If a horse is prone to laminitis then access to grass should be carefully controlled. Many laminitis-prone horses do well on late, leafy autumn and winter grass, but as spring and early summer arrive, the simple sugars in the grass fluctuate and high levels can trigger both low-level and full-blown laminitis. In this respect, it is best to either strictly control grass access to the early morning only or remove the horse from all grass onto a turn-out area which allows for movement. At around 25 years of age (sometimes before, depending upon the horse) old horse teeth will start to cause problems for many. What changes cause problems in elderly horse teeth?

Digestible Energy is the estimated energy (calorie) content of the feed and is quoted on an “as fed” basis in Mega Joules per kilogram (MJ/kg). If your horse is no longer able to manage short chopped fibre, look for feeds that can be soaked to make a mash. A blend of chopped and pelleted alfalfa with a rapeseed oil coating providing 11.5MJ/kg of Digestible Energy from fibre and oil The decision to soak hay should be made on the health of the horse. An old horse with COPD may need hay soaking or steaming for a very short time. A laminitic horse may need hay rinsing and soaking for a short time to lower the simple sugars in the hay to prevent insulin levels from spiking. The classic sign of ineffective chewing is quidding – the formation of balls of partially chewed hay that are too large to be swallowed and drop out of the mouth when the horse tries to eat. However, quidding is a rather advanced sign and may not always appear to start with.The absolute best way to avoid colic in the old horse, that you adore, is simply to understand the risk factors and try to control them where you can. During the winter when turnout is restricted and the quality of the grazing decreases, many horse owners look to introduce a forage replacer to enhance and extend forage intake and keep bulk fibre levels high for a healthy gut. This amount of dry matter supports the maintenance of normal digestive function, along with providing adequate energy to support bodily function and condition. For horses that tend to drop weight in the winter and need extra calories to support this, feeding ab lib forage is recommended. The following products are suitable for feeding as full or partial hay replacers and contain added vitamins and minerals to balance the diet: Coolstance Copra (high calories, medium chain triglyceride fats make this a great choice to also extend protein sources)

Research into feeding chaffs with older horses is limited but anecdotal evidence suggests colic incidents are lowered when soaked pellets are used instead. We believe it is best to avoid chaffs in preference of a finer ground and soaked, wet forage feed, even if it’s only a precaution. The fact that you increase water consumption in the diet is a very big reason to use soaked pellets over chaff. In the end, owners need to be guided by their horse, pay attention to body weight and treat each old horse as an individual. How does weather temperature affect feeding elderly horses? Alfalfa is an excellent feed for horses and can be chosen to feed an old horse, but its high calcium levels mean that it causes problems with balancing the major minerals. In addition, some horses do not tolerate alfalfa in their diet. Problems can range from worsening hoof sensitivity and laminitis, skin hives, to oedema in the legs, sheath and udder. There is little research to suggest why this is. The amount and kind of work your horse or pony is doing is an important factor when calculating the quantity and type of feed to give. Good quality fibre sources such as Alfa-A Original can meet the energy requirements of most horses and ponies in light to medium work. Just add a balancer or supplement to balance the diet.Alfalfa is a widely recognised ingredient for promoting digestive health due to its natural buffering properties The final consideration is to make sure the horse has sufficient time to consume his meals, in an environment where he will be protected from other horses. If a total replacement diet is needed then an area to munch, for an hour or two, in peace will be needed. This could be in a stable or in a fenced-off area. Although difficult to manage, this is the only way that a horse, which needs a considerable percentage of its diet as a soaked feed, will be able to consume enough food to maintain weight and health. Over-feeding cereal-based feeds in one meal can also cause digestive upsets, hence the rule of feeding little and often to horses. This is because cereal feeds contain a lot of starch and the horse has a relatively small capacity for absorbing it. If starch reaches the sensitive hind gut, problems such as laminitis and colic can occur. This cookie is used by the WPForms WordPress plugin. The cookie is used to allows the paid version of the plugin to connect entries by the same user and is used for some additional features like the Form Abandonment addon.

Follow the manufacturers’ guidelines when soaking any of the high-fibre fast-soak horse feeds. In general cold water will take much longer than hot water. If using cold water an overnight soak may be needed. If using hot water the soak may only take 15 to 30 minutes. The tighter the feed pellet then the longer the soak time will be needed. Use your eyes and perhaps your fingers to feel if the products have soaked enough. Always use a large volume of water. Weight in kilograms of old horse feed (Stubbs Scoop) Insufficient fermentation in the large intestine may become a problem for the older horse. Research suggests that the number and variety of protozoans greatly reduce in many elderly horses. Protozoa are important, along with vast numbers of bacterial strains for efficient fermentation. 5. What about colic in the older horse? Poor sodium levels in grass or hay will affect thirst. An old horse that manages to get enough liquid through eating grass can be tipped over the edge into impaction colic when cold weather reduces grass and drinking. Divide the total daily amount into as many feeds, per day, as you possibly can. Keep meal sizes small for optimum digestion and to avoid overloading the horse’s system. As a guide, we recommend no more than 0.5kg of mix/cubes/balancer per 100kg bodyweight, per meal. Do not exceed a total of 1½ - 2 kg (3½ -4 lbs) per feed for a horse and 1¼ - 1½ kg (3 - 3½ lbs), for a pony (including additional chaff or sugar beet pulp, if fed).

Weigh your horse before you weigh your feed to ascertain his bodyweight

Avoid grass based products for laminitics as they may contain high levels of water soluble carbohydrate. Icon, a 4-year-old Welsh Sec D owned by Jude Raywood was diagnosed with grade 3 ulcers in March 2023. Jude’s vet suggested changing Icon’s feed to Dengie Healthy Tummy to support his overall digestive health and as part of his on-going management. After making the changes to Icon’s ration and following the vet’s treatment plan Icon scoped clear of ulcers 4 weeks later!