Senior Shetland Mare

Question
I have a 33 year old Senior Shetland Mare and I am concerned about her weight loss over the winter and continuing. She has bad/few teeth I believe and Quids when she eats her hay, I feel like she isn't getting much from it at all at this time. I supplement her hay with Hay stretcher, approximately 2 16oz. 'scoops" in the evening with her sweet feed, at 13% protein again, the 2 16oz. scoops, and half of those in the morning, which she rarely finishes in the morning, I believe from anxiety regarding going out with the rest of her herd.
The first place I went wrong was not blanketing her through the winter and not checking her weight regularly. This is my third winter with her and she has always been very hardy and she appeared to be doing well enough. Anyways, she has lost about 100 lbs and though she is eating some with the herd I mostly see her on the outskirts. I'm wondering about switching her to a Senior Feed and making it a mash...but I'm not sure HOW much, though I know I have to introduce slowly..I have read from 1.5-3% of their body weight, would this only pertain to her "grain mash" or include her hay stretcher supplement as well? Help Please. I want to do right by my Good Old Mare.

Answer
Hi Natalie,

Thank you for your question.  I can certainly understand your concern for your older mare.  I would start by suggesting that you switch from sweet feed to a good quality senior feed, as the digestive system of the older horse slows down and they have more difficulty processing the starch in their diets.  A good senior feed will have no added starch, only moderate levels of added fat and will use beet pulp as its fiber source.  At your mare's age, she will eat about 1.5% of her body weight daily...that's total feed (dry matter) intake.  Given her recent loss of body weight, I would suggest that you work your mare up to the recommended feeding rate of senior feed in 7-10 days of starting her on it.  Then round out her ration with hay stretcher, and allow her access to whatever hay she will eat.  She is more likely to eat her grain and hay stretcher (and properly digest it) and she can pick at her hay in between feedings allowing her to have that natural foraging routine even if she can't process the hay or use it effectively.  

For example:  if your mare weighs 500 lbs; your daily feeding would be 3 lbs of Sentinel SR Senior Formula + 4.5 lbs Hay Stretcher.  You will want to split this into 2-3 feedings per day, and soaking it all in water may be a good idea...especially if your mare is missing some teeth.  This should fulfill her daily nutrient requirements and allowing her to have access to hay will meet her behavioral requirements.  Top dressing with a good quality pre-biotic/pro-biotic may also help her with her body weight issue.

I hope that helps.

Thanks, Corlena