Looking after the Golden oldies coming into Winter.
Now that the nights are drawing in and the weather is starting to turn a lot of people will be thinking about winter care for their horses.
For me, this is prime time to up the anti for the older horses that are in my care.
I will be watching them carefully, judging when to start feeding them, looking for signs of stiffness or them being cold.
How is their weight looking? Do they need extra help this year, or do they need help more quickly than they did last year?
I will show you a couple of my examples and see what you think.
Case one: Monty.
Monty is a 29-year-old section A. Awesome little Palomino dude. No stiffness and a serious personality. What he does struggle with though is his weight.
Though he doesn't belong to me I try to keep him on top form for his owners and currently we are struggling a little with maintaining his weight.
So steps to get him to a good weight before the winter sets in.
1) Rug. The little guy is always rugged when he is out, in case of showers or a cold wind, anything that might mean he uses more energy than he needs to. I'd rather he be a little warm than too cold, and burning valuable energy trying to keep warm.
2) Lots of turnout. This is partly because I am sure he would turn into some kind of dragon with too much stabling but also because I feel that he is much more likely to remain supple and less stiff if he can move around as much as possible. When the weather really takes a turn he will spend more time in but I am hoping to make sure he gets at least an hour of turnout per day, just to stretch his legs!
3) Dentist. I have booked him in for this week and hopefully, a good dental session will mean that he can make the most of his feed. I noticed that he had started to drop some so wanted to address the issue as soon as possible.
4) Feed. Little and often. The aim is to get three small feeds a day into him, he is on a special mix for older horses that is easy to chew and provides a good basis for weight gain.
Due to him being a child's pony we want to make sure that he gets enough feed and calories to build him up but also that he isn't getting to 'hot' for his little jockey. Referring back to my point about turnout, the more time he has out to play and kick about the less likely he is to do it with a small child on board.
5) Good quality roughage. Currently he struggles a little with chewing hay or haylage but hopefully, that will be sorted when the dentist has been to visit. It's massively important that whether it be nice and high-quality hay or haylage. (We may go for the higher protein count of haylage, to begin with, if it doesn't heat him up too much). He has constant access to roughage to keep his digestive system working as it should be.
Hopefully, a mixture of these things will bring him back up to weight and keep him happy and healthy all winter.
Case two: Joseph
Jo Pony is my little superstar, he is now in his mid-twenties but he was amazing in his day. A total jumping machine. He is now fully retired and spends his days out with my grandfathers retired racehorse. Both of them loving their laid back lifestyle.
A lifetime of jumping means that although Joe is great, looks in good condition and has a great coat, he has become quite stiff in his hind end.
He isnt rugged yet as he doesnt lose condition like Monty but he lives his life out in a feild, only coming in when the weather is extremely bad, so he will be rugged once the rain becomes a regular thing.
To help with his Joints I leave a paddock lick out with him and his pal Buzz. As they have both had active lives I think that it can only help them.
As it gets colder I will start to feed the pair and they will both get oil and feed that helps with their joints as well as aiding them in maintaining a d good condition through the winter.
In my opinion he is certainly happy enough at the moment.
All in all I think that the biggest thing about older ponies is making sure that they are well fed, warm and comfortable. Teeth is a massive part of this so I would always reccomend making sure thet you get teeth checked on a regular basis, especially if they start struggling a little with their feed!
For me, this is prime time to up the anti for the older horses that are in my care.
I will be watching them carefully, judging when to start feeding them, looking for signs of stiffness or them being cold.
How is their weight looking? Do they need extra help this year, or do they need help more quickly than they did last year?
I will show you a couple of my examples and see what you think.
Case one: Monty.
Monty is a 29-year-old section A. Awesome little Palomino dude. No stiffness and a serious personality. What he does struggle with though is his weight.
Though he doesn't belong to me I try to keep him on top form for his owners and currently we are struggling a little with maintaining his weight.
So steps to get him to a good weight before the winter sets in.
1) Rug. The little guy is always rugged when he is out, in case of showers or a cold wind, anything that might mean he uses more energy than he needs to. I'd rather he be a little warm than too cold, and burning valuable energy trying to keep warm.
2) Lots of turnout. This is partly because I am sure he would turn into some kind of dragon with too much stabling but also because I feel that he is much more likely to remain supple and less stiff if he can move around as much as possible. When the weather really takes a turn he will spend more time in but I am hoping to make sure he gets at least an hour of turnout per day, just to stretch his legs!
3) Dentist. I have booked him in for this week and hopefully, a good dental session will mean that he can make the most of his feed. I noticed that he had started to drop some so wanted to address the issue as soon as possible.
4) Feed. Little and often. The aim is to get three small feeds a day into him, he is on a special mix for older horses that is easy to chew and provides a good basis for weight gain.
Due to him being a child's pony we want to make sure that he gets enough feed and calories to build him up but also that he isn't getting to 'hot' for his little jockey. Referring back to my point about turnout, the more time he has out to play and kick about the less likely he is to do it with a small child on board.
5) Good quality roughage. Currently he struggles a little with chewing hay or haylage but hopefully, that will be sorted when the dentist has been to visit. It's massively important that whether it be nice and high-quality hay or haylage. (We may go for the higher protein count of haylage, to begin with, if it doesn't heat him up too much). He has constant access to roughage to keep his digestive system working as it should be.
Hopefully, a mixture of these things will bring him back up to weight and keep him happy and healthy all winter.
Case two: Joseph
Jo Pony is my little superstar, he is now in his mid-twenties but he was amazing in his day. A total jumping machine. He is now fully retired and spends his days out with my grandfathers retired racehorse. Both of them loving their laid back lifestyle.
A lifetime of jumping means that although Joe is great, looks in good condition and has a great coat, he has become quite stiff in his hind end.
He isnt rugged yet as he doesnt lose condition like Monty but he lives his life out in a feild, only coming in when the weather is extremely bad, so he will be rugged once the rain becomes a regular thing.
To help with his Joints I leave a paddock lick out with him and his pal Buzz. As they have both had active lives I think that it can only help them.
As it gets colder I will start to feed the pair and they will both get oil and feed that helps with their joints as well as aiding them in maintaining a d good condition through the winter.
In my opinion he is certainly happy enough at the moment.
All in all I think that the biggest thing about older ponies is making sure that they are well fed, warm and comfortable. Teeth is a massive part of this so I would always reccomend making sure thet you get teeth checked on a regular basis, especially if they start struggling a little with their feed!
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