Diet Planning Feeding the Veteran over the Winter Months

Tracey Hammond M.Sc. (Dist)

The winter months mean management changes for many horses and ponies and those in their ‘senior years’ may sometimes need a little extra support to ensure they emerge from winter full of the joys of spring. If you have a ‘20 going on 2-year-old’, or an aged veteran with poor dentition read on to see how different feeding management strategies can help to see them through the rest of this winter.

Feeding the young at heart!

Improved knowledge, veterinary care and nutrition mean that horses and ponies are living much longer and our perception of what defines an old horse has changed. Although many senior mixes and cubes are available not every senior horse or pony needs them, especially those that hold their weight well or the ‘20 going on 2-year-olds’ that are just as excitable as their younger companions. In most cases this results in less than the recommended quantity being fed, which means that the horse or pony misses out on important vitamins and minerals as well as all the extra added ‘goodies’ designed to support the ageing horse or pony.

For the older horse or pony that has no senior specific problems the main priority is to continue to feed a suitable ration according to their bodyweight and workload and to ensure that the ration is balanced. Any of the Dengie fibre feed products such as those from the Alfa-A and Hi-Fi range may be fed to a senior horse according to condition and workload and as they all contain alfalfa, they provide good quality protein and can help to support topline in those that are advancing in years. To provide a balanced ration a broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement such as Natural Vitality Senior Vits & Mins, or alternatively the NEW Alfa-A or Hi-Fi Balancer should also be used alongside.

Natural Vitality Senior Vits & Mins is a broad-spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement formulated to meet the needs of the older horse or pony. However, it is much more than just a vitamin and mineral supplement as it also contains the prebiotics FOS and MOS to support digestive health, glucosamine for joint support and elevated levels of vitamin C which is an important antioxidant for lung health. If you are looking for a more economical option without all the ‘extra added goodies’ then Natural Vitality Leisure Vits & Mins will provide a balanced ration.

Feeding Veterans with Senior Specific Problems

Poor dentition, weight loss, Cushing’s disease and laminitis are just some of the problems that a veteran horse may face. In practice this means that they require a more specialised ration all year round, but for those with poor teeth the winter months can be particularly challenging as the reliance on conserved long stem forage increases. Monitoring bodyweight and condition by regular use of a weigh tape and body condition scoring is good practice for any horse owner, but it is especially important for veteran horse owners as changes can be spotted quickly and appropriate alterations to the ration can be made.

Feeding Veterans with Poor Dentition

As horses age their teeth can become worn and loose, a problem that is usually first noticed when a horse drops partially chewed feed from its mouth which is termed ‘quidding’. For horses that quid, feeding long stem forage like hay and haylage can become a problem and poorly digested feed can lead to further complications including impaction colic; a common problem in older horses.

A Dengie funded study by Writtle College Equine Science student Tracy Mann, demonstrated that older horses and ponies with poor dentition are far more likely to refuse feeds that they cannot manage to chew. Given that a 500kg horse can eat around 6-8kg or more of forage in the winter months alongside grazing, it is not surprising that as soon as they start to struggle with forage they may lose weight.

Tracy’s study looked at the ability to consume three different types of fibre. The types of fibre used were hay, high temperature dried grasses and alfalfa (Hi-Fi Senior) and a soaked alfalfa and sugar beet combination (similar to Dengie Alfa-Beet). Hay was refused on 44% of occasions compared to just 6% with Hi-Fi Senior and there were no refusals with the alfalfa and sugar beet combination.

It is vital to remember that a horse needs fibre to maintain digestive health and Tracy’s study demonstrated the importance of ensuring your horse can manage to chew the fibre source provided. For maintaining digestive health, fibre intake should still equate to at least 1.5% of your veteran’s bodyweight; a 500kg horse would therefore require around 7.5kg of a fibre based feed per day. For horse’s that can no longer manage to chew long stem forage a short chop hay replacer such as Dengie Hi-Fi Senior combined with a soaked product such as Dengie Alfa-Beet are an ideal alternative.

Hi-Fi Senior combines short chop high temperature dried grasses and alfalfa and is suitable for use for total hay replacement. This year after several customer requests we are pleased to announce that we have been able to make some changes to our manufacturing processes to produce the softest ever Hi-Fi Senior making it even easier to chew. Although visually different, nutritionally the product remains the same and bales will shortly be appearing in stores with a New Softer Formulation sticker on the bale.

Soaking feeds to a ‘mash’ or ‘gruel’ consistency can also help make fibre easier to consume. Dengie Alfa-Beet combines alfalfa and unmolassed sugar beet with a convenient 15 minute hot soak time or 2 hour cold soak time and is approved by the Laminitis Trust. Dengie Alfa-Beet provides a highly digestible source of fibre that is also useful for weight gain and when soaked alongside Dengie Hi-Fi Senior, or alternatively a High Fibre Cube for horses with very poor dentition, can form part of the hay replacement ration.

As horses and ponies age their digestive efficiency may decrease. Natural Vitality Digestive Health is a pure Yea-Sacc¹⁰²⁶ supplement proven to improve the efficiency of fibre digestion. If your horse needs a little more help to maintain digestive health then Natural Vitality Digestive Health Plus which is a prebiotic, probiotic and yeast all in one supplement may alternatively be used.

Veteran Weight Management

If your veteran starts to lose weight it is important to try to ascertain why and not just to put it down to ‘old age’. Run through a checklist including a dental check, vet check and worming check to identify any problems. Also check your horse’s diet; in particular, are they eating as much hay as they used to? It may also be time to consider moving onto a more senior specific or higher energy feed that you would usually need for your horse to maintain weight.

In general, a veteran feed such as Dengie Fibremix Senior, is higher in energy or ‘calories’ and protein than a traditional mix of a similar calorie level. Fibremix Senior also has a vitamin and mineral premix more suited to the older horse’s requirements as well as good levels of antioxidants and chelated trace minerals for more efficient absorption. Veteran feeds often have additional ‘goodies’ added specifically to meet the needs of the veteran. For example, Fibremix Senior contains a prebiotic, probiotic and yeast for digestive health.

Unfortunately most senior mixes are unsuitable for veterans that have problems like laminitis or Cushing’s disease which require a low sugar and starch ration. Alfa-A Oil is Dengie’s highest calorie fibre feed and has a calorie level equivalent to a conditioning mix/cube, but without the starch. This makes Alfa-A Oil suitable for veterans that need weight gain but require a low sugar/starch ration and can also be fed alongside Dengie Alfa-Beet if extra condition is needed. Using Dengie Natural Vitality Senior Vits & Mins alongside will balance the ration.

If you feed by the ‘scoop’ it is important to know how much a scoop holds as it can be easy to underfeed fibre products as they don’t weigh much in a scoop. Whereas a large round scoop of any of the Alfa-A range products would weigh only 400g, a scoop of Fibremix Senior would weigh around 1.1kg. It is therefore well worth the extra effort to check appropriate quantities are used otherwise you may be using the right type of feed but still not get the desired weight gain. Splitting feeds up into small frequent meals can also help to promote condition and reduce the risk of digestive disturbance.

Feeding Veterans with Cushing’s and Laminitis

The dietary management of a horse or pony with Cushing’s disease should be based on a low sugar and starch diet, similar to horses with laminitis. Unfortunately one of the main problems associated with the Cushing’s horse is that they tend to be more prone to laminitis but this is not necessarily due to nutritional causes. This means that you may be doing everything right and yet laminitis can still occur.

Feeding according to weight and dental condition is also an additional consideration for horses and ponies with Cushing’s and laminitis. For those that maintain weight easily a low calorie, low sugar and starch product, like Dengie Hi-Fi Lite is suitable. Dengie Hi-Fi Lite combines alfalfa and straw with a low sugar coating and is approved by the Laminitis Trust. On average Hi-Fi Lite has around half the sugar level found in hay and can also be used as a hay replacer for horses and ponies that struggle to chew hay. For those that struggle to maintain weight Dengie Alfa-A Oil, Alfa-A Lite, Alfa-Beet and Alfalfa Pellets are all suitable feeds. Click here for further advice for feeding horses and ponies with Cushing’s disease.

If you need advice to plan your veteran’s feeding ration this winter contact the Dengie Feedline 0845 345 5115 or click here to send us an e-mail.