We bought a quarter horse mare this early spring. Her name is katy and she still had her winter coat. we felt that she was a little thin, but my husband wanted her anyway, We felt that our 13 year old and her would be a great pair. . We were looking for an older horse, but were told she was only 17. she is a grade mare and not papered. We took her to our vet and she thought katy was more like 27, but jim decided she was staying. that the environment she came from was short on hay and she wasnt being accuratly taken care of. We have 6 horses, but all are under 11 years old. No where near 27. As katy lost her winter coat, she took on the look of a 40 year old. Our vet has wormed her a total of 3 times now, and we are up to feeding her 11 pounds of equine senior in the a.m. and 11 pds. in the p.m. Her teeth look good, her mouth has the shape of a 20 year old compared to picturess I found on the internet, and she does not loose her food when eating. Although the vet tells us she is missing a tooth in the far back on each upper side. She did NOT want to float. My question is... Could this horse have been so bad in worms that she got down, to nothing? or Is she maybe, just that old and couldnt digest the winter hay? How long does it take to bring an older horse back that has lost so much weight and even some muscle mass? Is it even possible? she is such a sweet horse and loves to nuzzle. She has mounds of evergy with this feed. Any suggestions and advice would be forever appreciated.

-- Dawn Rae (mizzou@mcmsys.com), July 11, 2001

Answers

We have a 25 y/o horse that we bought as a 20 y/o. She is slightly sway back and we have trouble keeping weight on her as well. Go to a horse feed store and get some dairy whey (it is dry) to add to her senior feed. We use this on ours when she needs a little more to keep her looking ok. We have trouble keeping weight on ours too. She needs her teeth floated on a regular basis though and that seems to be her main problem.

I am sure that your vet would take a stool sample if she thought the wormer wasn't doing its job.

It take time to bring an older horse back but I am sure that you can do it.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), July 11, 2001.

add some corn oil and molasses on top of the feed. Check the manure from her before doing this and see if everything is being digested or just passin' through.

-- Peg (Ashlinep@localnet.com), July 11, 2001.

Parasites are a possibility. If she had a load large enough to have caused her present condition, chances are that it will be quite a while before she comes back to anything that looks like what you might like on even an older (sagging) horse. The teeth are just as likely a culprit. I have seen horses, and especially older horses, lose tremendous amounts of weight entirely due to the teeth and age. Our vet sedates difficult horses on a standing dose (that is, the horse doesn't go down, just stands there pretty droopy and dopey the while). At her age and unknown history, you do want a good vet on her teeth, not one of the 'old school' who thinks that you just whack a rasp on there and flatten. There are 'waves' and 'shear' to consider quite often at this age (been there...two 36 year olds, a 32 year old, and had care on three others that were '30-something')

Her winter hay may also have played a role, depending on what they fed her. Feeding an old horse is closer to feeding a youngster, they need more nutrition and calories than do the middle-aged crowd. Equine Senior is a pretty good feed for older horses, as long as they can chew it (with missing teeth, the opposite ones on that side will grow longer and may prevent them from eating as much as they would like.

At the same time, be aware that not all 30-plus year old horses are created alike. My sister's QH and mine were of nearly the same age, give or take a year, but mine at 35 was round and plump, with hindquarters that a yearling Belgian would envy, and hers was thin and stringy. Mine was missing a couple teeth, hers had a perfect set. They ate the same things, had food in front of them in abundance, had the same deworming routine (were kept in the same pasture too). Sometimes genetic make-up and years of hard living just won't make for a 'pretty' old horse. Muscles are going to atrophy and sag, backs start to sway, they start to go down more on their pasterns, and so on. Some of this you just can't fix, you can only improve. My sister's old horse had a bout with a leg injury that required hospitalization, and she lost a lot of weight, despite good feed (stress is harder for them to come back from at this age). When I got her back, I poured on the Equine Senior and Pounds Plus (tried Ration Plus, but she hated it and wouldn't touch anything. It's a good product if your horse will eat it), which is a safe fat/mineral/vitamin source for old and convalescent horses. CocoSoy, made by Uckele, is also highly regarded by the owners of hard keepers.

One final thing I will mention, is that my vet put Speedy, the thin old horse, onto some anabolic steroids to help her gain some weight (we have very cold winters, which we were going into, and despite blanketing, she just didn't have enough flesh). They worked on her very well, she began to have a better appetite again and the weight stayed on her instead of just going through. Steroids do have some metabolic considerations (discuss with your vet), but she had been on one before for COPD and tolerated it well, so we decided that before the steroid use (two shots, once a year) could do her damage, she was likely to die of other old age factors (which is what happened). By winter her coat had a great bloom on it, and her hindquarters were even showing a slight 'peach' instead of being sunken with spine and sacrum protruding. She was a much happier horse for it.

It's great that you are committed to this old girl, they really are worth their weight in gold for beginners.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), July 11, 2001.

We have an old horse, bought much the same way, thinking he was 16 and finding out he was way over 20. Anyway, we started feeding Allegra Senior (10 lbs daily divided over 2 or 3 meals) and put 1/2 cup corn oil on top of that. Then we got some vitimins and minerals from mormans feed, and added that. We give him alfalfa pellets to chew on (as his teeth are not great) and he has gained lots. He too, had lost lots of muscle mass. We have had him for about a year now, and he looks much better. He is kind of spendy to keep, with the special feed and all, but he is the best kids horse ever, so we choose to spend the money and keep him. Hope this helps.

Blessings,

Maylene

-- Maylene (bigredbarn@myexcel.com), July 11, 2001.

I would consider adding beet pulp and/or well soaked alfalfa cubes. These types of feeds are also a great way to make sure the old ones get enough water. Julie brought up a good point on the steriods causing weight gain. We started my daughter's 21 year old barrel horse on Prednisone for COPD this spring, and we've had an awful time keeping the weight OFF him.

I've heard good things about the supplement Source Senior but I've never used it myself.

Did your Vet say why she didn't want to float Katy's teeth? My equine dentist recommended not having Star's teeth floated every year, only every other, because many older horses don't have a lot of tooth length (especially in the back of their mouths) and you don't want to take anymore than absolutely necessary.

Good luck with your older gal they're worth their weight in gold.

Stacy in NY

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), July 11, 2001.

It could take 6 months to bring her back. It's not something you want to rush by feeding hot feed, 'cause then you'll end up with vet bills. You could guess all day, but you'll never know the reason the horse was going downhill. Generally, if they're being fed, the teeth need floating. Secondary would be internal parasites.

The more room the horse has to run around in the better, so she can build muscle. It's also healthier for the hooves so the frog can pump blood.

Every horse I know over 25 is eating the Purina Senior. Those that still have teeth, are also free fed GRASS hay or pasture.

I do some tough mountain riding with friends. 3 of those friends ride horses in their 30's, but you wouldn't know it to look at those horses. Backs are still pretty straight. Of course, these horses have been well taken care of throughout their lives.

If you can safely stick your hand in the horse's mouth and feel any points back there, you'll know the teeth need floating. I've never known a vet to tranquilize a horse for this, but I see on some of these Lists that there are vets who do. Perhaps the vet you use tranquilizes and was afraid to, due to the age of the horse.

Barring any sickness or accidents, that 27 year old horse could still give you 10 years or more.

A friend's first horse was 24 years old. She sold it 5 years later when she moved up in her discipline. Those older horses are great for newbies and for those that want to feel safe.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), July 12, 2001.

Before moving to OK I worked with an equine rescue organization so helped bring back alot of starved horses. I also have a 30 year old mare. It sounds like this mare HATES her teeth being floated so its probably been years since its been done. Its VITAL that her teeth get floated by someone who really knows how to do it.

Equine senior is marvelous for older horses. I would also suggest a mineral supplement, I like Source Senior, as most horses get very mineral deficient when they lose alot of weight. She also needs probiotics for a little while (people acidopholous from the health food store is fine). Tho generally high protein hays are not good for older horses, to put the weight back on alfalfa hay should be used as it packs 20% more calorie content than other hays.

If she is being kept with other horses you also need to watch for awhile what is going on. Sometimes the older horses get run around by the younger ones, and they can also be chased off their feed so they just aren't eating enough.

It can take some time, up to 9 months, to bring a horse back and some never come back to completely great weight.

Good luck

-- Stacia in OK (OneClassyCowgirl@aol.com), July 12, 2001.

I have always got results with older/poor-doer horses by slowly adding oil to their diet, an ounce at a time, use canola oil as it's monounsaturated instead of polyunsaturated, work up to four ounces (use a pump measure to be accuratem available from KV Vet or Jeffers vet supply, or a Farm Store, etc.) with EACH feeding of grain. Also, consider using Calf Manna to supplement the feed, horses LOVE it, and our old timer vet swears by it to put on weight!

Try worming her with a double dose of Strongid (pyrentel pamoate) to get any tapeworms she might have, tapeworms are hard to kill with Ivermectin wormers, but the double dose of Strongid does the job safely and effectively, and tapes sap the live out of many older horses!

Best of luck with the old girl!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), July 12, 2001.

First off - go Mizzou!(I am a tiger grad.) I have a 29 year old Appy gelding who is becoming thinner each year. This spring he finally came out of the winter a little ribby and did not put weight back on when turned out to pasture. I have been feeding him a mixture of Equine Senior and Strategy. I found he chokes on straight SR because it is a little moist and clumps easily. To avoid the choking, I use Strategy, another good pelleted feed, to dry it out. Last month I also began supplementing him with a cup of Nu-weight a day on his feed. It seems to be putting the weight back on him slowly. In one month he has two less ribs showing. It has added fat and microbacteria to help in digestion. He seems to like this supplement and, in the past, has not liked Source supplements, although I have not tried the Source SR. I have also tried corn oil but it is messy, freezes in the extreme cold and the horses seem to not like it so much. As for the teeth floating - it is a good idea and can make a big difference, however, I would encourage your vet to try it first without drugs. Last spring my horse got a little spooked when he was sedated and fell a few times, narrowly missing my truck, and finally just laid in the grass for about 15 minutes. We finally got him up and got his teeth floated, it also took a little extra time for the drugs to wear off. Also, I worm him regularly with Zimectrin and have the vet worm him once a year with whatever it is they use. Good luck!

-- Mindy Busby (mindy.busby@tevaneuro.com), August 29, 2001.