Tactics for Caring for Aging Horses, Part 3

In previous entries to this blog series, we’ve discussed several of the issues and care areas you have to prioritize for aging horses. Modern medicine and technology allow us to care for horses and keep them alive and strong for longer than at any other point during history, but this still requires careful prioritization of the right areas when your horse reaches its later years.

At AA Callister, we’re proud to offer everything from farrier supplies to rodeo vests and much more when it comes to horse care and enjoyment. We also provide a wide range of horse care supplies, including horse wormers, First Aid products and much more. In today’s final installment of our senior horse care series, we’ll go over a few additional concerns that often crop up for older horses, plus what you can do to prevent and address them.

Tooth Concerns

Like older humans in some cases, older horses may begin to have teeth issues that form through simple aging and wear-and-tear. The most common such issue is trouble chewing, which may be related to the teeth themselves or could also be due to jaw or muscle strength issues in the horse.

In some situations, changing to a formulated senior horse feed will be enough to solve these issues. This feed is designed to be easier to chew and digest than typical forage, which can help many horses. If this does not solve your issue, contact your veterinarian for more information on what you might be able to do for their tooth issues.

Impactions

If you aren’t aware, the term “impaction” in horses refers to a blockage of the gastrointestinal tract, generally caused by a buildup of material (often feces). In many cases, the cause of impactions in older horses is an improperly-functioning colon, especially if the impaction always occurs in the same place within the intestine. In these cases, your vet will perform a rectal exam to confirm the condition.

During this exam, the vet will rule out areas like fat tumors, sand collections or enteroliths. If none of these are the cause of the impaction, the issue is generally poor hydration, which can be solved by adding salt to your horse’s diet – the sale doesn’t solve the hydration issue itself, but rather encourages the horse to drink more water.

Digestion Issues

Finally, visible signs like more gas, larger bellies and soft manure could signal that your aging horse is having digestive issues. If you’ve already confirmed your deworming is good (we covered this in part two), and the horse is getting enough forage, you may consider probiotics to help smooth things over in the digestive system. If this does not work, your vet may recommend an enzyme supplement or a change in feed to a format that has more grains and fiber sources.

For more on caring for aging horses, or to learn about any of our Western wear or other horse supplies, speak to the staff at AA Callister today.

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