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...

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.

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.  

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.

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!

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.