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Discussion on When to switch to a senior feed?
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 24, 2006 - 8:26 am:
Hi All,
I know this a very general question, but I got thinking about it the other day & wanted to see what everyone's thoughts were.
My mare will be 16 this spring. She is in great health and up to date on all vaccines, worming, teeth, farrier. Her attitude is fabulous and she is working great for me. With all that said:
1. When, in general, do people put their horses on a senior feed?
2. Generally speaking, what's the difference between a senior feed and a performance feed of the same brand? Increases of specific nutrients? Easier to chew? More palatable?
There is nothing my horse is doing (or not doing) that prompts this question...we were discussing a 28 year old horse at the barn who until recently looks like he is 10 and it got me thinking about keeping my mare that healthy until she's 100 or so 
Thanks,
Fran
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Member:
Lilly
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 24, 2006 - 9:04 am:
Fran,
Thank you for posting this question!!! I have a 20 year old (possibly older) gelding who eats sweet feed. I am really not happy with him getting all of that sugar in his diet and I wondered if senior feed would be a better choice. Also, I have heard of older horses not being able to chew as well. At what age should carrots be discontinued? I have seen a horse choke before and it scared the you-know-what out of me.
Ann
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Member:
Vickiann
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 24, 2006 - 8:27 pm:
Would like to suggest a book called Help Your Horse Live A Good Long Life by Karen E.N. Hayes, D.V.M., M.S. She lists all the ingredients you should look for in a Senior Feed. Many feel horses don't need Senior Feed until they no longer keep weight on, but she feels we must pay a great deal of attention to diets after age 10 so what is fed doesn't create problems (insulin resistance) that are avoidable. (Chapter 2 is titled: Feed your senior horse as though he were a different species). You can find her books at: www.theperfectstall.com What she says seems to make a lot of good sense and in lectures her before and after photos of horses are convincing.
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006 - 7:50 am:
Thanks for the suggestion, Vicki, I'll look into the book. However, I'm not entirely convinced that sweet feed is a bad thing for an otherwise healthy horse. Although my mare is not fed it, at the barn where I board, there are several quite old horses. One, is the 28 year old I mention in my first post (Paint), there's another aprox 28 year old retired Appendix, 2 Paint mares who are roughly 25 or 26 years old and 1 only-God knows-how-old pony. All are in incredible shape, 3 of the 5 are still in light work (trail rides and lessons for small kids). All of these horses are fed sweet feed (not sure about the pony) and they get good routine care. It's only recently that the 28 yo Paint gelding is having some health issues (mild bouts of colic) and that's what prompted me to wonder about when was the best time to think about a senior feed for my horse.
Ann, I wonder if your equine dentist or vet could tell you when it's time to stop the carrots. I guess a good exam of the teeth and observation of how well he chews his feed & hay would be an indication of how well he could handle carrots.
Any other thoughts out there?
Thanks,
Fran
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006 - 8:00 am:
Taking your questions in order:
1) Certainly 2 of the most common reasons we recommend switching Senior Feed's are:- when "regular feeds" fed at rates greater than 4 lb per feeding per 1000 lbs of horse no longer maintain weight
- if horses have trouble chewing
2) Though both types feeds vary somewhat from company to company: yes to all the factors you state though it is up to the horse to decide how palatable a feed is. Senior feeds tend to derive more on their energy from fat and have higher protein. Purina believes older horses also benefit from a boost in vitamin C.
Dr. Hay's suggestion that "we must pay a great deal of attention to diets after age 10 so what is fed doesn't create problems (insulin resistance) that are avoidable" is without any scientific support with respect to IR. The biggest reason older horses develop insulin resistance seems to be hormone secreting pituitary tumors and I do not know any studies to suggest diet will effect this. This is in opposition to younger horses with insulin resistance where diet may play a role but this is not certain either.
DrO
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Member:
Vickiann
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006 - 11:41 am:
Good information -- thank you. I think we all agree sweet feed is fine for many horses, though not all sweet or senior feeds are created equally. One of my horses (who always ate the most sweet feed and carrots because he was used the most) began not doing well on it at age 13, and the deterioration was troubling. He is performing much better on a low starch feed and is starting to look better too. Dr. Hayes book also tells about the possible increased need for vitamin C, and suggests scenarios where one may wish to add flax seed or vitamin E to the diet as well.
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006 - 11:57 am:
Thanks, DrO. I will leave well enough alone for now & keep my mare on her performance feed as she continues to thrive on it.
As always...Thanks!
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Member:
Paul303
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 26, 2006 - 3:27 am:
I feel that, if things are going well, your horse is healthy, happy, and maintains a normal activity level, well - then you must be doing something right.
I'm not as enthusiastic about the sweet feed, though. I'm the type who tends to study what the natural diet of a species has been as it has evolved through the years. Then I factor in any "special individual dietary needs", and add these supplements to a minimal amount of whole feed. I don't believe horses evolved eating molasses, corn and whole grains. Generally, I like them to eat grass when available, and good hay.....and sometimes lots of stemmy or grassy hay when their weight is a factor.
Sweet feed was all I saw from the sixties to the late seventies. But then, it was unusual for horses to live much past 12 or 15. A lot of things have changed since then ( thank God ), horses have become a great industry, vital to the economy, and tons of research and studies have been done. Horse feed and supplements are a huge industry. It's so easy to become overwhelmed and confused.
I personally favor the whole feeds if you don't show or have a performance horse that is in strenuous training. They have worked well on all the horses I've owned - even those that had lost all their molars. Also, the whole feed does not attract flies the way sweet feed does. That, in itself, is a major plus.
As for carrots, NO, to sugar sensitive horses, like my 26 yr. old QH mare ( home foaled and raised ), who has Cushings, but for my 38 yr old pinto gelding ( died 2000 ), who had no molars for the last 8 yrs of his life, I just chewed up the carrots and spit them out in my hand before I gave them to him.
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 26, 2006 - 8:04 am:
Lee,
I don't feed the sweet feed to my horse, but as I noted, there are several quite old horses at the barn who've thrived on the sweet feed. My mare get's a pelleted, well balanced feed (Buckeye Supreme) and I am in complete agreement with you that good quality hay and access to grazing is essential. I think a balanced feed (+grass and hay) allow me to keep her in great shape and it allows me to keep the supplements at a minimum. My horse only gets supplemented with Cosequin (because I'm neurotic) and biotin because she's always had poor hoof quality until the past year or so. She is a performance horse and we work hard about 4x/week with the hopes of showing this summer (she's ready...I'm not!
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Member:
Redalert
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 26, 2006 - 9:46 am:
Hey Fran
If you are going to be showing that beautiful mare in your profile picture, you already have one thing right ... she is gorgeous! Good luck, and my advice on when to go to the Senior feed is when teeth problems occur in general, and by looking at your horse chew, as well as general body, coat, hoof, condition(as everyone has already noted. I really just wanted to comment on your beautiful horse!)
Nancy
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 26, 2006 - 1:01 pm:
Nancy, thanks so much for the kind words. The horse pictured in my profile is indeed my one and only and I thank my lucky stars every day that I found her (with the help of my previous trainer). It's unlikely that I'll ever again find a horse of this training, breeding or temperament for the price I paid for her. She's been an amazing school mistress and I know I'll not likely ever ride up to her talents but she has taught me tons. I'd just like to be able to show at a couple of locally rated shows to give myself further goals to work on as I continue to learn.
And besides that, I simply love the beast and want to take the best possible care of her.
You made my day, Nancy - Thanks!
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Member:
Mrose
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Posted on Thursday, Jan 26, 2006 - 2:22 pm:
My personal philosophy is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Your mare is beautiful and looks great. If she starts to DrOp weight even with a good worming program, then I'd consider the senior feeds. I've got two mares that get it along with their hay, one is in her mid-twentys, and the other is only 16, but is more difficult to keep weight on. I also give it to young horses in training. (I use Equine Senior)
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Member:
Green007
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Posted on Monday, Jan 30, 2006 - 8:29 am:
I give Sr feed to my 3 year old and he has bloomed on it. It isn't just for oldies, it can be for hard keepers too. I use Triple Crown Senior.
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