Forage is the critical foundation for any senior equid’s diet. In this podcast, we get forage feeding tips from Dr. Pat Harris, a veterinarian and European specialist in veterinary and comparative nutrition.

She said, “Observe your horses to ensure that all have adequate access to forage, and are actually eating an appropriate amount of a forage suitable for their individual needs, which may change with time and may be different from others in the herd.”

The Right Forage

“Choosing the right forage for your horse is the foundation of their diet,” said Harris. “And perhaps it’s even more important when we talk about the older horse because we’ve got added complications often to consider around their teeth.”

She said you should also consider if your senior equid has arthritis or other issues that might affect which forage is best for that horse.

“They may have been on one type of forage for much of their life, and as they get older, we need to think about changing,” she advised.

Harris also said that the tips she was offering were general since each horse should be fed as an individual. “We know some senior horses are in work, some are retired, some are very healthy, and some have conditions,” she added. “I think what I’m going to try and do is give a few tips, then I would advise everyone to try and look on the website because there’s some excellent articles that I’ll pick up on.”

Editor’s note: Please see Further Content section below for content on topics that are covered in this podcast and article.

Hygienic Forage

Harris said one of the first considerations for feeding forage to senior horses is to feed the best hygienic quality. “As horses get older, they’re going to have more challenge to their lungs,” she said. “They may have more risk of suffering from infections and so on. So, we need to try and make sure we’re providing them with good, hygienic-quality forage.”

This obviously means hay isn’t dusty, doesn’t smell moldy or have visible mold or other contaminants. However, if concerned, she commented that you might need to get your forage tested as it is not always possible visibly to confirm hygienic quality. Speak to your veterinarian or nutritional advisor.

Harris gave some tips on soaking and steaming hay to make it better for horses without causing additional problems.

Forage Nutrients

“If your horse is struggling to put on weight, you’ll probably want to choose a less mature forage that is likely to be more digestible, maybe even more palatable,” explained Harris.

But, even if you have the best forage in the world, if your horse won’t eat it, it’s not going to work, she added.

Harris explained that more mature forages are better for animals trying to maintain or lose weight. “But again, there are complications because if you’ve got a senior horse, because of their teeth they may not do well on that mature forage.”

That can mean they aren’t going to be able to chew that more mature forage and/or there is a greater risk for colic.

Your decisions then might include alfalfa or other legumes that can be more leafy, especially less mature hays. Harris said alfalfa also tends to be higher in protein and is often more digestible.

Other options are to consider different warm season and cool season grasses to suit the individual animal’s requirements. However, Harris noted the risk that even warm season grass hays can still be high in water-soluable carbohydrates. This could cause unwanted insulin spikes in at-risk horses.

Weight Gain

For weight gain in a healthy horse, Harris said in the past we would say you fed Ad libitum, or free-choice.

“I think the world is changing now because there’s cost implications, environmental implications, and also sustainability,” explained Harris. “So what we’re trying to do is meet appetite and not provide excess that gets trodden in or wasted.”

She said it is important to ensure that there are not long periods of time when the horse is not eating or foraging.

Water Content of Forage

Harris said that all types of forages (grass, hay, haylage) have different amounts of water in them. “So, you can’t just weigh and say ‘you must give that amount of forage’ because it will really vary.

“Hay, for example. We want hay to be of 15% or less water going back to hygiene,” she explained. “That way there is less at risk of going moldy. Once they have more than 15% of water, they are at increased risk. Haylages can vary from 50% water to around 20% water or even less, and it’s really difficult to tell again by looking. So the only way really is to get your dry matter analyzed or to know what type of haylage.

“Why is that important?” she asked. “It’s important because the recommendations we currently have work on dry matter rather than how much you feed. So the dry matter means we can compare and give advice whether it’s a hay or a haylage, or whether it’s a wet haylage or a dry haylage. And based on that we can say roughly how much dry matter a horse wants. And then you can approximate. If you know how wet or dry your haylage is, you can work how much you need to put in a hay net.”

How Much Forage to Feed

Appetite is quite variable, she noted, but we tend to work on around 2% of the body weight in dry matter. Harris noted, however, that the minimum forage recommended is 1.5%. She said this is because the horse has evolved to chew forage—it needs to chew forage.

“So, in general, 1.5% on a dry matter basis is how much we recommend is the minimum you should feed,” Harris said. “For other horses, that 2% is great. But I can warn you, if you allow some ponies to eat as much as they like, they can eat up to 5% of their body weight. Then they will tend to get overweight.”

For weight loss, first make sure the animal’s teeth are in good order. If so, Harris said you can feed a mature forage at 1.5% of body weight (if the horse is gaining weight when fed 2% of its body weight). The more mature forage takes longer to chew with less calories, she noted.

Chew Time

Using hay nets or other slow feeding devices can slow forage intake, noted Harris. She advised using some environmental enrichment items to help keep the forage-restricted horse eating over time.

Harris said to try to make sure horses—in particular those in stables or dry lots—don’t go more than four or five hours without forage, especially during daylight hours.

She said we need to work with the horse’s needs and gut, not just our timetables.

Other Tips

In the podcast, Harris also talks about cold-weather feeding, herd dynamics, feeding donkeys prone to weight gain, observing your animals while they are eating, and feeding your equids as individuals.

About Dr. Pat Harris

Dr. Pat Harris is a past president of the British Equine Veterinary Association and is a European specialist in veterinary and comparative nutrition. She is the Equine Nutrition and Science advisor to Mars Horsecare & WALTHAM TM Equine Studies Group, Waltham Petcare Science Institute. Harris has spent much of the last 30 years working to help improve the care and nutrition of older horses. She also is passionate about seniors because of her dedication to her own older horses. Harris has advised on the care of many senior equids and has authored numerous articles on their care. Her involvement in several global senior research teams gives her special insight into some of these studies. Harris is also on the Executive Advisory Council for My Senior Horse.

Further Content

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  • Kimberly S. Brown and Jewell

    Kimberly S. Brown is an award-winning writer and publisher. She founded My Senior Horse for Equine Network and Linda Mars in her retirement, and now she is an editor of the brand. Brown previously had spent 10 years at Equine Network. Prior to that she worked for three years in equine nutrition after she retired from nearly 30 years working at The Blood-Horse. Brown spent the last 15 years of her time at that organization creating and developing the award-winning The Horse and TheHorse.com.

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