Dog Community

Equine Senior or Strategy?

Posted : 3/10/2006 8:35:06 PM

Has anyone ever used either of these? Nicky was getting thinner than he usually gets in the winter, and I found out why on Tuesday. His teeth are in BAD shape... apparently his head is misshapen?? (The vet actually asked if he'd ever had a major head injury because of how out of whack his jaw is.) He lost a molar and combined with the misshapen head, the rest got bad fast and he hasn't been able to eat properly. He actually has to have three pulled. [sm=sad.gif]

The vet recommended Equine Senior or Strategy or a combo of both as a supplement for now -- 2 lbs for 2 weeks, then 6 lbs indefinitely 'til we see if he can get back in condition and continue eating hay or if he'll have to have it forever.

What do you know about either of these? I got Equine Senior.

danehaven

Posted : 3/10/2006 10:01:35 PM

I don't know anything about the feed. What about having his teeth floated? Wouldn't it help??

jensw

Posted : 3/10/2006 10:16:18 PM

Oh, yeah, they were floated. The Equine Senior/Strategy is to put back on the weight that he lost.

Shirley

Posted : 3/11/2006 8:41:50 AM

My niece has a problem keeping weight on her 25-year-old gelding. He's had his teeth floated but it didn't do much good -- too many of his teeth are gone. She feeds Equine Senior, along with beet pulp, wheat bran, and I don't know what else. She was also feeding Ration Plus for awhile, which has been known to help some horses put on weight. He is looking better know, although I think switching him from grass hay to alfalfa made the biggest difference, simply because he likes it better and he'll eat more.

Last year I had a horse that needed to put on weight, so I started feeding Nutrena Empower. Expensive stuff, but it only took two bags. He got so fat I had to put him on a diet. LOL!

danehaven

Posted : 3/11/2006 10:45:22 AM

My next thought would be to add alfalfa too. I have heard that oil will help to put weight on plus helps tails and manes etc...

Lisa Riley

Posted : 3/11/2006 10:58:31 AM

My trainer has used strategy with quite a bit of success, she also suggests alfalfa, it is tender and has more calories than grass for putting weight on. I put a weight builder on our mare and in a month she looked incredible.

jensw

Posted : 3/11/2006 12:40:06 PM

Thanks, everyone; I will look into all those ideas. I might have to put him in his own paddock for a little while to get to feed alfalfa.

Sera_J

Posted : 3/11/2006 11:05:14 PM

Sorry I can't help, I'm not experienced with senior horses. I think putting him in his own paddock has it's plusses and minuses. Namely, is he going to stress and pace once he's removed from the herd? That could exacerbate his weight problem. But, if he gets to eat all the time... he may not even notice [

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Goodluck, keep us posted!

Lindsay- Bernie's Mom

Posted : 3/12/2006 10:19:59 AM

Good suggestions so far.

Soaking his food and hay (or hay cubes) is probably one of the easiest things you can do to make eating easier for him. I work at a barn with 8 geriatric horses (all over 22 years old). Just make sure not to soak for too long, or the food/hay will get moldy. (ie- don't soak in the AM and feed in the PM. Soak 30-60 mins ahead of time)

It may be hard to get him to eat that much food. Providing oil is a good way to get calories in him without stressing out his stomach or wasting feed.

If he is having problems eating hay, hay cubes or some other fiber source- Equine Senior is the way to go. Check the labels- it should have a significantly higher percentage of Crude Fiber. If he is eating hay fine- Strategy should work well. My friends horse is on that and gained weight nicely.

Good luck!