When is Your Horse Too Old

It is the day every horse owner fears, the day when you are told to start considering having your horse euthanized.

Old age unfortunately comes to us all, we all know with a healthier lifestyle and better diet its possible to prolong and enrich our lives so why should our horses be any different?

A relationship between a horse and their owner can be very strong, when you are told that it could be about to come to an end it can be heartbreaking but no horse should ever have to suffer because their owner can’t face making a difficult decision, unfortunately it’s the owner who has to suffer for the good of the horse.

A vet should always be consulted at the first sign of any difficulties your horse might be having, some ailments can be occurring just because your horse is old but otherwise in good health, like mobility problems, loss of weight, coat condition and even loss of teeth.

Not many owners will give up on their horse at the first sign of problems with old age, if they are losing weight they will increase their horse’s feed quantities, if their horse is getting stiff they might add some cod liver oil to the horse’s feed and if a horse has lost some teeth their feed can be soaked so it is more palatable. These are all common sense things to try but you could be doing more harm than good so it is essential to get the balance correct to get the maximum benefit.

In June 2008 Simone Piggin had called her vet to come and do her horse Sahara’s teeth, it wasn’t long after the vet started rasping Sahara’s teeth that they were falling out one after the other forcing him to stop.

Sahara was 27 years old when Simone had bought her as a been there, done it type for her daughter Paige to build her confidence after an accident on her last pony. Over the next year Sahara done her job perfectly, hacking out and schooling with nothing to worry Paige.

Unfortunately it wasn’t long before Paige wanted to be doing more than poor Sahara’s old bones and dropping weight would let her, so she was retired to the field to see out her days. It was when Sahara’s weight got worse that Simone called the vet to do her teeth. Now that this hadn’t helped and with Sahara’s weight at an all time low the vet suggested that it was time to consider having her euthanized.

Simone says “It seemed such a shame, Sahara seemed happy in herself even though she was 29 and underweight. I had doubled her feed intake but she just couldn’t put any weight on, she had made it through the winter so I decided as long as she didn’t get any worse I would let her enjoy the summer and then have her euthanized when winter arrived.”

Having decided to make Sahara’s time as good as possible Simone set about finding out as much information as she could.

There is a surprising amount of free help available, most feed companies have a nutritionist available to give advice on diet for individual cases. They can advise on diets for foals through to veterans and can tailor a plan if your horse has an intolerance to a type of feed.

Simone contacted Henrietta Smith, a feed advisor for Baileys horse feeds who explained that although a veteran mix Simone was using was an obvious choice, a conditioning feed would be better because it contains more calories so is more effective at putting on weight.

A conditioning feed such as Baileys Number 4 Conditioning Cubes contains non-heating, cooked, digestible ingredients which provide the necessary nutrients to help promote body condition. It is balanced in respect of energy, protein (which is essential in top line muscle development and repair), vitamins and minerals. It also has a high oil content which has 2.25 more calories than carbohydrates (cereals).

Dengie’s Alpha Beet could also be helpful as it is a low sugar conditioning feed which is suitable for older horses who are having difficulties chewing. Grass nuts can also be used as an extra source of calories for those with dentistry problems, which can be soaked into a gruel to make easier to eat.

Around six pounds of conditioning cubes can be fed each day, spread over two or three feeds to enable the horse to utilise their feed much more efficiently.

Another excellent addition to a horse’s diet, especially those struggling with weight is a pre-biotic supplement. Pre-biotics like Digest Plus help by feeding the beneficial bacteria in the hind gut which are involved in fibre digestion and B-vitamin production, It also helps keep bad bacteria at bay.

By keeping the gut healthy we can help combat any disruptions and keep our horses happy and healthy for longer.

After Simone followed Henrietta’s advice Sahara started to improve rapidly, she started to put on weight even though she was starting to have less feed than she was previously. The type of feed she was now having was much more balanced and was targeting all the correct areas that a horse of her age needed.

Despite being retired for some time Sahara’s condition had improved to such an extent that Paige had started to have the occasional ride on her from time to time. It was just three months after starting the new eating plan Sahara was taken to her first ever show, she entered three classes and came first in best mane and prettiest mare respectively, she also came second in best veteran. It was a fantastic achievement for a horse who wasn’t expected to be alive anymore, not to mention being placed at a local show.

So with a little time and some specialist guidance it could be possible for your horse, not only to live a little longer but to flourish just like Sahara.