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T O P I C R E V I E W
Oregana
Posted - 01 Mar 2011 : 11:58:01 PM Can anyone give me some advice on what to feed my old mare? She is pure bred 29yrs. She is capable of eating anything and had her teeth done last week which are really good for her age. At the moment she has hay,sugar beet, mollichop, sixteen plus, garlic, carrots, bread and toast. She is out with a shelter, plenty of rugs and healthy. This winter, although she eats well, she is now very thin. She has lost some condition for the last few winters, but always come back in the spring, but this winter, she looks quite bony. She is not very happy to come in at night and was only stabled on the worst snowy very cold nights.
12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
daf
Posted - 08 Mar 2011 : 10:55:17 AM Hi
Ditto what was said above about feeding haylage. If she has no problem chewing then she may benefit from the extra goodness in it and they often love the smell.
My older mare has been on hay and haylage the whole time i had her but this winter due to the lack of hay i fed haylage continously and she looks fabulous for it, and as hse is leaving some of her overnight net i suspect the goodness in the grass is coming through now.
sab2
Posted - 07 Mar 2011 : 6:06:20 PM Another fan of Rowan and Barberry Ready mash .
ali bali
Posted - 03 Mar 2011 : 1:43:53 PM Could you change her hay to haylage? My oldie does much better on it.
Mrs Vlacq
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 7:39:32 PM I think bred is one of the few treats EMS horses are allowed, according to vet hospital near us. Best of luck with your girl - all great advice given - oils, barley Rowan and Barberry Ready Mash Extra is great for oldies - our gummy mare loves it and it tides her over until spring grass once she's got to the 'I'm so bored of eating haylage' stage of winter'. Easy to eat, a quick soak - she has hers with beet and our bespoke mix (with the distillers pellets soaked to soften them), and oil
barbara.gregory
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 5:43:30 PM Nothing wrong with a small amount of bread but as an extra rather than as her feed.
Allen and Paige Veteran Vitality is a new mix and everyone I know who feeds it swears by it for improving their oldies. Sadly I lost my oldie at nearly 32 so haven't tried it myself but know a lot of people who now use it and my feed merchant can't believe how much he sells.
Barbara
Oregana
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 4:36:49 PM Many thanks for the help. Just been and bought some vegetable oil, so we'll see if she eats up her tea. I've fed her bread, often toasted for 21 years, so was a tad worried when I read the posts not to feed bread to horses. Anyway, I rang the vet and there is nothing wrong with feeding horses bread, so maybe an old wives tale that it's bad for them!
pinkvboots
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 11:32:47 AM I would try adding some sort of oil, corn oil is good for weight gain or you could try high fibre nuts you can soak them like a mash to make them easier to eat, and can be fed like a hay re placer for horses that cant chew hay. I also would not give horses bread.
Gail
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 10:17:24 AM hiya
I would give her flaked barley or barley rings, this will increase her weight. If she doesn't have a huge appetite cut the mollichop as it doesn't have a nutritional value but fine if she likes it. My old arab who was 26 so didn't do as well as your girl, always lost weight coming out of winter. He had flaked barley all year and added barley rings about January.
I was always told not to give bread as its not good for them- cant remember why though.
Oil is a good idea but Magnum wouldn't eat a feed with any kind of oil or other supplement- very suspicious lol.
Good luck,
Gail
herts_babeuk
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 09:19:27 AM I fed my TB ex racehorse gelding Dobson and Horrell Build Up mix when he came to us underweight - he has now put on loads of weight and even his rouched back has disappeared
BabsR
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 08:45:08 AM I would suggest adding Milk Pellets...easy to digest, will not bloat her and higher in protein, oil etc., which could be beneficial as when old, horses seem less able to absorb vitamin/mineral content from basic feedstuffs
What a good age, we too have a few oldies, they have so much character and hope they will go on for more years yet
Posted - 02 Mar 2011 : 12:13:42 AM Oh bless the old girl. We had an oldie, sadly gone now, but no matter what we fed she didn't regain her weight after her last few winters but was a happy little mare. Still tried to charge out of gates, flirted with the boys, just didn't look great.... Not much help, but sure you will get lots of replies. If the quality of life is still there thats all we can ask for...
