil - while messy, that is an inexpensive way to add calories to a meal.

[Gainer]

I fed my ancient mare the Lucerne Hi Fiber Gold for several years after she had similar problems. I put it in a nibble net and she did really well on it. My other older guys are always happy when there is some in the barn as a “treat”.

[Obsidian_Fire]

That’s a big horse! Senior feed, such as Triple Crown, and all the soaked hay cubes he will eat, is where I’d go.
You can try the chopped forage as mentioned above; with his history of choke I would monitor this to make sure he can tolerate it - it would perhaps give him “busy work” when stalled.
Added fat if he’ll eat it would bump calories less expensively.
I would also add loose salt to his soaked feed because that’s a LOT of water.

[4horses]

What hay were you feeding prior to this? I’ve found that my old horse who can’t eat standard hay, can eat hay if it is VERY carefully selected.

For my old mare, she can have 1st cutting coastal (thin small pieces, if cut to the right length, so she can actually chew it easily), or perennial peanut hay. The Perennial Peanut hay needs to be 98 percent leaves. She can eat the leaves, not the stems. This means I have to go look at different hay suppliers and select my hay extremely carefully.

I have been lucky that I have found 2 farms that both seem to get consistently good hay in each year. This means I no longer have to look all over to find some decent hay for her.

My mare is 26 yrs old and her teeth are completely worn out. They feel like smooth sea shells. Somehow she still manages to chew hay and has not (knock on wood) had any episodes of choke. My equine dentist did an excellent job, lowering her front incisors so that her back teeth are still touching. If your incisors get too long, the horse cannot grind with it’s molars. If you have skipped out on dental work, now is a good time to get those teeth checked.

I second the chopped forage. You could also try adding some canola oil to his feed. Since he is a draft, they tend to do well with a cup or two of oil a day (and it prevents pssm symptoms).

I had my mare on 4 buckets a day of alfalfa pellets (about 15 lbs) before switching to the above. Right now she is getting one bucket a day of alfalfa pellets plus hay and is holding her weight well.

[4horses]

IF you can locate Perennial Peanut hay- it is similar to alfalfa and the horses love it. It’s great for horses with dental issues. But there is a wide variety in quality so you really need to see it before buying. If it’s all leaves, it is the best.

[walktrot]

I have a 25 y.o. Paint gelding who is doing well, just beginning to show signs of his teeth aging. I have the equine dentist coming every 6 months. A few are worn smooth and he has a gap starting. He is not having any problems with hay. He has been on Blue Seal Performance LS for a few years because it is high fat, high fiber, low in carbs/sugars. He gets about 3 lbs/day along with joint, biotin, and vit e supplements. The Sentinel feeds are all cooked like senior so the digestibility is the same no matter which one you choose. LS provides extra fat and a full complement of nutrients… I did not want to use oil. it is so messy. The fat in corn oil is not balanced, way too much omega 6 vs. omega 3 fats. the nutritional profile of senior usually assumes it is all or most of the diet to make up for not being able to chew forage.

[EquineJunky]

All forage should be weighed when dry - before adding water. If your barn owner is agreeable to hay cubes, yes, you weigh it dry then add water to soak. Hot water if available helps them break up faster. Break the amount into multiple feedings through the day. Adjust amount up or down depending on his weight.

If you decide to try the chopped forage, it can be wet down as well if needed to soften it. Again, it is weighed when dry and break it up into multiple feedings through the day.

IMO hay cubes/chopped forage should be the base of his food for the longer stem fiber/gut motility benefits. Figure out how you want to get extra vitamin/minerals into him if needed (recommended amount of horse feed, ration balancer, etc) - then add more calorie dense items from there if necessary to hold weight.

[cnd8]

@4horses

IF you can locate Perennial Peanut hay- it is similar to alfalfa and the horses love it. It’s great for horses with dental issues. But there is a wide variety in quality so you really need to see it before buying. If it’s all leaves, it is the best.

Yes, not sure what part of the country OP is in, but PP hay in the south is nice and leafy and no stems to really speak of.

[Milocalwinnings]

@4horses

What hay were you feeding prior to this? I’ve found that my old horse who can’t eat standard hay, can eat hay if it is VERY carefully selected.

For my old mare, she can have 1st cutting coastal (thin small pieces, if cut to the right length, so she can actually chew it easily), or perennial peanut hay. The Perennial Peanut hay needs to be 98 percent leaves. She can eat the leaves, not the stems. This means I have to go look at different hay suppliers and select my hay extremely carefully.

I have been lucky that I have found 2 farms that both seem to get consistently good hay in each year. This means I no longer have to look all over to find some decent hay for her.

My mare is 26 yrs old and her teeth are completely worn out. They feel like smooth sea shells. Somehow she still manages to chew hay and has not (knock on wood) had any episodes of choke. My equine dentist did an excellent job, lowering her front incisors so that her back teeth are still touching. If your incisors get too long, the horse cannot grind with it’s molars. If you have skipped out on dental work, now is a good time to get those teeth checked.

I second the chopped forage. You could also try adding some canola oil to his feed. Since he is a draft, they tend to do well with a cup or two of oil a day (and it prevents pssm symptoms).

I had my mare on 4 buckets a day of alfalfa pellets (about 15 lbs) before switching to the above. Right now she is getting one bucket a day of alfalfa pellets plus hay and is holding her weight well.

He was on a really nice, soft orchard grass and then also an alfalfa/grass mix, in a slow feed hay net. I am located in Virginia, I have never seen Perennial Peanut hay advertised in the hay groups I’m in but I will look into it.
I have a 30+ year old mule who has teeth in even worse shape than the big guy’s, and she manages to eat the alfalfa and the orchard grass hay. She quids a little bit but she hasn’t choked and goes to town on the alfalfa hay. They get their teeth checked every 6 months and dental work done as needed. He just had his teeth done right after the first choke 3 weeks ago and his teeth were more worn down than I had thought. For whatever reason he still chokes so alternative options it is.

[Milocalwinnings]

@cnd8 - I am in Northern Virginia. I have not seen PP hay mentioned in any of the hay groups I am in online but I will ask around.
@Obsidian Fire He is on a Tribute feed, I forget which one, and has done very well on it thus far. I think I will put him back on the cocosoya oil granules just to get that extra boost into him.
@Gainer I’ll look into that forage as well as the nibble net. He absolutely trashes his stall when he is in so if I could figure out a way to keep him occupied, that would be helpful. Otherwise he will come in to eat and go back out, but I would rather have him in when it’s wet and/or super cold. I am not familiar with the nibble net, but will look into it to see if that will keep him from scarfing chopped forage.

[cnd8]

@Milocalwinnings you probably don’t get it shipped up to your area. It’s a southern-grown alternative that is comparable nutritionally to Alfalfa. You guys can probably grow alfalfa up that way, so there’s no need.

[LookmaNohands]

Hay Stretcher pellets from Blue Seal! My guy did very well on them. They come in large pellet size and normal. The normal ones are easier to soak but TSC only sold the large size. They soak best in hot water! My horse loved them and did very well when he could no longer eat hay.

[CowgirlCoffee]

I really don’t have anything to add to the great advice already given, But, my late gelding had to be on a mash diet the last 5 years of his life and I know the costs can add up. I found a mill in my area that sold alfalfa pellets in bulk for $350/ton. They also sold half-ton totes and 50 lb bags. The 50 lb bags even were $4 less per bag than the 40 lb bags I was getting at the feed store and better quality! I did the math and realized I was spending over $700/ton at the feed store. It may be worth trying to source a local mill that sells bulk cubes and pellets. Best of luck to you!

[RainWeasley]

We have an older horse at the barn I board at, I dont know if his teeth are mostly gone or just very worn down but his tongue pokes out half the time. He looks fantastic though for his age. He gets a good amount of senior feed mixed with an equal amount of another senior type feed (cant remember what kind, want to say tribute senior and resolve?), plus a mash of beet pulp and rice bran, and a little bucket of soaked alfalfa cubes once a day. He does get a bit of hay, but he can only really gum it so I think it’s more to let him feel like he is getting some.

He really does look great though. He isn’t that big, maybe 16 hands. But he is quite happy and healthy.

[mroades]

I farm sat for an 18hh Percheron that couldn’t eat hay due to a badly healed broken jaw. He got soaked senior feed that also had hay stretcher pellets mixed in three times a day. Also soaked alfalfa cubes twice a day and a treat grazer ball with alfalfa pellets in it. He looked amazing

[findthedistance]

I feed a 30+ year old gelding who has completely worn down his teeth and has also had a nasty choke episode. He went from hay to chopped forage to now soaked cubes. (We’re loving the TC Timothy Balance Cubes – he prefers them to alfalfa!) In this case, yes, I replaced hay 1:1, so he gets 10-15# daily (850# horse) depending on how much grass is in the field. He looks great – I should have given up on hay sooner.

[Milocalwinnings]

I decided to try the Lucern Farms Hi Fiber chopped forage in a hay net with 1” by 1” holes, soaked. He pretty much just flings the net around until it all falls to the floor and then eats it from there. So far so good, and let me tell you he has been more content in his stall than I’ve ever seen him.

I’m still concerned about his weight long-term. I will continue with the alfalfa cubes as well. I may add beer pulp and flax as well, that’s what I used to put weight on him in the first place. I appreciate the info and advice! Pic of the big guy for your viewing pleasure!