As they age, horses tend to fall to lower positions of status within the herd. Research carried out on Icelandic horses indicated that rank in the herd could affect horse’s food availability considerably. The classic sign of ineffective chewing is quidding – the formation of balls of partially chewed hay that are too large to be swallowed and drop out of the mouth when the horse tries to eat. However, quidding is a rather advanced sign and may not always appear to start with.

Perhaps the most problematic aspect of how to feed an old horse is what happens to its teeth. At the time they erupt in a young horse, a horse’s cheek teeth are approximately 4” in length (including the exposed/erupted part and the portion within the jaw). Over the years, munching grass and hay cause these teeth to wear down over time. By the time horses are in their late twenties to early thirties, most have lost the majority of their teeth. This is normal and part of the ageing process. When Kim brought Roxy she suspected gastric ulcers and when looking at different feeds to promote digestive health and condition she decided on Healthy Tummy. Now all her horses are fed Healthy Tummy! Horses vary in how wet they like their soaked feeds. Some like them just moist enough to barely crumble, while others will eat/drink their feed in soup consistency. As a general rule, the more water the better. This makes the feed similar to pasture, improves digestibility, helps protect against choking and keeps an old horse well-hydrated. Good hydration stops food from moving slowly in the guts and reduces the risk of spasmodic or impaction colic. How long will it take to soak old horse feed? Faecal egg counts and the new saliva tests for tapeworms, done before deworming with a paste, will tell you if your worming programme is working. Making sure you do these on your old horse will tell you if you have a problem with resistance. If your worm counts identify species not normally found in adult horses such as ascarids or stongyloides, then you know you have a problem with resistance.The decision to carry out scientific analysis on the grass and hay an elderly horse eats, depends largely on whether you have control over the forage eaten and the amount eaten each day. There are many old horse or veteran complete horse feeds on the market, but they often contain bulk fillers such as oat and wheat feed in high amounts, which are not necessary in the diet of horses. In addition, most of these feeds supply high amounts of molasses which is not desirable in large amounts when substituting hay for an old horse. We believe the smart horse owner buys the separate single feeds and mixes them so that the horse has the best chance of health. Avoid grass based products for laminitics as they may contain high levels of water soluble carbohydrate.

Over-feeding cereal-based feeds in one meal can also cause digestive upsets, hence the rule of feeding little and often to horses. This is because cereal feeds contain a lot of starch and the horse has a relatively small capacity for absorbing it. If starch reaches the sensitive hind gut, problems such as laminitis and colic can occur. Karyce realised she was going to have to make some drastic changes to the lifestyle of Della her Welsh Section C mare – she had to lose some weight as she was at risk of getting laminitis.

Once it is determined that the natural ageing process means an old horse needs a diet change, due to reduced chewing power and possibly digestive function, then a change to a soft wet diet is a must. Follow the manufacturers’ guidelines when soaking any of the high-fibre fast-soak horse feeds. In general cold water will take much longer than hot water. If using cold water an overnight soak may be needed. If using hot water the soak may only take 15 to 30 minutes.