What You Need To Know About Older Equine
Have an older horse companion in your pasture? Bless their hearts they have such stories they can tell. Vis being considered a senior pony, if your equine is twenty or older he’s a vet or campaigner. This age incidentally would make him about a 60-year- old human.
Your horse’s ageing process will vary, and will also depend on his breed, workload, conformation, medical history and the care he receives. Each pony is a person. So how they age will be totally different. The thing you need to pay the most attention to as your horse ages, are his teeth.
Horses naturally are grazing animals, and their mouths are set up ideal for that angled neck hanging down to graze, nip and shear grass off and grind and gnaw it. Over the years this constant grinding wears the tooth surfaces down, and they fall out. This makes eating complicated for your horse and also suggests if he is unable to eat correctly, he’ll start to lose condition. And that brings with it a whole host of other problems.
The best thing you can do for your older equine is to have the Vet check his teeth twice a year for any abnormal wear, waves, hooks, or sore gums. Dealing with these things quickly will keep your horse able to eat for a long longer. In expectation, start him on mashes slowly so if he reaches the point where he wishes them often, he’s already used to them.
Between visits, take a look at your horse’s mouth and watch for issues with eating, like quidding, head throwing, choking or difficulty drinking. Older horses frequently have problems eating long fiber food. You can decipher this issue by swapping to shorter cropped hay and / or add high fiber cubes as mash or straight. If you keep on top of dental problems, you are able to save your horse a lot of grief, and you can save money and problems in the future.
