Feeding an older horse
I am the owner of an older pony/horse. What is the best feed for keeping him fit?
From the age of 16 the physical condition of a horse starts to deteriorate slowly. The need for proteins and phosphorus increases. Horses over 20 years old need an adapted diet. Avoid overfeeding them with top sport pellets because these tax the liver needlessly.
Older horses are quite often in a better condition in the summer than in the winter. Eating grass silage and hay is very difficult for older horses because their teeth and molars are worn out. The less the horse can chew, the worse it is for its digestion.
The fine soft grass in the summer is easier digested with less chewing than the hay in the winter. Going to pasture is therefore good for an older horse. In the winter the ration can consist of easily digestible feed (mash) but with sufficient fibre and texture. The Hartog Care Promise herb mash is extremely suited for old horses and it is also very tasty. Replace the hay/grass silage with Lucerne-mix. Lucerne-mix is chopped short so the horse will not make balls from the roughage and therefore, this product is easy to ingest. Lucerne-mix contains lots of fibres, vitamins and minerals that the horse needs. Lucerne-mix is also rich in essential proteins that are completely digestible and do not tax the liver needlessly.
Hartog Gras-mix is also suitable for older horses because the product is short, but it contains somewhat less nutrients, vitamins and minerals than Lucerne-mix.
Hartog also has a new product specially made for older horses. The Hartog 5 * Complete Care Senior is made for horses with reduced chewing power and bad teeth.
The 5 * Complete Care Senior has 5 unique features:
- Extremely suitable for seniors, horses with reduced chewing power and rehabilitating horses
- Very tasty and complete roughage (replacement of roughage and concentrate)
- Enriched with a balancer that consists of vitamins, minerals and (organically bound) trace elements
- Supporting physical and mental health from natural sources
- Low sugar starch content, free from grain and molasses
The 5 * Complete Care Senior is a unique and complete roughage of a fine structure for old horses and horses with a reduced chewing capacity. These horses can also grow old healthy and fit.