Feeding The Veteran Horse

There are three primary considerations that you should take into account when feeding a veteran horse;

a) Ease of chewing

b) Digestibility of nutrients

c) Palatability

Ease of chewing

Dental problems are common in older horses and frequently result in loss of body condition. Signs that may indicate that your veteran is having problems chewing hay will include ‘quidding’. This is when lumps of partially chewed hay will be spat out and left on the floor. If the lengths of fibres in the horse’s droppings are getting longer, then this is another indication that he is not digesting his fibre properly and the horse should have his teeth checked.

Fibre is ESSENTIAL to maintaining a healthy digestive system in any horse, old or young. If your horse is unable to cope with chewing long-stem forage, you may need to offer a more easily chewed form of fibre. Haylage is one alternative as this is usually softer than hay, but if even this is difficult for the older horse to chew, a soft, soaked high-fibre alternative could be offered such as Saracen Super Fibre Cubes, mixed with a little chaff and sugar beet, can be offered as an alternative to a hay net.

Forage should form the basis of every horse’s diet. As a general rule of thumb long-stem forage (grass, hay, and haylage) should be fed 1.5% - 2% of body weight per day and should NEVER fall below 1% of body weight per day. It is essential that all horses have their forage requirements met and this can easily be done using forage replacers if your horse struggles to consume enough long-stem forage.

Commonly used products on the market are Saracen Super Fibre Cubes, or short-chop chaffs such as Dengie Hi-Fi. It is very important to recognise that combinations of these forage replacers need to be fed at the same rate as long-stem forage to support maintenance of body condition and digestive health. These items can be mixed together and fed in a large bucket to replace hay nets.

Digestibility of Nutrients

As horses age, the efficiency of their digestive tract begins to decline. Specially formulated veteran rations can be of great benefit in ensuring efficient utilisation of feed and forage in older horses who may have a less efficient digestive system. Maintaining hindgut health is vital, as horses rely on energy production through the fermentation of fibre in the hindgut. To maximise energy extraction from fibre, a healthy symbiotic relationship between the horse and the hindgut microorganisms needs to be maintained. The addition of a live yeast has been found to increase the production of volatile fatty acids, which the horse directly uses for energy (calories). Supplementation with a yeast has also been found to increase protein bio-availability, which is especially important in diets of older horses who may require additional support in maintaining muscle mass.

Palatability

Saracen Horse Feeds Palatability Plus is the evolution of a simple concept to support and maintain feed palatability, intake and appetite. Palatability Plus is a unique seasoning that is formulated to maintain high levels of taste, and feed intake using a unique savoury profile when combined with Saracen Horse Feeds, encapsulated flavours, such as malted flavour used in our Veteran Mash and Balancer.

Feeding a veteran poor doer:

When feeding an older horse who has a higher calorie requirement or compromised dentition, we look towards providing easily digestible calories as when horses age, their digestive systems may become slightly less efficient.

Feeding a veteran good doer:

Veteran horses who maintain their weight well on a small amount of feed benefit from a diet high in quality protein, providing essential amino acids to help maintain optimum muscle mass, coat and hoof condition. These horses and ponies are well suited to a balancer, such as Veteran Balancer, which will provide all the nutrients they require at a low-calorie level.