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Member
Posts: 44
| I am curious as to what you all think about feeding Sr. feed to a non "Senior." I have tried purina strategy, nutrena original and perform. (Although I have only been feeding perform for 2 weeks). My gelding's ribs show almost all the time. It drives me crazy. I want him to look slick and shiny. But he's not.... At all. I don't anticipate the perform to do any better than the original SafeChoice. He is getting grass all day and hay at night. I do mix whole oats in with the processed feed. About half and half ratio. I don't have a scale in my barn but he gets 6 cups, twice daily. He must have high metabolism because he can eat and eat and eat and never get fat. We have an old pony we've fed Purina Equine Senior for 2 years and she does absolutely fabulous on it. I believe that is a fixed formula unlike the other purina feeds.
Does anyone have experience feeding sr. feed to a younger horse? I do not have access to triple crown, ADM and many other feeds mentioned, nor do I have a budget that allows for more than $20/bag. Not sure where to go from here. Would love to hear others' input! 
Edited by rodeocr8zy 2014-10-16 9:53 PM
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 554
| I feed that to my horses I give a one pound coffee can at nite and about one pound of cob mix grain and they look great. I feed hay in the am and bermuda pellets at nite. My hard keeper looks great. |
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 Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
 
| We treated my gelding for ulcers and now the little fart gets fat sniffing food. |
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 Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
Location: Missouri | IMO, 12 cups of feed is not much for a hard keeper. Are you following the feeding instructions on the bag?
I feed all of mine senior feed (ages 5 months - 32 years). However, it is NOT a complete feed. They all get varying amounts, 3lbs-18lbs (for my oldie). They all do fine, but if/when I have one working harder, I switch to a performance feed.
If you feed a senior feed that is made to be fed as a sole ration, you will be feeding up to 20lbs a day. Just make sure you are following the instructions on the bag or else you horse will not be getting the necessary nutrients. |
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Member
Posts: 44
| The Purina Sr. feed I have is a complete feed. So it will not work for him unless I feed according to the bag? I hear of so many people mixing this and that I can't believe they really are following the recommended amounts?! |
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Member
Posts: 44
| Nateracer - 2014-10-16 10:08 PM
We treated my gelding for ulcers and now the little fart gets fat sniffing food.
How did you know he had ulcers? I will definately look into that if he doesn't get any better. How did you treat? |
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Worst.Housekeeper.EVER.
Location: Missouri | rodeocr8zy - 2014-10-16 10:15 PM The Purina Sr. feed I have is a complete feed. So it will not work for him unless I feed according to the bag? I hear of so many people mixing this and that I can't believe they really are following the recommended amounts?!
There should be instructions for feeding it with hay vs. as a complete ration (not sure, as I haven't fed that brand.) But, if you are trying to put weight on one, I would for sure be following the feeding instructions, then you can add top-dressings/supplements if necessary. |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | rodeocr8zy - 2014-10-16 11:15 PM The Purina Sr. feed I have is a complete feed. So it will not work for him unless I feed according to the bag? I hear of so many people mixing this and that I can't believe they really are following the recommended amounts?! if horse can eat hay then there is a guideline for that as well.. yes its a complete feed.. you can feed with or without hay.. if hay is provided then its usually between 6 -12 lbs a day needed of sr.. ..if you want weight gain Id feed the top lbs and give top quality hay 24/7... Id feed a sr that is higher in fat.. like adm is 12-10 or triple crown sr is 14-10.. i think. but yes they all can be fed with or without hay and just read the directions for that specifically.
Edited by Bibliafarm 2014-10-17 12:25 AM
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 Twin Sister to Queen Boobie
Posts: 13315
Location: East Tennessee but who knows?! | One of my articles/blog posts is about feeding older horses and hard keepers.
http://qheventer.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/old-horses-hard-keepers/
Aside from actual health issues (teeth, parasites, ulcers, etc) usually the main reason horses don't gain is that they're not being fed enough grain and good forage.
On hard keepers, if they'll eat it I've had just as good of luck on cheap feed as I've had with expensive feed. The key is adding a good fat source & some excellent quality hay -- and I fed a combination of average hay & then added some alfalfa cubes.
As far as Senior feed, I don't see anything wrong with feeding it to a horse that's 10 - he's right at that level they start recommending for it anyhow I think. I will say that I've had a few horses go off of it after a while and I think it's because of the molassas level. Molassas can irritate some horse's gut. Strategy (original) is a good feed to try next if that happens and that's what I have my old horse on.
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 Keeper of the King Snake
Posts: 7622
Location: Dubach, LA | Panacur Powerpac and add free choice minerals. Some horses are just ribby. Appendix horses for sure.
Edited by CanCan 2014-10-17 6:58 AM
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Veteran
Posts: 294
| I do not feed it but I have seen Triple Crown Senior do amazing things and it works fast. My friend had a big old draft horse and she just looked like crap. Turned around real quick on the Triple Crown Senior. |
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 Swiffer PIcker Upper
Posts: 4015
Location: Four Corners Colorado | 99% of the time when someone says their horses won't put on weight it is because they aren't feeding enough or their hay is poor quality.
The best investment you can make is the best hay you can afford and make sure to test your hay so you are only feeding what you need.
WEIGH your feed!!!!!
I regularly feed 2-5% bw in hay and rarely need grain.
If you are feeding 1-3% bw in hay and following the directions on your grain bag and your horse is still ribby then you need to look to teeth, worms, ulcers or underlying health issues.
Here is a super handy scoop for measuring your feed. I love this thing!
http://www.sstack.com/product/schneider-s-super-feed-scoop/
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 Board Detective
Posts: 3886
Location: Millen Ga | Try triple crown complete. I am 1000000000% sold on it. I saw results in 2 weeks. I feed 2 scoops twice a day until I get to where I want weight wise then 1 scoop twice a day to maintain. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I second ulcers, when any of mine get looking a little riby, I will give them ulcer meds for 30 days, I have had great results with ulcer cure OTC. After the 30 days they are back to putting on weight with grass and/or hay alone.
During the first 30 days with the ulcer meds, I will feed them a pelleted feed, right now I like buckeye grow and win. I also give flax about 1/2-1 cup and buckeye also has a fat suppliment called ultimate 100, I give one scoop of this.
If the stool is loose, I will give a week or two of probiotics to get the hind gut balance back.
For ulcer symptoms dr du Paulo has a video on YouTube |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 302
Location: W. Pa. | There is no benefit to mixing whole oats in with the processed feed. I could never understand why horse owners do this other than they think they are saving money. A processed feed has been properly formulated to give the horse what they need. If you cut it with something such as Oats, you are unbalancing the feed. And if you check your horses manure, you will see the oats right there in the manure and it looks just the same as it did when it went in. Feed the senior feed straight according to directions on the bag and provide pasture and good hay , the your horse will gain weight. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 559
| Feed him 10- 12 lbs of senior a day .. I promise he will put on weight fairly quickly ! Then you can back down his amount . For the purina senior it is a minimum of 6 lbs per day with hay .. So definitely feed at least 6 . I would feed closer to 10 a day though until he was where I wanted him . I have seen that senior feed work mericals a million times :) good luck ! |
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 Love Me Some Robert Redford
Posts: 2335
Location: WV | I feed mine a senior feed. They do great on it and they are not senior's. |
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 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | The first thing I do if I have one that's not gaining, I will first get its teeth done by an equine dentist, run a PowerPak through them, and then add a scoop of powdered rice bran in with whatever I'm feeding. Has always helped mine gain weight and look good. If yours is in good health, his haircoat should be shiny even if he's thin....if it's not, I would sure run PowerPak through him, even if his fecal count is negative. Sometimes they have bloodworms that only the PowerPak gets rid of. Also, losing topline and muscle mass is one of the first signs of EPM, which is also caused by a parasite....it's just not a worm. |
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Regular
Posts: 73
| I had an appendix mate that was always thinner looking than I liked and no matter what I fed her it never changed it she had her teeth don't she was always worked but I noticed that she was not really good driven so I couldn't feed her a lot Cuz she would walk away from it. So the only thing I found to work great was glo n go by that formula 707 brand it's amazing stuff she was never so sleek and shiny and actually gained some weight ! I swear by it! |
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Member
Posts: 36
| I suggest to add Forco to your feed. Forco is a digestive fortifier which helps the horse break down its food better so it get all the nutrients out of it which will help put weight on. Look up Forco.com on the internet it will tell you all about it. several rescue places use it to put weight on neglected horses. I sell Forco if I can be of any help let me know. I will ship. Very reasonable to feed. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1092
Location: OK | I don't care about % of body weight or anything at all when I'm feeding forage. If a horse is thin, I up his hay every night until I come in and he has a little left in the morning. That's how I know how much he will eat. If he's cleaned up all the hay, it wasn't enough and he stood there with an empty stomach, which can cause ulcers and bad habits from standing there with nothing to do.
Of course, my ideal situation is the pasture, but I like to know how much a thin horse is eating. If he's eating a lot but not gaining, we go to the vet.
I feed a basic feed. I feed about a coffee can in the morning and night unless they are working hard, then 1-1/2 am and pm. Depending on the horse, sometimes more in certain situations. In some situations, they eat 3 times a day. I don't think 6 cups would even make a coffee can.
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Feeding Senior Feed to a 10 yr old? Nothing else is helping!