Advice Greatly Appreciated

[mags1320]

I have just recently acquired a rescue, she is a beautiful 28 y.o. Thoroughbred/QH cross. She has a couple of issues though, she is between 200-300 lbs underweight. She had a 15 y.o daughter at her side (we finally got them seperated last weekend). She hadn't had her teeth floated in years so she has severe wavemouth and is missing several teeth. I'm going to switch her to Southern States Triple Crown Senior as it blows every other senior out of the water. She is currently eating 10 lbs of grain a day, plus corn oil, and soaked alfalfa pellets. I'm switching her to three meals a day, as she was only getting fed once a week. The woman would split a 50 lb bag between 3 horses all at once. What is everyone's opinion on hay, beet pulp vs. alfalfa pellets and 2 or 3 feedings a day? Thanks
Maggie

 

[Cowgirl]

Poor horse....the way she was getting treated was a recipe for disaster! I would definitely feed her 3 times a day...the more often the better. I would make sure she has access to a good grass hay at all times. If you can't do that, I would feed her hay at least 10-15 minutes prior to her grain... it helps them not to pig out on the grain quite so quickly. We had a TB that was in the same situation, about 300lbs under weight...his previous owner didn't want to feed him apparently. That horse ate like he thought it was his last meal. I would give her hay instead of alfalfa pellets for few reasons....she's already getting alot of grain and corn oil...so I think a good grass hay would be fine. Alfalfa pellets can be eaten too quickly...it takes longer for them to eat and digest hay. JMHO. Good luck with her!

 

[Pasofever]

I am a big fan of beet pulp that is what is in your Sr anyway. SHe is going to be tough..most TBs alone are hard to deal with then 28 yrs on top of that. I would make my own Sr. I would give beet pulp and grain (hay also) 3 X day. Pulp take your dry pulp (up to 3 1/3 lbs dry per feeding up to 10 lbs dry weight per day) put in an 8 qt bucket add enough warm water to just bairly top the pulp and feed in 5-15 min after soaking..it will really put the weight on her.

Good luck

ps no more then 5 lbs of grain per feeding or too much sugar/starch builds up in the hind gut..

 

[HorseLady]

I'm a HUGE fan of Blue Seal Senior. Have friends who have a 35+ yr old horse to that has been surviving for the past 5 yrs on Blue Seal alone and looks wonderful dispite not having a tooth in his mouth. He makes a mighty effort at eating their lush pastures but only leaves "grass balls" and "hay balls" behind. Blue Seal reminds me of Cocoa Puffs for horses! It has everything they need preprocessed so they just need to swallow. With your horses wavey teeth it is going to be almost impossible to correct. At least put her on Blue Seal for several months and then see if you can wean her off it to a regular senior feed. We tried the beet pulp for a few months - it was messy, stinky, only eaten cause he had to, and because he had such dental problems I don't think he was able to chew it properly. He and one other horse we had are the only horses we've ever had choke and it was while they were on beet pulp. I can't see any good reason to feed it. I'd also stay away from feeding her alfalfa cubes - they are too dry and hard for older horses to chew properly, we feed them as occasional treats carefully. There are a few nice weight builder products that can be added to the Blue Seal and aren't as messy as the oil (I've compared the cost and by the serving much cheaper.) Hurrah for taking on an older horse!!!!

 

[Dreamer]

I'm a HUGE fan of Blue Seal Senior. Blue Seal reminds me of Cocoa Puffs for horses! It has everything they need preprocessed so they just need to swallow. With your horses wavey teeth it is going to be almost impossible to correct. At least put her on Blue Seal for several months and then see if you can wean her off it to a regular senior feed.

You can't beat Blue Seal -- no need to add anything to it, it does a great job alone.

 

[persimmoncf]

IMO the key here is unlimited good grass hay (orchard/timothy) and numerous small meals...10lbs of concentrate is way too much at one time-mostly for her. I have a couple hard keepers and I feed equitech 10 and Legands maturity pellets and triplecrown complete. For the horse that wont eat the hay I feed a bagged chopped forage. All of these products are from southern states.
Also, if they didnt know how to feed her, then Im sure they didnt know how to worm her also. Make sure that you are conservative with your initial wormings. Starting with a daily wormer or a panacur powerpak. Talk to your vet for other options.

 

[Four*Leaf*Farm]

Free choice, good quality hay should be number one. I also have to give a
for blue seal senior. It might be kinda dry for some older horses who may have been on some type of molasses feed all their lives - like mine - so I would have to highly recommend cocosoya oil. www.uckele.com instead of corn oil.
Good luck with her and keep us posted on her progress.

 

[Josimmon]

My rescue was given beet pulp because he was under weight...but the woman who owned the farm did not soak it...my TB cross choked very bad...I would not recommend any that was not soaked first.

 

[Dreamer]

My rescue was given beet pulp because he was under weight...but the woman who owned the farm did not soak it...my TB cross choked very bad...I would not recommend any that was not soaked first.

Should be soaked overnight for best results. I believe Blue Seal Senior has beet pulp as one of the ingredients.

 

[mags1320]

Thanks

So far everyone has given me good advice. As of right now she's not really eating the hay, she more or less just goes through the motion of trying to eat it but is pretty much dropping it all. As far as the alfalfa pellets, they are soaked for at least a half hour prior to feeding them to her. The Triple Crown Senior, I've come to find out is created as a "forage" so that in essence I can replace her hay with the feed. I've never heard of the Blue Seal that everyone seems to be very fond of, I'm not sure I can even get it in this area. It's hard enough getting the Triple Crown Senior, almost everyone around here is either on Purina, Nutrena or Amber Grains. I'm actually going to be moving her tomorrow. (I don't own land) but I'm trading my gelding for a one year lease. Not a bad deal and I still get to see him every day Now she'll have a shelter and I will actually be able to give her hot water at night to warm her from the inside. Hopefully I'll be able to at least get her on an upward swing, right now all I'm worried about is her comfort level. Anyone else who has had a senior horse if you have advice that you think I should know I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
Maggie

 

[HorseLady]

The Blue Seal feed we get here is produced under another name where you are.... I'm trying to remember what it is.... I'm sure when I go back to sleep I'll remember and post when I do. Her dropping her hay is a sign you need to replace it with the senior feed - the Blue Seal is advantageous over other brands I've seen as they have whole grains and chunks of beet pulp mixed in with the pellets and she is just not able to chew enough to digest it properly. I think if you did a web search on Blue Seal feeds you may be able to find what brand it is locally in your area. Keep us posted on how she does!!