Living Their Best Lives:
Senior Horses
Senior horses are special. They bring a “been there, done that” kind of wisdom to every barn. Even when they kick up their heels and act silly, they still hold a vibration of sage and mentorship within them.
In this article:
At what age is a horse a senior?
The specific age that classifies a horse as a senior can vary depending on who you ask. Some vets put the age category minimum between 15 and 18 years. Others say that 20 years and up is considered senior.
Types of senior horses
The Very Active Senior Horse
These are the senior horses that love to work and compete. For some, this is the age in which they are finally coming to the top of their game in the show ring.
The Active Senior Horse
The Active Senior HorseThe Active Senior Horse can also be ridden recreationally, taken on trail rides, used in lesson programs, or chosen as the trustworthy steed for beginners and grandchildren wanting pony rides.
The Retired Senior Horse
The Retired Senior Horse
Too fat, too thin: Health issues
Senior horses often have multiple health issues. Metabolic diseases are common (such as insulin resistance and Cushing’s disease) in this age group, as well as arthritis. Other health concerns include equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), cataracts, dental issues, laminitis, and asthma.
With all of these complications in mind, feeding the senior horse can feel like being on a yo-yo.
It will seem that, for a while, the senior horse is doing well and is an easy keeper. Then suddenly, like a switch, keeping and putting weight on the horse is a struggle.
Sometimes, this is due to the effects of the aforementioned metabolic conditions. Other times, it can be because of dental issues and/or GI tract challenges.
“But he’s always done well on XYZ!”
With a senior horse – whether Very Active, Active, or Retired – focusing on where the horse is in the present is a necessity and is of higher importance than harking back to what he/she used to eat or used to like.
Older horses can become pickier over time; the feed plan they did well on six months to a year ago may not be working as well for the horse right now.
Feeding based on body type
If your senior horse’s current feeding regimen presents consistent challenges and/or you are trying to find the right meal plan to help with health issues like…
Cushing’s/PPID overweight lethargy moodiness/mood swings fecal water syndrome (FWS) immune system challenges
…you may consider feeding based on Ayurvedic medicine guidelines.
In Ayurvedic medicine, there are three basic body types, known as doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
Vata horses tend to be slim, energetic, and are, at times, hard keepers. They often have dry skin and hair. Thoroughbreds and Arabians tend to lean towards the Vata body type. Vata represents wind and air.
Pitta horses tend to be chestnuts or palominos. Their weight is generally stable with good digestive capacity. Their skin is sensitive (especially to sunlight) and can have a slightly oily sheen. They generally have a higher tendency for skin issues. Pitta represents fire and water.
Kapha horses tend to be overweight – or have difficulty losing weight – and have slower metabolisms than Vata or Pitta horses. They often have thick hair and cool skin. When it comes to energy, these horses often deal with lethargy and stagnation. Quarter Horses, warmbloods, morgans, friesans, and draft horses are often found in this group. Kapha represents earth and water.
Some horses can have dual doshas. Examples include Pitta/Kapha and Vata/Pitta.
Important note: as horses and humans age, doshas can – and will – change. For example: a fifteen-year-old warmblood that has been Kapha most of its life may become Vata as it gets older. A Pitta horse at age ten may become a Kapha horse at age thirteen.
Basic feeding guidelines for doshas
In Ayurvedic medicine, foods are classified as warming , cooling , or neutral . The good news is that the equine diet is predominantly made up of neutral foods: hay and forage.
Simply eliminating one or two ingredients that are aggravating to your horse’s dosha can make a big difference.
Vata horses benefit from ingredients that are not cold or drying in nature. When feeding, try to avoid corn, oat bran, dry oats (soaked oats are okay), wheat bran, soy beans, soy flour, soy powder, and soy oil. Vata horses do very well on treats like pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. They often benefit from wet feed (the moisture counteracts the drying nature of Vata) and active yeast probiotics.
Pitta horses benefit from ingredients that are cooling and drying. When feeding, try to avoid bananas, sour apples, corn, corn oil, canola oil, chia seeds, soy, and non-active yeasts. These horses benefit from flax seeds, coconut meal, coconut oil, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
Kapha horses need dryness and lightness, so it’s best to avoid ingredients that are heavy and oily. Avoid feeding bananas, coconut, oats (oat bran is okay), rice, wheat (wheat bran is okay), corn, soy, molasses, white sugar, and dextrose (commonly derived from corn but can also be extracted from wheat or rice). These horses can benefit from flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds. Lighter oils, like hemp seed oil, camelina oil, and flax oil, are fine to feed.
A note about soy: In Ayurveda, soy is predominately presented in the form of miso or soy sauce. These specific soy foods are fermented, unlike soy by-products frequently used in animal feed.
Multivitamin minerals
If you feed a complete feed or a forage balancer, you must feed the amount recommended by the manufacturer. Otherwise, your senior horse is not getting enough fortified vitamins and minerals.
If you choose not to feed the recommended amount, try adding a multivitamin mineral supplement to ensure the vitamin/mineral needs of your senior horse are met.
If your horse is on a component or forage feed program, your horse needs a multivitamin mineral supplement in his/her diet.
Vitamin E
Senior horses on hay (with minimal to no fresh forage) need vitamin E supplementation. If they are offered consistent access to fresh forage, older horses are often okay without vitamin E for most of the year; however, they may need the extra supplementation during the winter months.
Many vitamin E supplements are derived from soy or are 100% synthetic. When shopping around, look for vitamin E that comes from sunflower oil.
Probiotics for the seasons
As previously discussed, foods, including probiotics, are categorized as cooling, warming, or neutral in Ayurvedic medicine.*
Lactobacillus and Bifidum strains are cooling. Soil-based organisms (SBOs), such as the Bacillus strains, are neutral.
In the summertime, I lean towards cooling or neutral probiotic strains for my horses, if needed.
Senior horses on limited or dry lot turnout may need the extra probiotic support, as they aren’t exposed to the bacteria and fungi that live in healthy pasture soil.
Senior horses living out 24/7 with access to fresh forage usually don’t need a probiotic during the spring, summer, and fall seasons, unless there is an issue that requires probiotic support.
Winter is cold, so I favor the warming active yeast probiotics during those months.
Active yeast probiotics support the fermentation process in the hindgut, which is helpful for horses that are losing weight, not gaining weight, and/or have manure that is runny and strong smelling during the summer.
*Learn more about warm, cool, and neutral probiotics here: Choosing the Right Probiotic for Your Horse or Dog.
Diversity
Wild horses, compared to domesticated horses, have a greater diversity of plants, roots, bark, leaves, and berries at their disposal, which makes their microbiome much more diverse.
Equine forage options have been dumbed-down, largely due in part to our elimination of non-toxic pasture “weeds,” so that our pastures look “well maintained.”*
Adding varying forage types to a horse’s diet can help increase diversity of the gut microbiome. As of late, I have been offering my senior horses a new-to-me forage combination: Standlee’s Alfalfa Oat Grass Pellets. With an NSC of 9% and protein at 12%, it’s a great addition to timothy and teff. I like to rotate the forage pellets, as my horses are on grass 24/7.
**Read more about the importance of diversifying pastures here: From the Outside In: Our Backyard Ecosystems.
Standlee’s Alfalfa Oat Grass Pellets packaging photo courtesy of StandleeForage.com
Keep them moving
We know that keeping a senior horse moving is imperative for health and wellbeing. Circulation is incredibly important for arthritis, muscles, bones, feet, and the heart.
Enrichment activities and toys can be very beneficial for the Retired Senior Horse that isn’t turned out for 10 or more hours a day (with a buddy or two), lives in a dry lot, or spends more time in a stall than in turn out.
One simple way to offer enrichment is by sprinkling hay pellets or pieces of vegetables/fruits in various, random places around the paddock, encouraging your horse to walk around and sniff out the food.
On that same vein: if you tend to throw your horse’s hay in the same spot of the paddock every day, try splitting up the flakes and putting them in various areas around the paddock to encourage movement.
Keep it simple
Tigger’s horse, Lionheart, who lived to be 33 years old! (RIP)
Most owners of senior horses (including myself) have one thing in common: we appreciate the senior horse. We are grateful for not only what the horse is doing or has done in its life, but also for where the horse is in the present. All time spent with them is valuable.
However, it’s in our nature, as caretakers, to want to do everything we can for our horses. Sometimes we overdo it by trying to “fix” too many things and/or adding too many products to their diets.
When working with senior horses, I have found that, by and large, throwing more “stuff” at them to fix multiple issues doesn’t usually work all that well. The best course of action when feeding older horses? Keep it simple.
It’s also important to ask ourselves one basic question when considering each ingredient we put into our senior horse’s feed bucket:
Will this product reduce stress on the GI tract or increase stress?
It all boils down to this, because stress on the GI tract affects the whole horse.
If you want to look deeper or are unsure about an ingredient, don’t hesitate to call the supplying company and ask if it comes from a food, plant, or laboratory.
Above all else, treasure the time you have with your amazingly wise senior beings; they are the best teachers.
BioStar supplements to support senior horses
Optimum EQ 2.0 Senior™ & Optimum JS 2.0 Senior™ are wellness formulas that include a mineral proteinate complex, providing the highest bioavailability possible. They are also formulated with holy basil to help horses manage normal stress and assist in balancing the endocrine, glandular, and circulatory systems. Optimum JS 2.0 Senior™ offers all of these benefits PLUS an added boost of joint support from green-lipped mussels, cabbage, and kale.
Circuvate EQ™ helps support healthy circulation, which is a key factor in supporting healthy hooves, joints, muscles, bones, and digestion. Circuvate EQ™ features the patented Ayurvedic extract, Capros®, that has been proven to increase nitric oxide – the master circulatory molecule in the body – production by 49 – 51%.
BioFlora EQ™ features five strains of cooling probiotic bacteria (100 billion CFUs per serving) with mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) for hind gut support. Its microencapsulation ensures proper passage through the stomach.
Bio Yeast EQ™ includes two warming active yeast strains: S. cerevisiae and S. boulardii (100 billion CFUs per serving). These strains are capable of taking up oxygen from the environment, which then benefits the anaerobic gut microflora.
Sym-Biota EQ™ mimics the matrix of healthy soils through its inclusion of neutral SBOs and offers 50 billion CFUs per 4mL. The liquid also features fulvic and humic acids to support tight junctions in the gut, as well as chaga mushrooms to support homeostasis and Qi (the vital energy force in the body).
About the Author: With over 30 years experience in the equine and human supplement industry, Tigger Montague knows nutrition from the synthetic side as well as the whole food side. She started BioStar US in 2006 with formulas she created in her kitchen. Before she started the company, she was an avid rider and competitor with eventing and show jumping, until she got hooked on dressage in the late 1980’s. She has competed on horses she’s owned and trained all the way from training level to Grand Prix.
