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Member
Posts: 31
| This is my first dealings with feeding an old horse with teeth issues. I just had her teeth done by a horse dentist and she said she recommends feeding her pelleted feed as she has a disease that will cause her to start loosing teeth. I've been giving her about 4 lbs of safe choice 2x a day with all the alfalfa hay she can possibly eat. She's basically eating the leaves and leaving the stems.
She's 24 and looks good, but she's definitely struggling to eat since the dentist trip. I'Ve never fed lbs of pellets only hay with some pellets enough to add supplements etc.
She's about 950 lbs 14.2 stocky build.
Thank you for any suggestions, I'd sure appreciate it. |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
  
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I've fed several these past 8 yrs or so. I give free choice hay just in case they want to pick through it. Softer grass hays are good. Too much stem and they have no chance of getting it chewed enough to swallow. My old pony is getting alfalfa but leaves all the stem. Now to the pellets. I give about 1/2 to 2/3rd of a coffee can each of beet pellets (no molassas) and alfalfa pellets. Soaked, am and pm with 1 lbs Senior Active. I also add Forco and THE Muscle Mass so they get the vitamins, minerals and amino acids. I use the senior blend and joint. If they can't eat any forage, then you may need to up the pellet amount. What I give swells when soaked and fills up the bucket. Any questions at all you can send me a pm and I can call you etc. I have lots of pictures of my oldies to show this works. If they start to get really bad as they age, I have added a fat supplement-Amplify.
Edited by wyoming barrel racer 2017-03-26 2:22 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 233
| All of my oldies get free choice hay to to pick at, and generous quantities of senior feed, loosely based on weight and tooth condition. My daughter's ancient pony gets 3lbs senior feed with a half handful of moistened alfalfa cubes on top for flavor.
I also like soaked beet pulp, especially with a horse that needs supplements or oil. |
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 Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
 
Location: Florida.. | agree with both above posters... soaked beet pulp or alfalfa pellets added to a sr grain... safe choice isnt a good feed for srs in my opinion.. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Dan (38) gets Purina Senior Active, beet pulp, stabilized rice bran, and Platinum CJ. He picks thru the hay but really just balls it up and drops it. His diet has been the same for a long time, except the rice bran which was just added last year. It's made a big difference as far as weight. He looks good and feels great---we tell him all the time when he starts bucking and carrying on that when he throws a hip out, at his age, we have a big problem!! |
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 Ace Ventura Pet Detective
Posts: 2411
Location: Wisconsin | Just went thru this...My older horse gets the Nutrena Fuel like the others, and we feed 2nd and 3rd Crop Alfalfa only..He was really losing weight, so we changed him to the Triple Crown Senior and couldnt believe the difference. The pellet not as hard as the Safe Choice and it has higher fat. I would have never believed it |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | love triple crown sr.. higher fat and it is textured |
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My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Bump |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | Had a 30 year old mare with no front teeth on Purina Equine Senior (Before we learned of Ionophone and Monensin), and I would soak about 3 pounds in hot water to make it soup like. I would wait for her to finish that and then soak about 2 or 3 pounds of alfalfa cubes for her the same way.
She kept weight pretty well that way.
Being young I would get bored and mow the yard just so I could collect the grass and blend it in the blender with water for her LOL what good that did I'll never know, but she drank it and I had fun giving her smoothies.  |
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 On the Countdown
Posts: 2934
Location: Texas | Bibliafarm - 2017-03-25 10:18 PM love triple crown sr.. higher fat and it is textured
That is what I feed my 36 yr old mare! She loves it. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1520
Location: Illinois | We have a 30 year old with only a couple molars left, she eats 4 cups of alfalfa pellets & 3/4 scoop (3qt scoop) of Nutrena ProForce Fuel soaked 2x a day. Plus she gets 2 flakes hay, whatever hay she leaves gets thrown out into the pasture for the other horses to finish off. She has gained a ton of weight and done really well. I also have a 24 year old with cushings missing 2 molars who has gained well on the Fuel as well, he eats 1/2 scoop 2x a day. My barrel horse is 18 and eats 1/4 scoop and maintains. The 30 year old gets no supplements, the 24 year old gets Platinum bc I won a bucket in a drawing, & my 18 year old is on Exceed 6-Way. All the horses in our barn are on the Fuel and they've all done really well on it. |
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What to feed a old horse