As horses age, the enamel grinding ridges on their teeth begin to wear down, or they might lose teeth altogether. At Redwings Horse Sanctuary, in Norfolk, U.K., the veterinary team classifies its older horses into no-long-fiber and pre-no-long-fiber groups and feeds them according to their dentition.
The latter group, explained Nicola Jarvis, BVetMed, Cert AVP (EM), Cert AVP (ESST), MRCVS, head of veterinary care at Redwings, can still consume forage. They might quid (drop partially chewed wads of food when eating) or have long fiber particles in their droppings, but they aren’t at risk of impaction colic or esophageal obstruction (choke).
“We know they’re safe to be on long fiber,” she said. “We just supplement them with a small amount of no-long-fiber feed or forage replacer once or twice a day.”
As their teeth deteriorate further, they might transition to a full forage replacer diet, especially during the winter months.
“Over the course of time, they progress to becoming completely no-long-fiber equines,” said Jarvis. “We make that decision based on their clinical health. Usually, it will be a horse that has either started to show symptoms of impaction colic or they’ve had choke. At that stage we know we need to take the forage away completely.”
To mimic trickle feeding, the Redwings staff divide forage replacer rations into several meals per day and feed the horses in small corrals they’ve set up within the pasture.
“It’s a great system because you might have horses on the field that only need a little extra feeding, maybe two feeds a day, and others that actually need five,” said Jarvis. “So it’s a great way to keep horses with their friends but be able to feed them as individuals.”
Further Content
- Dental Problems in the Older Horse
- Tips on Feeding Older Horses with Dental Issues
- 10 Tips for Feeding Forage to Horses
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