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  Discussion on Old Horse having problems chewing
Author Message
Member:
Mickey01

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004 - 2:50 pm:

I have a 32yo arab mare that only has two teeth in both sides of her upper jaws. She had stopped eating because of an infected tooth which was just removed. The vet says she needs to gain about 50 pounds. Before she stopped eating, I was feeding her 6# of Eq Senior, 1.5# alfalfa pellets, 1.5# of Ultimate Finish, 1# of rice bran, 1# of soaked beet pulp, 2 cups of oil, and free feed alfalfa cubes. She has trouble eating alfalfa cubes unless they are soaked. In this weather, they freeze before she can eat enough to keep her weight up. I've heard of chopped hay that is only about 2" long and packed in 50" bags. However, I can't find a source. Has anyone ever heard of this?
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004 - 3:19 pm:

When I lived in Northern California we used to feed something called "all in one" which was chopped alfalfa molassas with vitamins and minerals added. I fed it to the older horses and they loved it. I think it may have been made by a local mill. I know there are other similar products out there. Maybe contact some of the feed mills like Purena, Nutrena, and some of the mills in your area, if there are any.

Also, just a thought, but if you can't find a ready made product, I wonder if a leaf mulcher could be used to chop your own alfalfa?
Member:
Redalert

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004 - 3:28 pm:

Seminole Feeds make a chopped hay mixture(chaff) that might suit your needs! I have fed it to my older horses with ease in the winter to supplement their hay intake...think it is called "show chaff"! I've just mixed it in with their wet feed, however it seems like you may not be able to do that because of your temperatures! Maybe you could just provide it in a separate bucket for your mare.
Member:
Kthorse

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004 - 8:31 pm:

Hi another is Dengi hay. You can get mixed or Alfalfa. You should be able to get it easily. It comes in 50 pound bags
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 29, 2004 - 9:16 pm:

I fed my gelding ( who had no molars at all), Kwik, a pelleted whole feed with Focus Weight, a supplement for hard keeping horses ( I forget the manufacturer - Life Data maybe? ), that worked wonders in the last years of my 38 yr old gelding's life. In winter, the water we added was very warm, and we added enough to form a virtual "mush". We also fed him 3 times a day, because he did much better on smaller portions fed more often throughout the day. Corn oil was added to each feeding.
Member:
Mickey01

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 4, 2005 - 3:02 pm:

Thanks for the input! I've ordered some Dengi hay, which should be delivered by next week. If she will eat it, I will see if my feed store can order it in bulk for me. The shipping charge is more than the cost of the hay. They're also sending me their Senior formula to try. I'll let you know how it works!
Member:
Vaeqres

Posted on Monday, Jan 10, 2005 - 3:12 pm:

Hi. The Horse Kwik that Elizabeth mentioned is a Nutrena product, so it should be fairly available. They also have a timothy/alfalfa blend cube called Bio-Cubes, which is fairly soft and can be broken apart by hand if your horse has no front teeth either. The benefit is that the blend of timothy and alfalfa has a far better calcium/phos. balance than alfalfa cubes alone. If you serve them dry, your horse will salivate naturally, which helps prevent ulcers. Saliva has a neutralizing effect on stomach acids and nature intended that they make and swallow lots of it. And the stem-length is like already-been-chewed hay. My horses love them and don't waste any. 5 pounds of cubes is just like a 5 pound flake of top quality blended hay.
Member:
Mickey01

Posted on Monday, Jan 10, 2005 - 5:28 pm:

I haven't gotten the Dengi Hay or Senior formula from Seminole Feeds yet. They should be delivered any day now. I'll ask my feed store about Horse Kwik and the Bio-Cubes. I'll keep you posted. Thanks!
Member:
Mickey01

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 18, 2005 - 12:16 pm:

Just a quick update. The Dengi Hay finally arrived, and my arab is eating it. I won't say she "loves" it, but at least she is eating. Hopefully she'll now be able to pick up some weight in spite of the weather. Thanks for all the help!
New Member:
dawndnj

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007 - 1:41 pm:

I have a 30-something Percheron cross who is missing many of his teeth. He does not do well on hay, alfalfa, or any other refined or finely cut grass mixtures. I have found that he does well on Blue Seal's Hay Stretcher. It is a pelletized form of hay. I give him 4-6 scoops nightly with his feed watered down. His feed is a mix of Blue Seal Vintage Senior, Triple Crown Complete and a small scoop of beet pulp. This combination put weight back on (I bought him severely malnourished) and has maintained his weight since then. I highly recommend anyone trying to keep weight on an older horse to try Blue Seal Hay Stretcher. You can also use this for any other horse in your herd. It can be a great supplement when hay isn't as available.
Member:
canyon28

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 13, 2007 - 2:21 pm:

You should also use vegatable oil to put weight on any horse that is thin. Start with half a cup on the pellets, working up to two cups a day after a couple of weeks. I bought huge jugs of soy oil at Sams club, costco would also have the same thing. My stallion, Bill the Cutter, lived on Nutrena senior, rolled grain, hay pellets, oil, and screened hay leaves for over 4 years. He had no back teeth and could not even graze grass, it would just ball up in his mouth. He was smart enough to never try to eat stems, but I screened all his hay through a plastic screen with about 1/2 inch openings anyway. He would meticulously pic through the hay and avoid any sharp stem pieces I would find them all in his feed tub every morning. He really loved being able to eat hay, I think it had been years since he was given anything but pellets. he didnt really like the Purina, or beet pulp, I think Purina is mostly beet pulp or something, and after he had gained some weight, he refused to eat it or the beet pulp anymore. i mixed the rolled grain and all the pellets together and fed him about 3 gallons of this a day plus the hay, which amounted to about three flakes of screened alfalfa hay per day. If your horse has a kidney or liver problem you can buy timothy pellets from Standley feeds. Sometimes I covered the grain and pellets with warm water, mainly through the winter, other times he seemed to like them dry. Giving an older horse warm water on their grain is a good idea in winter anyway, because they need all the water you can get them to consume. He was a breeding stallion right up until the week before he died of a heart attack or a stroke. He was 27 when I got him and 31 when he died.
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