Below are some tips for feeding older horses with dental issues. The author is a veterinarian who is a specialist in equine nutrition. See Dental Problems in the Older Horse for some signs to watch out for in those senior equids with potential dental problems.
These suggestions for feeding older horses obviously need to be adapted to your individual animal and its needs. Agreeing on a plan with your veterinarian as well as nutrition expert is advisable. Make sure to continue monitoring your senior equid for changes.
| Topic | Considerations |
| General Housing/Feed | • Put in place practices to ensure year-around adequate and clean water intake—and regularly monitor it. Remember that some older horses might have problems with their teeth, so that they can no longer tolerate very cold water. Individual animals might have a preferred temperature for their water as well as a preferred way of getting the water (e.g., some will not drink from automatic waterers). • Monitor how much they are eating and not just how much you are providing, especially of forage. •Know how they normally approach and chew feed and forage so that you can notice changes quickly and get appropriate advice. • As older animals with dental issues often require specific types of feed, they often need to be fed in a separate feeding area but might require a close ‘buddy’ to also be present to ensure that they feel ‘safe’ to eat. Others might prefer to eat away from the herd. • Horses need to adapt. What they are being fed at your facility might be very different from what they have been used to. Be aware that changes in feed/forage might need to be made even more gradually with senior horses to avoid digestive problems. • It is important to remember that senior horses might change their preferences to feed and how palatable they find certain feeds. Keep an eye on this, especially if you need them to eat their medications. The use of flavorings or the inclusion of certain other more palatable feedstuffs might be required. |
| General monitoring of BW/BCS | • Older horses with developing dental issues can have body weight (BW) or body condition changes occur suddenly or insidiously. Close, regular monitoring is essential in older animals. • Rugs/blankets must be regularly removed so that you can actually feel your horse and undertake a good examination. • Although not accurate for body condition scoring (BCS), it can be helpful to take and keep dated photos. This might enable changes to be detected over time that are not easy to see on a day-to-day evaluation. |
| Veterinary monitoring | • Regular dental care is obviously essential in older horses. The frequency should be increased as directed by your veterinarian or equine dental technician. Older horses potentially should be seen every 6 months. • Discuss optimal management strategies with your veterinarian. • You need to pay even closer attention to your older horses in order to control internal/external parasites in those older animals. • Discuss the best schedule for your individual animal with respect to regular blood work/veterinary evaluations. This can help with early detection of onset of common disease/ageing infirmities. • Remember that as horses get older, these management practices might need to be adjusted. |
| Behaviour | • Ensure that any field companions have been chosen carefully to avoid bullying. Monitor interactions with field companions regularly. • As previously mentioned, it can be really helpful to regularly observe the senior horse’s approach to feed, forage ,and water. Make note of its chewing pattern and any evidence of dental pain (e.g. quids). • Regularly evaluate the older horse’s general behaviour and attitude to companions and humans. A change in behaviour might be the first indication that something is wrong. |
| Dental issues | • Forage/fibre should remain the foundation of all diets. • Unless your older horse is on a weight management diet, it is recommended that it gets at least 1.5% of its body weight on a dry matter basis each day of fibre and ideally at least 1% of that as long fibre (see below). • Many older horses—even those with relatively severe dental issues—can manage pasture. However, pay attention to the type of grass, its maturity, as well as water soluble carbohydrate content. • Grass is usually an excellent source of most nutrients required by healthy older horses not in active work. However, they will typically need some additional nutritional support through a fortified feed. Even if they do not need calories, use an appropriate ‘balancer’ to ensure overall nutrition. • Keep an eye out for the presence of ‘quids’/corn dollies of chewed—but not swallowed—balls of grass (or other forages) or food being spilled from the mouth. This indicates difficulties with chewing (and/or swallowing). Remember that if there are other animals in the field or barn, they might eat these! • If preserved forage needs to be fed, hay or haylage (preferably high-hygienic quality grass or grass/legume mix) can be offered multiple times a day or provided in sufficiently large meals that there is less than 4-5 hours between feedings during typical daylight hours. Be cautious if your horse has a history of choke! • Softer, less mature forage (or haylage) might be required for many older horses with dental issues. When choosing the most suitable hay, many factors need to be considered. For example, are you feeding for weight gain, weight loss, or maintenance? Are there restrictions associated with clinical conditions the horse might have? You might need to consider calorie provision (as less mature forage tends to be more calorie rich). Also be aware of the forage’s water soluble content. Such considerations might suggest a different type of forage might be beneficial or that other management factors should be used. • When the dental issues are more severe, animals might not be able to adequately chew long stem forages, especially mature hays. Short chopped fibres might be of value initially, but they should be used with caution if your horse eats too quickly (as they can increase the risk of choke) or if they have diastema (gaps between the teeth in which feed/forages can get stuck). • When available, and if laminitis is not an issue, pasture turnout might be the most appropriate forage source for older horses with dental issues. Grass appears to require less chewing than dried long-stem forages. Weight management strategies might still be needed. • Alternatively, or in addition, chopped hays or haylages, soaked beet pulp, or hay/grass cubes divided into at least two or preferably three or more feedings per day (offering ideally 1.5% to 2.0% of the animal’s body weight in dry matter overall) can be used. • Including some alfalfa pellets/chopped hay can be very beneficial, but it is recommended that less than 50% of the ration is alfalfa unless otherwise advised. Processed fibre sources can be soaked in water to reduce the risk of choke and increase water intake. Pelleted or extruded “complete” feeds can also be used, especially for horses that have little or no ability to adequately masticate even chopped hays. Again these should also be soaked in water to reduce the risk of choke, and ideally offered in limited amounts (0.1%-0.5% of the animal’s body weight) per feeding to prevent spoilage and maximize intake. • It is important to ensure you follow the recommendations for any complementary mashes to ensure they are appropriate for feeding. Soaked feeds should be made up as freshly as possible (use warm water in cold weather and avoid prolonged storage in warm environments). Ensure they are adequately soaked. Soaked feeds should be introduced gradually. Unfortunately, some horses will not adapt to them. • Ideally, any forage replacer for those older horses without access to grazing should be divided into a minimum of 4-5 meals per day. However, over time, it might be possible to reduce to this to 3 meals per day, especially for those with access to pasture overnight. (This is true for older horses that might quid on grass but do not choke). Remember to allow your horse time to eat these meals. Separate them from companions if necessary (although they might need a buddy to remain close by). Look for spillages and wherever possible, provide feeds in an area that is easily washable. • Whole grains and even processed grain mixes might not be suitable for horses with severe dental abnormalities. • Typically, low sugar and starch feeds will be required. The actual amount of sugars and starch within each meal will depend on the individual and its clinical situation. Discuss this with your nutritional support team as well as your veterinarian. |
Further Reading
- Help! My Senior Horse is Losing Weight! Dr. Nettie Liburt. MySeniorHorse.com
- 10 Tips for Feeding Forage to Horses. Dr. Pat Harris. MySeniorHorse.com
- Focus on Senior Horse Longevity. MySeniorHorse.com
