b'long-stem forage, then theres no reason to switch to a complete senior feed. Pro-viding a ration balancer or other feed that complements your current forage and provides quality protein and supporting micronutrients will be adequate.Feeding Older Horses WithMetabolic DiseaseQ I currently have a 16-year-old Arabian mare who was diagnosed with equine Cushings disease (pitu- If your senior is losing ISABELLE BEAU DE LOMNIEitary pars intermedia dysfunction, orweight, first have your vet-PPID) two years ago. Her muscle- erinarian assess his mouth wasting is quite pronounced, andfor dental issues that are laminitis is a looming problem. Aremaking it painful or difficult there any parameters for offering feedsto eat.designed for seniors in this case?This is a very important consider- Alternatively, you can offer a low- On the nutrition front you can do sev-ation for some horses, as not all seniorNSC hay pellet with a low-NSC ration- eral things. Chances are it either hurts to feeds are appropriate for horses withbalancing feed. If you need more calories,eat or your horse thinks it will hurt to eat, insulin dysregulation (abnormally highyou can substitute some of the hay pelletsso you need to address that issue not only blood insulin levels), equine metabolicwith molasses-free beet pulp. The hay pel- through veterinary treatment but also by syndrome (a condition characterized bylets and beet pulp provide the necessarychanging what he eats. increased fat deposits, insulin dysfunc- fiber, and the ration balancer providesTry soaking his hay, which will soften it tion, and a predisposition to laminitis),quality protein and essential mineralsand make it easier to chew. Steaming also or PPID (an overproduction of hormonesand vitamins to ensure horses nutritionalsoftens hay and creates a pleasant aroma that results in an abnormal hair coat,needs are met and diets balanced.that many horses find enticing. abnormal sweating, loss of muscle mass,Another option is to switch out some or and increased water intake and urination,From Too Fat to Too Thin all of his hay for hay pellets. You can feed among other signs). Feeds fed to thesethe pellets wet until his mouth no longer horses, especially those fed in large quan- Q Earlier this year my 20-year-oldhurts. Pellets are far easier to chew and tities, need to have low nonstructuralMorgan was overweight and hadtypically better digested than hay. How-carbohydrate (NSC) levelsideally 12%fat pads. Concerned about metabolicever, because pellets take less chewing, or less. Some popular senior feeds havedisease, my vet put him on a restrictedthey can result in horses standing around NSC values well above that, making themdiet to lose weight. I stopped giving myfor longer periods with nothing to eat. If inappropriate in these cases.horse beet pulp and senior feed and,you decide to keep feeding hay pellets af-For these horses there are safer op- instead, fed him grass hay and a rationter his mouth has healed, you might look tions. Some brands of senior feed havebalancer. Recently he stopped eatinginto an automatic pellet dispenser. You low-enough NSC levels, even though thehis hay, and I now have an underweightcan program these feeders to dispense a manufacturers might not market the feedhorse. He was due for his annualpredetermined amount of feed at a set as being low-NSC. This information isdental visit last week, which showed hetime and help reduce boredom. unlikely to be on feed tags and requires ahad an abscess under a tooth andYou mention you used to feed beet visit to the companys website or, poten- cheek ulcers. Since the dental he haspulp and senior feed. You might want to tially, a phone call to confirm.been on the non-steroidal anti- consider adding these back into the diet, Others make low-NSC feeds that areinflammatory (NSAID) firocoxib andbecause they are more calorie-dense than not marketed as senior feeds but, rather,antibiotics, but hes eating no better the hay or hay pellets. That means he complete feeds. Be careful, though, withand is now significantly under his idealwont need to eat as much feed to con-feeds labeled low-starch or appropriateweight. What should I do? sume the same daily calorie intake, which for horses with metabolic issues, as theseThe first thing I would suggest is tois beneficial if eating is painful. If you could be designed for performance horseshave your veterinarian reassess yourfeed less than the recommended amount and might not be complete feeds. Anotherhorses mouth to ensure the antibioticsof senior feed, you will need to keep the caution: Not all of these feeds are loware working and that the dental workration balancer in the diet to ensure his enough in NSCs for horses with meta- didnt cause additional issues. Infectionvitamin and mineral needs are met. bolic issues. Some are truly low-NSC,is a highly metabolically demandingTry feeding several small meals while others just have lower NSC levelsstate, and to fight it the body needs a lotthroughout the day, rather than two large than traditional performance sweet feeds.of calories. Any efforts you make to helpmeals, especially when feeding wet feeds Again, check with the feed company toyour horse gain weight will be less effec- in summer. This will lead to better diges-confirm.tive if he has uncontrolled infection.tion and reduce the likelihood that horses TheHorse.com | The HorseOctober 201927'