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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 518
| I've got an older, 21-22 (?) year old mare, in the past she's been a super easy keeper the hardest thing was making sure she didn't get too fat since she was always the boss in the pasture and she always made sure she got enough to eat :P Summer 2016 she was out to pasture and foundered, I'd never seen a foundered horse before and didn't recognize the signs soon enough to take her off that grass. I contacted some vets and horse people, made sure her hooves were trimmed regularly and put her on bute for a time. Her hooves have grown out and look great and I've watched her weight a lot more carefully since. This past summer I got married and took her with me, she's in a smaller pasture with a heifer and a mini horse (previously she'd been with 5 sheep.) She lost a bit of weight since moving so I thought it might be the stress but it's been 4 months and she loves her new pasture buddies but she's just not gaining the weight back. She also seems a bit stiff. I'm hesitant to feed her beet pulp due to the sugar content. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm in Alberta so we get obnoxiously cold winters and I'm worried worried this one's going to be hard on her! |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
  
| Message me. I am in Alberta have one foundered mare, and one geriatric.
Half way through the winter I switched to hemp oil and fibre and my horses blossomed.
It is actually cheap to feed I feed it with a quart of oats daily and it costs 1/ day per horse |
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  Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4557
 
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | Purina athlete is a straight fat,does not require to be fed with grain,a horse can eat it by it self.Forco is awesome and would be a great addition to your horses diet. |
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Veteran
Posts: 160
| I sell Triple Performance. It increases absorption and has all the amino acids and 40% protein. It has done wonders on hard keepers!
Text me I can send you pics. 717-420-0022
Its only .50 a day!!! |
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 Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
| I would maybe have her checked for ulcers with the move and new pasture buddies. The stress of something new could have upset her. Just because she likes them now doesn't mean she couldn't have gotten ulcers at the time.
I love Purina Equine Senior Active because of the high fat content. THE Muscle Mass is also a good option to add. That's what I feed to my 23 yo guy who lost his topline. He's gotten almost all of it back with those 2 things. |
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 Living on the edge of common sense
Posts: 24138
Location: Carpenter, WY | Teehaha will be 35 in the spring. We retired her at 20 thinking she was done as we had worked her hard in her younger years. She maintains weight on a scoop of Total Equine twice a day mixed in with a scoop of soaked beet pulp shreds in a bucket. She also gets a couple of flakes of good 2nd or 3rd cutting grass/alfalfa hay twice a day. If the temp drops below 0 she gets a blanket on. I really think the heat of summer is alot harder on them than the cooler winter temps. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 518
| cheryl makofka - 2017-10-30 5:14 PM Message me. I am in Alberta have one foundered mare, and one geriatric. Half way through the winter I switched to hemp oil and fibre and my horses blossomed. It is actually cheap to feed I feed it with a quart of oats daily and it costs 1/ day per horse
Messaged you |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 518
| Thanks everyone I did some looking and found a feed company around here that makes a senior feed that looks to have a low sugar content and high fat, it looks to have similar percentages to most of the feeds that have been recommended. I'll look into ulcers, definately a good idea!! |
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 Stinky Cat Owner
Posts: 4097
Location: Oregon | I have a 27 year old and I monitor him like a hawk lol. I'm in cold rainy winter country so although I let him get super hairy and get a good coat, I do put a blanket or sheet on him if it's freezing rain, snow, super cold rain. He has a pasture with a stall he can come and go in. He gets fed Purina Senior (has most of his life), gets as much grass hay as he wants, Mega Oil and Tight Joints Plus. I make sure he's wormed and make sure his teeth are managed.
You might want to check her teeth so that everything good there. Good luck!! |
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Expert
Posts: 3514
| Dac Bloom and Oil. They also have a really good ulcer product called Cool Gut. Works on fore and hind gut ulcers |
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Older mare doesn't have enough weight for winter