DO YOU HAVE AN ANTIQUE HORSE?

By Michelle Beagle, RVT, Redwings board member

Horses commonly live into their twenties. Often they are still eager and capable of going for a ride, and some are able to work hard for a living into old age.

Out To Pasture?

When your horse gets to the point where it just can’t be ridden anymore, don’t give up on him. Putting a horse “out to pasture” is a terrible and antiquated practice. The older horse usually can’t chew grass well, let alone get nutrition out of it. This is why “putting them out to pasture” can be a death sentence.

Help the horse you shared so many wonderful rides with finish his life in comfort. Your equine friend needs your support through his or her senior years.

Nutrition

Goldie is a Redwings rescue born in 1963!

You can begin by feeding appropriate foods, and educating yourself about specific nutrients in your horse’s feed. Start with making sure a veterinarian examines your horse’s teeth regularly. If they are all present, and the grinding surfaces can still manage fiber, that’s great! If the teeth are smooth or are falling out, you need to make some feed changes, possibly even taking the horse off pasture. Work closely with your veterinarian and follow their recommendations.

Fiber Size

You will need to decrease the fiber size. If improperly chewed, fiber can be large enough to cause serious, possibly deadly impaction resulting in colic. Long, poorly-chewed grass can pull water from the horse’s system, causing dehydration, which can also lead to colic. You can run hay through a clean wood chipper to cut the hay into smaller pieces (essentially like pre-chewing.)

Hay cubes, or Alfalfa and Molasses, (also known as A&M) are another small fiber choice, as they are processed into smaller pieces. Hay cubes are available in:

• alfalfa
• oat/alfalfa
• Timothy hay
• grass hay

Senior Feed

Sometimes you may have horse that can’t chew anything! In this case, pellets are the choice of feed. You can wet them so they fall apart, making it easier for your old-timer to get tasty proper nutrition.

There are senior feeds that can be added to oat or alfalfa hay rations. We encourage people never to feed strictly senior food, because it is too rich on its own.

The senior feeds usually add a fiber source that keeps digestion regular.

You can work with your veterinarian to formulate your own “older horse” diet. Your vet will undoubtedly suggest adding a fiber source such as:

• beet pulp
• wheat bran
• soy

Older Horse Care

Older horses need regular veterinary care. It is important to keep an eye out for changes such as:

• increased thirst and urination
• lameness
• a winter coat that doesn't shed in the spring
• changes in manure consistency

Blanket your horse in the Winter and make sure vaccines are given regularly. Watch over your old pal and he/she will do right by you.

Remember that exercise, sunshine and companionship are of great benefit to the overall health of the older horse.

Personal Experience

While much of this information was obtained from veterinarians and nutritionists, some is first-hand experience. My Appaloosa lived until age 32, and was ridden until 30 years of age, because of attention to proper nutrition.

I also inherited an “antique horse” of my own. He was a pitiful wraith of a thing. He had lived in a pasture full of 4-foot tall fescue and oat grass. To any passerby it looked lovely, but he was starving in that sea of grass! He had no tooth surfaces in his mouth that came in contact with other teeth!

With proper nutrition he gained 400 pounds in a few months, and lived another 6 years. Sadly, his end is near, due to arthritis caused by the activities of his youth.

Dignity at Life’s End

At some point in your horse’s life you may be faced with the difficult decision as to whether or not your horse needs to be “put down.” Sometimes a horse will show signs by going off feed, and becoming depressed. Your trainer and veterinarian can help you decide when the time is right for you and your longtime friend. Humane euthanasia performed by a veterinarian is quick and painless. Help him/her leave this life with the grace and dignity of a true friend.

>> Back to Equine Health

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