Feeding an old horse who can't chew hay anymore: Sr. feed, beetpulp, other?

Question

We took in an ancient little old mare 1/2 arabian & welsh so she's about 900 or so pounds and 14 hands high. She is a little ribby, and Vet checked her & said not to feed any hay anymore as she can't chew it enough. He said to just feed Sr. Feed but it doesn't fill her up. She seems so hungry.

We want to try beet pulp shreds soaked, with a little Sr. feed, and maybe soaked alfalfa cubes if soft enough.

To feed 2% or her weight she needs about 18 pounds of food.

Also when I read up on beet pulp, I know you can feed up to 45% of diet in pulp, and people are saying to feed by weight but do they weigh it dry or wet? So would 5 pounds of soaked pulp be what you feed, or 5 pounds dry then soak it, and use the wet weight to calculate her needs?

I need to know how much of each type should I feed at each meal (twice a day).

What other options are there & how much do you feed?

Last thing - we are in the desert so there is no grazing available (not that she can chew grass well anyway).

Answer 1

You can soak a complete feed pellet. &/Or soak alfalfa cubes and a chopped timothy hay mix that comes in a poly-wrapped bale.  & it is important to feed bran with beet pulp (if you are feeding it regularly) to keep a balanced calcium/phosphorus ratio. I think it's the beet pulp that is high in calcium  & it needs phosphorus to balance it. & Always soak the beet pulp. Soak overnight. So when you feed the beet pulp, then start soaking more for the next feeding.

****edit****

BuckinFun~~~ Darn Trolls!!!! They have nothing better to do!!!! LOL

Answer 2

I've never fed beet pulp, but I have had to put weight on senior horses with dental issues.  I would feed a Sr feed and Calf Manna both softened with water.  Bran Mash can be added as well.  Calf Manna is used to put weight on growing cattle and is easily digested (it might contain beet pulp, now that I think of it).  It works wonders!  I would feed 3 X a day until she gets weight on.  Follow the instructions for amounts per day on the bag, but adjust up for weight gain.  Soft alfalfa cubes are good.  Even if she's spitting it out, she is at least chewing and stimulating her digestive tract and its soft enough to pass when she swallows it.  If you are worried about impaction, add a small amount of mineral oil to feed.

Answer 3

I'd be concerned with sand colic if she is totally deprived of hay to nibble on throughout the day.  Could you chop the hay and soak it to give her something to keep her "grazing"?

Weigh the beet pulp dry, then feed it wet. the water isn't included in the food weight needed.  The amount of Purina Senior to feed is on their website...check to see if your brand has such a website...the Purina site gives excellent info, and includes variations according to whatever else you may be feeding.

I doubt that the problem is so much one of hunger as it is one of her need to graze in order to maintain proper function of the intestines.  Anything that can be done to keep her able to munch throughout the day will help.

buckinfun...thumbs up and I didn't do it either!!!!!

Answer 4

I have an old pony with chewing issues.  I feed him Triple Crown Senior, which does include beet pulp and also rice bran, which puts on weight.  He has made a complete turnaround since the switch last fall.  I'll still toss him a tiny bit of hay which he'll pick through looking for soft bits, and I'll find chewed up wads of hay in his stall.  He also grazes, but I don't know how much of the grass actually is digested and how much just passes through due to lack of chewing.  He weighs somewhere around 600 pounds, and I give him 2lbs of senior food 2x/day.

If you get a good quality senior food, it should have very balanced nutrition.  The bag should give recommended feeding amounts.  Adding anything to that might throw the balance off.  The only thing I'd add is something hay-like, like chopped hay or hay pellets.

Grain is measured by weight when it's dry.  Feed her as many times per day as you can.  Two will work, but if you can split it up into more smaller meals, that would be even better.

Answer 5

if i were you i would see if her teeth need to be floated (arabs teeth normally do more often than other breeds) they may be a factor in her ability to chew. and i would not stop feeding her hay if she wants it! let her eat what she can! i have a 26 year old arabian who can eat corn & hay & carrots & all kinds of crunchy stuff =] i am sure your horse could chew hay just fine if her teeth are in good shape...i dont see why you could put a little corn in her feed that she can atleast try to chew up & it will help grind her teeth down if you dont want to have her teeth floated & if she cant chew it you will see it in the manure and you can just stop feeding it to her but i dont think you should completely take hay out of her diet cause that is really good for a skinny horse

Answer 6

You could grind up her hay and make a mash out of it so that she can still eat hay without chewing it.

Answer 7

Not sure where you're located at, but here's what I do for my senior horses.  

If you can get some fine ground Alfafa & Molasses, let her just free feed off of that.  And for grain, try getting some rolled barley (A 3LB coffee can FULL) and making a mash out of it (Pour boiling water on it and let it soak for about 1/2 an hour then once it's swelled and softened give that to her.  1/2 C Corn and a 1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) to the mixture.

I also bran my crew twice a week with a 1/2 of a 3 LB coffee can full of red flakey wheat bran then add the barley mixture to it and more hot water.

Answer 8

We fed pellets (I think senior but I can't remember), alfalfa cubes and beet pulp.

To help her with her mental "I have to chew" we provided 'chaffe' off the top of some of the bales.  She could munch it but eventually was quidding (balled up and fell out).

This mare had NO molars and was like 32 years old.

I don't remember the weights she was fed.  Only the scoop amounts.  It was a few years ago.

We also slowly built her up to the alfalfa as she was eating it too fast.

2x daily (I would have liked to spread it out 4x daily)

1 2qt scoop beet pulp soaked overnight (or for 6 hours)

3 2qt scoops alfalfa cubes soaked overnight (or for 6 hours)

NOT SLURPY  more of a dry but soft consistency.

2 2qt scoops of pellets soaked to soften

Joint supplements

The alfalfa and beet pulp were put in one large tub and the feed was in a smaller pan.  It got to the point where she didn't want to eat the beet pulpl and was tossing it around, wasting it. We had to dump the grain on top of the beetpulp to pursuade her to eat.

The 'chaffe' I raked off of the bales were small tender wisps and she enjoyed this.  Some she got down and others she would quid...but it satisfied her 'chew' need.

It measured to about 1/2 lb each feeding for the 'hay'.

TM salt l**k at all times

edit:  Do not soak out in the heat.  It will go rancid.  Keep covered or the flies will take over.  If any of the mix is left in her pan from previous feeding, throw it out...and reduce amount just a little next time.

edit: Just seen all of the thumbs down all over....I swear...I DID NOT do it!

Answer 9

cut up her hay really fine and try mixing a bit of Nutrena Safe Choice or Purina Equine Sr and see if she can swallow that