05 Aug Feeding the Senior Horse

Is your horse showing signs of slowing down?

Senior horses are more likely to experience problems such as poor body weight and muscling, sway back, anaemia, weakened hooves, worn down or reduced teeth, lower immunity and reduced digestion.

As horses age, their dietary requirements change. Raw grains, in particular, are not well digested by the small intestine of older horses – over half the amount fed passes into the caecum where it ferments, yielding acid, heat, gas and ammonia.

Low digestibility in the small intestine predisposes senior horses to a loss of appetite, colic, diarrhoea and laminitis. It also impacts fibre, energy, protein and mineral absorption.

This means that horses from their late teens onwards require a highly digestible, balanced diet which may be very different from what they thrived on as a younger horse.

Keeping this in mind, Thompson & Redwood worked closely with our equine nutritionist team led by Jill Davies to develop a specialised feed Horse Cubes for Seniors, that combines the latest nutritional research with our quality, natural ingredients.

The result is a palatable, soluble fibre pellet for improved digestion, which can easily be dampened into a mash for horses with poor teeth.

Our Horse Cubes for Seniors is a conditioning feed which will assist older horses to maintain topline and body condition. The addition of pre and probiotics will help seniors to maintain healthy hind gut function as well as aiding nutrient absorption.

Added biotin and bioavailable vitamins/minerals have been added for hoof health and bone density. Antioxidants are also included – Vitamin E to help “mop the free radicals” and Vitamin C to improve immune function. These are particularly helpful to horses and ponies who are not always able to have access to fresh pasture.

Horse Cubes for Seniors are available at your favourite stockist,

Careful nourishment with Horse Cubes for Seniors will keep your horse thriving in their senior years.

Feeding Instructions

• Please introduce any new feed over a period of 14-21 days to allow your horse’s hindgut bacteria to adapt and reduce any chance of digestive upsets.
• Feed by weight and not by volume. If feeding more than 0.5kg per 100kg bodyweight per feed, you will need to divide into 2 or more smaller feeds.
• Feed little and often as the size of the horse’s stomach is small in comparison to the rest of the digestive system
• Make sure your horse or pony has access to fresh, clean drinking water and salt at all times
• Feed with the relevant amount of forage/fibre (eg hay, hayage, pasture or chaff). The minimum daily amount of fibre to feed is 1.5-2% of your horse’s bodyweight. For example, a 500kg horse would require 7.5-10kg of forage per day.
• Seasonal adjustments may have to be made
• If you feed less than the stated feeding rates, vitamin and mineral deficiencies might occur. Consider boosting with Lupin Fibre Boost (a complete fibre mash fortified with vitamins and minerals) to top up and ensure their minimum daily requirements are met.
• If your horse is on oxalate pastures like kikuyu they may be at risk of deficiencies, even if on a complete and balanced feed. Please use a relevant calcium supplement suited for horses grazing oxalates.