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Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: missouri | We have my old barrel horse that is almost thirty years old. He has been keeping pretty well, but yesterday he was a little wobbly... I was ready to give up, then, this morning he perked up and seemed to be stable. He is eating well and drinking, and we have two stalls opening out to an area fenced off to keep the other horses from messing with him... what do ya think? |
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Expert
Posts: 2828
Location: Southern New Mexico | My old mare used to take winter hard. Anything under 60 and she had to have a blanket or she would start dropping weight. It didn't help that she wanted to look like a supermodel and wouldn't eat anything. Drove me nuts. She would have a bucket of feed and just walk away becasue she didn't want it right now or it wasn't the "right brand". Only horse in the world you could trave cross country with and have 4 bags of feed in reach and have them untouched after the trip. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Northern CA | Try a "senior feed". I use the "Life Design" Dry. Meaning without the molasses. Add warm water to it so it is like a mash. Beet Pulp is also good for weight. Comes in a pelleted form too. Must add water though. Also try feeding Rye hay if his teeth can still chew hay. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 391
Location: Columbia, KY | feed beet pulp= lots of it. pellets are cheaper, but take a lot longer to soak. soak them in water overnite then add hot water and mix w/ grain in the morning. or you can buy shredded- with or with out molasses. those soak up in a few min. hot water helps too- both in the beet pulp mush and if you can keep warm drinking water in front of the horse at all times. feed a lot of hay, and if your horse can't eat hay then some type of complete feed pellet, mixed into beet pulp and warm water. these older horses need a lot of calories to maintain their body heat during the winter. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: missouri | Thank you all for your help. We are feeding him a mix of senior feed and shredded beet pulp. His weight seems to be holding pretty well so far. I am thinking the sub zero temps for a few days, and the snow did not help. We are pampering him a little and keeping an eye on him. I know eventually all old critters (and people) will be done with it all. We are really very attached to our animal family, they are less pain in the ass than my stepkids... (I know, I'm naughty). |
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Expert
Posts: 1723
Location: michigan | I have fed beet pulp pellets without soaking. they can be fed that way. Another option for increasing caloric intake is oil...corn,caniola or soybean..they are high in fats and calories. Keep in mind that older horses just don't have metabolism as compared to a younger horse. |
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Veteran
Posts: 201
Location: Lincoln, NE | You are giving him excellent care. Could the wobblies be from something else? It's hard to know when it is time to say good bye. Yes, our furry friends are family, too. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: missouri | I think the wobbles were simply weakness... After I put the blanket on him, bedded his stall, and started using corn oil/daily72/red watchacallit to keep him from being anemic, he seems to feel better. He knickers at me when I walk up to the barn, and still gets excited at feeding time. It hurts when you've got an old horse that you love, and old mother that you love (who doesn't know where she is half the time), and red puffy eyes from worrying about it all... and I'm just one of the many. PS; this is a horse out of Easy Jet who lived to run. He taught my husband how to ride... I got him as a 3yr old, but if he was a 20$ horse I wouldn't love him any less... |
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Location: KY | CJ You have my empathy; I have an old dog (15+) and 2 old horses (20+++) that I am waiting for them to tell me to call their doctor to come. I don't want them to suffer, but I do not think it is time yet. Just hoping they can tell me when they want/need to go. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 781
Location: La Cygne, KS | I feed my old guy (28) senior and TNT Alfalfa Chops with Timothy. TNT is ground hay that is easy for older horses to chew. It provides the horse lots of fiber too. I make it into a mash so he doesn't choke. I also give him probitics dressing every day too. He gets feed 2-3 times a day depending on the severity of the weather. I have an older mare too that gets slow and creaky in the winter. My friend has a 33 year-old that feeds the same above along with red cell and corn oil. You need to increase caloric intake in these older horses as they can't utilize their feed as well. Most senior feeds are high in beet pulp to begin with which is why they soak up nice into a mash. You could also add some Junior feed to increase calories along with the senior. I keep my old guy blanketed and he has choice of a stall or a run-in shed. Most of the time he perfers the shed... more area to survey his domain. :) I also have his teeth looked at every 6 months. Old horses require lots of care, but they have earned it. I hope the wobbles aren't due to EPM or a problem with his inner ear. If he gets wobbly again I'd have the vet check him out. Wobbly is not normal for an old horse. They tend to move slower, but should still be bright eyed and eager. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 681
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas | The old mare at our boarding barn died a few weeks ago during one of the colder spells we've had... She was probably 36-38.. I don't know if the temp was directly responsible or if it was just her time.. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342
Location: Ohio | I have a 33 year old saddlebred gelding that is a hard keeper even in the most luscious grasses. I took him in as a 30 year old and he's been a constant struggle. We thought we were going to loose him last winter, but hes a tough old bird. His teeth are in really bad shape. He's missing a few of them and his grinders are almost gone-rs. We have had the dentist out every 6 months like clockwork to have them worked on. We have not blanketed him once this winter and dont see a need to. He gets orchard/ timothy grass hay in the morning and at night and 1 1/2 lbs of pelleted senior feed, 1 1/2 lbs of pelleted forage extender, 1 1/2 lbs of pelleted sweet feed (because he likes it so much) and 1 1/2 lbs of rolled oats mixed with a cup of corn oil per day. Sometimes I will give beet pulp and make a mash on the really cold nights. I have put 130 lbs on him with this mix and it maintains his weight through the winter very well. We do have to work to keep the other horses off his feed. He gets put in the barn while the others eat outside. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Northern CA | Forgot to mention blanketing your horse. This really does help keep weight on a horse during the winter. Just make sure some one is able to blanket according to temperature fluxes. A heavy-weight versus medium or light-weight some days. Also, horses lose a lot of weight when they can't or don't have a place to lay down. Horses DO NEED to lay down. Especially the older ones. If you can, give him a run-in shelter ( 3-sided, with roof ) and make sure floor is dry with shavings so he will lay down when needed. May need to separate him from other horses too. That way you can provide , to him only, free feeding. |
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Expert
Posts: 2828
Location: Southern New Mexico | Originally written by ridingarocky on 2011-01-26 6:05 AM
The old mare at our boarding barn died a few weeks ago during one of the colder spells we've had... She was probably 36-38.. I don't know if the temp was directly responsible or if it was just her time.. I lost my old mare (+-26) last Feb and I knew her time was comming but I think the cold had a lot to do with it. She'd had problems with it since she came to us at 16yrs old. Just couldn't hold weight when it started getting below about 60 with out a blanket or 2. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 330
Location: northeast Texas | I have an 18 yo crippled stallion and a 6 yo barrel/team roping gelding. We raised the gelding and bought the stud as a weanling. The gelding has lost most of his back teeth. They are both blanketed when its cold or wet. They both get beet pulp and alfalfa pellets soaked in hot water twice a day. We keep a roll of good Tifton 85 hay in front of them to eat on 24/7 and they have run in shelters. In summer they are on pasture but still get the soaked beet pulp and alfalfa twice a day. Both are fat and look good, although the stud has alot of atrophy in the right hip from his stifle injury as a 2 yo and the gelding is really swayback. Otherwise they are healthy and active. The gelding had started loosing weight last winter so we started the soaked pulp and pellets and he picked right back up quickly. That was after a trip to the vet showed his lack of grinding teeth. I am 50 and I got his mom when I was 9 and rode her 23 years. My husband owned his sire when we married, a son of Barred by Three Bars. So he is family to us. The stud is an APHA tobiano that is Gay Bar King and War Leo up close and made us alot of money in the 90's. He has lots of get doing well on the rodeo circuit. So we feel obliged to take care of him. I cant stand to see animals starved or mistreated. We feed them pretty simply, but it works well. |
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Veteran
Posts: 140
Location: Ft. Lawn, South Carolina | Calamity, We have a horse (Arabian) knocking on the door of 40!! Although our winters are not like yours, they have been cold enough! We soak Life Design Senior (Nutreena) , add 1/4 cup of corn oil to AM and PM feedings. I have added a smaller "lunch" feeding at the suggestion of our vet. He has a nice 1200 denier , waterproof blanket that has made all the difference. He isn't burning calories trying to stay warm! The difference has been amazing....like you, we go the extra mile for this older guy...and all the rest too! |
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Veteran
Posts: 214
Location: lyle,mn | How much do you think it cost you a month to feed these senior horses? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: missouri | Well, Dawnb, how much does it cost to keep old family members alive?? Notice I'm not asking for anybody to supplement our household.... it costs what it costs. Frankly, I would spend more to save our horses than most people! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 376
Location: Missouri | Jane, have you given any thought to giving her to a petting zoo? We had an arab mare that was really getting hard to keep. At the age of 34, I gave her to a petting zoo. She is now 42 and doing well. She gives the kids bareback rides so long as the kids just go where she takes them. They feed her a warm mash. She was really poor when they took her. Now she almost looks like a mid 20's mare.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: missouri | A Petting Zoo. Nice thought. I might take him, my old mom, and my husband too! Where we live, there aren't many of those... most of our neighbors just shoot things that get old or sick or "in the way". I owe this ole boy a home as long as he breathes and thats that. |
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Expert
Posts: 2828
Location: Southern New Mexico | Originally written by dawnb on 2011-02-05 9:33 PM
How much do you think it cost you a month to feed these senior horses? I spent about $150 a month feeding my old mare and she had earned every bit of it over the years. Best kids horse I've ever found. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: missouri | Terri; thank you for being a fellow good egg. I think our responsibility begins the day we commit to take a horse home with us... I don't take these things lightly, and neither should others. It is all about honor. If we have that and nothing else, we are rich. |
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Veteran
Posts: 214
Location: lyle,mn | Originally written by bbsmfg3 on 2011-02-05 3:45 PM
Jane, have you given any thought to giving her to a petting zoo? We had an arab mare that was really getting hard to keep. At the age of 34, I gave her to a petting zoo. She is now 42 and doing well. She gives the kids bareback rides so long as the kids just go where she takes them. They feed her a warm mash. She was really poor when they took her. Now she almost looks like a mid 20's mare. Wow talked about getting slapped for asking a question. I didn't accuse of asking for a hand out, I was wondering as we have 22 yr old that in the future will be needing help and was wondering the cost. I won't bother you again. Sorry I asked! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: missouri | Hey Dawnb, I don't wanna touch any nerves at all... It just seems that so many people we know think we should have put him down a long time ago. I am sensitive about it. Most of our neighbors nags look like they are already dead! But of course they are all champions, etc....yadda,yadda,yadda... my ole guy really is one (with a speed index of 101 as a three year old) he earned his keep. Sorry if I go overboard and my fangs come out... its a middle age presto chango thing I can't always keep in check. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 376
Location: Missouri | Dawnb, I sure wouldn't call "considering a petting zoo" as a slap down.. Quite the contrary. A petting zoo, is an excellent alternative. They are treated much better there than I could even begin to do. They have every thing at their finger tips and know how to handle aged animals. The only thing missing is your not right there with them, and I understand how that can be a problem with folks.
There's no way I could have kept my mare in the condition she is now in. She is 42 years old and still getting around great. I believe that speaks for itself. |
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Veteran
Posts: 214
Location: lyle,mn | I guess I highlite the wrong quoto, Sorry about that! Like said I just that a ball figure to fed a senior horse since we have a mare that is 22 yrs old her teeth are getting worn down but is doing fine so far on hay 24/7 and a little bit of grain. She is mare that will live at our place until she dies. She has earned her keep from us and it is our turn to take care of her. I didn't make any accusation and felt hurt that I was accused of saying that someone was looking for a handout when I didn't say that at all. This long cold winter is taking its toll on all us and our livestock. My our older horses live a good life with lots of love and special feed that can keep them going. |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
Location: Vermont | Besides senior feed...add cracked barley to a senior's diet for the winter... |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: missouri | Hey... I have not tried cracked barley, but I do add shredded beet pulp to his senior feed, and Daily 72 and Red cell. He is doing alot better. Of course I've got my other drama in the barn with my mare KoKo and her stifle injury... ouch. Like Dawnb said, this winter may take it's toll on us all. |
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