Along with the great suggestions already put on, you can add a feeding in the middle of the day. We have a 29 year old rescue standardbred that we have supplemented a SR feed from Seminole Feeds and a soaked portion of alfalfa pellets (you do not have to leave them to soak and the horse can still digest them) as a hay substitute. So he gets something 5 times a day. Hard if you are at work, we run a stable and someone is there all the time. But you can add an additional feeding in a separate pan from the regular feed at the same time. He will finish his breakfast and then go for the pellets. Just like he would if he could digest the hay or grass. It's worked great, but every horse is different.

I add a half scoop to my 5 yr.ol geldings feed along with his regular feed because hes a hard keeper. just have to calculate the pounds per day but I see a great improvement in his wieght and muscle mass when he gets the senior.

2horse, You have to feed more equine senior then you would grain since it is a complete feed. Something about double what you would regular grain. I remember the first time I saw it feed to a horse I thought that was way too much grain but if you read the bag and follow their directions based on the weight of the horse, the horse should put weight on. Double

I can't keep weight on with Equine Senior. I have tried but finally gave up and switched to Safe & Sound by Acco.

My horse is 28 years old and looks like he is in his teens. I would suggest before you go off and start using different grains and hays that you have a vet looks at your horse to make sure he doesn't have some medical problem like cushings or is insulin resistance. Those problems are showing up in many older horses. My horse was diagnosed with cushings about 7 years ago and with medicine he is doing great. Be careful feeding too much protein because it is hard on older horses kidneys. I feed my horse about 13 pounds of equine senior a day and a good vitamin supplement and he is maintaining his weight. I like equine senior because Purina did extensive research during it development and I have seen it perform miracles. I was wondering how much your two large scoops of grain actually figure out in weight. You can get a scoop from the feed store that is actually for equine senior. The weight is shown on the side of the scoop so it is easy to figure out how much you are giving him. Read the back of the feed bag to determine how much grain your horse should get based on his weight. I did try to feed my horse beet bulb but he didn't like it. Since your horse has lost some teeth, is he eating his hay or is just balling it up to suck the juices out of it? Reason I asked that is my horse about 3 years ago started to get diarrhea. But we put our heads together and discovered because he was starting to lose weight we increased his grain (a pelleted grain but it wasn't a complete feed). Since he wasn't eating his hay and therefore wasn't getting any roughage, the increase in grain caused the diarrhea. When I switched him to a complete feed his diarrhea stopped. I hope this helps. Double

I've got a 34yo gelding. He's on a Sr feed, it's not totally soaked, as he won't eat it once it goes to mash. Not too many of those back teeth. I've begun to add Purina's new Amplify to his grain. It's glorified rice bran, basically. Added nutrients to the bran. Soemone mentioned that within a month, they got their older gelding (not as old as mine) to show weight gain w/ that. The camp I work w/ has a horse approx 27-30 and he was being given alfalfa cubes, soaked completely. His teeth were fine, just an old horse's teeth, recently floated, even. However, he did choke on one cube. He'd been on the cubes for 2 months at the time and the first one that evening cause him to go into choke. Just a caution. Some horses are fine and some aren't.

We have a 29 year old stallion that looks like he's 15.... we have him on the following: Beet pulp - soaked in water Rice Bran - mix in with the beet pulp Senior pellets - soaked alf. cube - soaked in water and the most important - FasTrac pro-biotic paste pretty much every thing is soaked in water so he can eat it - he too doesn't have too many teeth left. Jo Jo Con's coat is shiny, keeps good weight, he is very healthy and active (likes to run and jump). Not too shabby for an oldster

the october 06 issue of western horseman contains an article on "the truth about fat supplements". i agree with most suggestions already posted. do be careful about too much alfalfa, tho, it is higher in protein than most horses actually need. ask your vet what he suggests, too, since he should know your horse and your needs best. i had a young mare that was too ribby for a gal her age. i tried 3 wormings-the last one also contained tapeworm meds cuz the ivermectrin alone wasn't working. i put her on purina strategy ax (gx is for horses on grass hay), added a glug of whatever vege oil was on sale, had her dental done and she improved greatly. the results took about 4 months to level out, then i switched her from strategy to omalene, then took her off extra feed and switched to a grass hay. o and i used "clovite" as a supplement, too. its a soybean meal based vitamin product. it is also good to use for dogs/cats/sheep/goats, etc., so it's a cost effective if you supplement any of your other critters as well. it comes in tubs or big bags. the equine dentist made 2 suggestions to me. one is to quit using any feed that has molasses in it in any form as it does cause some dental issues, and the second is to feed on the ground (in a pan if needed) so as to simulate natural feeding patterns of reaching down, biting food, then raising head, then reaching down again. this keeps teeth chewing on all levels, jaw in motion etc. i see you have a horse with hardly any lowers, so this probably isnt going to help at this point, but its a good thing to keep in mind for any other horses you may have or get in the future. as far as adding oils, any vege oil works just fine, about 1/2cup daily is what we give all ours, including a 23 yr old who is a hard keeper as well. if you keep the container in a cooler spot in the barn, keep the container closed when not in use and use it regularly you should have no problems with it going rancid. best of luck. kim

I am using rice bran for my older horse and it seems to be making a difference. I also removed him from senior which is only 3% fat and have him on Safe & Sound now which is 7% fat. CGW

you might try this. my mare loved it but i had to order it at my feed store, works wonders and you know everything is in balance of other nutritional aspects. Meadow Herb Senior Mix SPILLERS® Meadow Herb Senior Mix is a low-starch complete feed, with 10% fat and a unique blend of English meadow herbs, cereal grains, and highly digestible fiber sources scientifically formulated for aged horses & ponies. Exclusive low-starch formula aids in the prevention of metabolic disorders, digestive upset and laminitis. FEATURES BENEFITS Low-Starch, High-Fat, Fixed-Formula with added Beet Pulp & Soybean Hulls Easy to chew formula with a consistent, controlled 12% average starch level, reduces the risk of digestive upset & metabolic disorders associated with high-starch diets, while providing “cool” energy to support the caloric demands of the aged horse or “hard keeper” Garlic, Spearmint, Parsley, Red Clover, Rosemary, Balm, Sage, & Fenugreek Beneficial English herbs are included for appetite, respiratory & digestive properties Soybean Oil & Rice Bran Supplies essential fatty acids for improved body & coat condition Chelated Trace Minerals Improved availability & absorption of important minerals Antioxidants Vitamin E & Selenium Yeast for healthy immune system function Diamond V Yeast Culture Improves fiber digestion & nutrient availability Mannan oligosaccharides Added to maintain intestinal health Biotin & Methionine Supports hoof growth & condition Mycotoxin Adsorbent Binds Mycotoxins that can be present in hays, forages & pastures Yucca Schidigera Acts as a natural anti-inflammatory & supports glandular function GUARANTEED ANALYSIS Crude Protein (min)……….…………….………12.0% Lysine (min)……………………...………………..0.70% Crude Fat (min)………….………………………10.0% Methionine (min)……………….…………………0.30% Crude Fiber (max)………………..……….………18% Threonine (min)…..…………….…………………0.40% Calcium (min)……………………………...…..….0.8% Zinc (min)……………………………………….125 ppm Calcium (max)……………………………..…..….1.2% Copper (min)……………………………………. 50 ppm Phosphorus (min)…….……………………..…..0.55% Selenium (min)…………………….……………0.5 ppm Salt (min)…………………………………………..0.9% Vitamin A (min)………………...…………....6,000 IU/lb Salt (max)…………………………………….……1.2% Vitamin D3 (min)……………………………… 300 IU/lb Potassium (min)……………….………………….1.0% Vitamin E (min) ………………………..………250 IU/lb Magnesium (min)……………………………….0.30% Biotin (min)………………………………...…0.50 mg/lb INGREDIENTS Soybean Hulls, Beet Pulp, Soybean Meal, Steam Rolled Barley, Ground Oats, Wheat Middlings, Alfalfa Meal, Soybean Oil, Stabilized Rice Bran, Cane Molasses, Phosphoric Acid, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Yeast Culture, Biotin, L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, L-Threonine, Dried Saccharomyces Cerevisae Fermentation Solubles, Brewers Dried Yeast, Yucca Schidigera, Dried Garlic, Dried Spearmint, Dried Parsley, Dried Red Clover, Dried Rosemary, Dried Balm, Dried Sage, Fenugreek, Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, Propionic Acid (preservative), Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Selenium Yeast, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C Supplement), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate. SPILLERS® Meadow Herb Senior Mix