Flashin The County - 2015-12-17 8:22 PM Chopped alfalfa in a bag. If u can't find it you can also soak alfalfa cubes until they soften and come apart. Had a gelding that my daughter ran until he was 28 and he did great on senior and either of the alfalfa options. At 27 he ran in the 2D at Jud Littles.

Southtxponygirl - 2015-12-17 8:40 PM Google Chaffhaye its easy to chew for older horses. 

Nevertooold - 2015-12-17 9:26 PM You can still put hay out for him so he has the satisfaction of chewing even though he wads it up and spits it out, when feeding what others have suggested.

runnin hard - 2015-12-17 9:24 PM


So if you soak alfalfa cubes...how much do you put out at one time?  I would love to find something that he could graze throughout the day.  Or do you just put a limited amount like a feed ration?  Is there any issue with choke?  When given hay he just makes wads of it and spits it out. 

Bibliafarm - 2015-12-17 9:33 PM  with soaked beet pulp the horses arent usually interested in hay.. their belly s full..lol 

Flashin The County - 2015-12-17 8:22 PM

Chopped alfalfa in a bag. If u can't find it you can also soak alfalfa cubes until they soften and come apart. Had a gelding that my daughter ran until he was 28 and he did great on senior and either of the alfalfa options. At 27 he ran in the 2D at Jud Littles.

BARRELHORSE USA - 2015-12-18 12:06 AM Brome hay is a coarse hay and tuffer to chew than most hays use the suggestion below on alfalfa. During drought years here in Ok and tx we bought brome hay and our horses almost starved to death before they would eat it .. 50 lb bag of either type of alfalfa equals one 65 lb bale of alfalfa due to lack of moisture in the bagged alfalfa. There are generally 11 flakes of alfalfa in a 65 lb bale. (~6 lbs per flake) Soak time .. overnight for morning feeding and between feedings for evening) Feed 1/4 of a bag of dried alfalfa after soaking ='s ~16lbs of "hay" (20-30lbs of hay needed per day by a horse and let him chew on the brome) In another bucket soak a scoop of whole oats.. per the above soak times Use purina 200 14% pellet per scoop 3 lbs as your base or your choice of a good 14% pellet .. Feeding Time .. pour water off of oats .. add the 3 lbs of pellets.. stir it up to dampen the pellets .. and feed horse .. Pour the water off the alfalfa and feed it in the bucket or in the trough after he has eaten most of his oats and pellets .. The whole oats provide a good weight gainer and fiber along with the energy and fiber in the alfalfa to keep his digestion in good order ... these two have the food value that all feeds are benchmarked too ... excellent horse nutrition .. period .. balances calcium and phosphorous naturally .. Vitamins A, D, C ... selenium Pellets will have some minerals and vitamins with nutrition for a horse with bad teeth .. with several of my older buddies I have mixed pellets into a slurpy to keep them in good shape ... hearing them suck it up is funny to hear .. With a good worming program and the above three items should keep him fat, happy and sleek ... also keep in mind ... a chewing horse is creating saliva that aids in their digestion ... As you know the fiber is what generates heat in the colon for a horse during bad weather and keeps his BM making normal horse apples ... GOOD LUCK ... stay away from Beet Pulp .. it contains heavy metals and chemicals used in processing beets into sugar .. i.e. any horse feed that comes from processing human food has harmful residues in it or it would be fed to humans .. lol

Bibliafarm - 2015-12-18 8:46 PM  good decision.. I always add water to my grain at any age.. its good to get extra water in them to..

runnin hard - 2015-12-18 8:39 PM Again thank you for all the replies.  I decided to start out simple.  Since he loves his pelleted feed and eats it with gusto I am starting by adding the soaked alfalfa cubes.   If needed I will add other suggestions, but for now I want to keep it simple. :-)  I think my old boy approves of the soaked cubes addition.   

runnin hard - 2015-12-18 8:39 PM

Again thank you for all the replies.  I decided to start out simple.  Since he loves his pelleted feed and eats it with gusto I am starting by adding the soaked alfalfa cubes.   If needed I will add other suggestions, but for now I want to keep it simple. :-)  I think my old boy approves of the soaked cubes addition.   

wyoming barrel racer - 2015-12-18 8:51 PM

I have had the best luck keeping the old ones with no teeth on soaked alfalfa pellets and beet pellets twice a day. All have access to grass hay too, but some just chew it into balls and spit it out. The dun gelding (if I can get pics to upload) was I think 27 when he died. He had no front teeth by then and few back ones. He was on a full mush diet for 3 yrs I think. We added oats to his mush. The Appy mare is now 34 and looks pretty rough, looking like this might be her last winter. But in the picture she is 32 if I remember right. She has no teeth at all and on mush twice a day and my dad also puts Equine Senior in hers. IMO she needs fed a 3rd time, but she belongs to him so....and the pony is my son's beloved. He is every bit 40'ish and still as sound and ornery as can be. He has no teeth at all in back but the front are still ok. In the spring he can pick at the soft grass but otherwise is on mush in the am with Active Equine Senior soaked in, and a good dose of Active Equine Senior in the pm. He does eat from the hay bale and quids a lot of it, but still gets the softer stuff chewed. He stays very plump. 

Chandler's Mom - 2015-12-18 9:38 PM Your horses and mine as well as the way you feed/the way they can eat sound quite alike. My Dan is 36, and beet pulp has been a Godsend for him. He gets 12 lbs of Sr Active and 10 to 12 cups (before water added) beet pulp split in two feedings. At night feeding he gets 1/3 cup Healthy Weight oil and 2 scoops Platinum CJ. He will chew on the hay we put out for the other horses, but probably 95 percent he ends up quidding; I think it's just something he does for the chewing pleasure. When grass is long and tender he can still graze pretty good. I am picture-challenged, as I've said before! But everyone that sees him can't believe he's that old. I've researched and tried different things, and this is what works for me and him. I've had him over 16 years, and I owe him all this and more. . . . Can't believe that pony is 40ish---wow!

streakysox - 2015-12-19 6:52 AM Many people do not continue dental care when horses are retired. As with performance horses, hoof care and dental care are the most important part of horse care. You have to have a horse's teeth floated regularly throughout their lives. Often older horses will need to have their teeth at least checked several times a year. Waiting several years to have horses' teeth checked will often result in problems that cannot be corrected.

wyoming barrel racer - 2015-12-19 12:11 PM

Dental care is very important but once they get really old, often there isn't much they can do. We took the pony in as soon as we got him and he already had loose back teeth. They evened out what they could and by the next year they refused to touch them because they were getting even more loose. They were afraid of causing more damage by floating than if they just leave them alone. He isn't the first I have been told that about. The Appy mare had never had her teeth done until she was in her late 20
s. We just never knew growing up, she never had any issues either. So when he looked in her mouth, they really didn't need much. A few sharper edges, but no hooks and no wave. Wish more horses were like her. I own her son that is 22 and he needs his teeth floated every yr. I started him at age 6 because he got to throwing his head a lot. He gets really sharp edges. We try to keep on a yearly schedule with everything around here unless they are young and need it sooner.

wyoming barrel racer - 2015-12-19 12:11 PM

Dental care is very important but once they get really old, often there isn't much they can do. We took the pony in as soon as we got him and he already had loose back teeth. They evened out what they could and by the next year they refused to touch them because they were getting even more loose. They were afraid of causing more damage by floating than if they just leave them alone. He isn't the first I have been told that about. The Appy mare had never had her teeth done until she was in her late 20
s. We just never knew growing up, she never had any issues either. So when he looked in her mouth, they really didn't need much. A few sharper edges, but no hooks and no wave. Wish more horses were like her. I own her son that is 22 and he needs his teeth floated every yr. I started him at age 6 because he got to throwing his head a lot. He gets really sharp edges. We try to keep on a yearly schedule with everything around here unless they are young and need it sooner.

flyingcolors - 2015-12-19 9:22 PM

I had someone give me Chafhaye to try for this reason. It smells like silage. Has anyone ever fed this?