Dear Dr. Dan,
I have a poor doing 19 year old Arab gelding with poor coat and he was diagnosed as allergic to most grains. His teeth are prematurely worn for his age. He came off a ranch and was only fed whole oats , hay and pasture. I never fed him complete or sweet feeds. Only oats and free choice grass hay.He has gained weight on beet pulp and 2 # of alfalfa cubes daily.
He has access to your RedCal free choice. Fre choice grass hay and limited pasture. He is never stalled. He has a mottled hair coat where hair has come back but it is much lighter than the rest of his coat. He has had hair loss all over his body. He has a bay coat. He looks dappled from far away but that is because the hair is so much lighter where it came in this spring after having so much hair loss and dry, dull coat last year.
What products can you recomend that might my older horse? I do not worm unless I do a fecal first. I am not feeding any oats since the vet did allergy testing and he was positive to most grain products. He also gets a flaxseed product with added vitE and selinium as per my vet. I read alot of your articles in your library but find little as to how to feed an older horse in a compromised state of health.
Thank you for any help that you might be able to provide.
Sincerely, Patricia G.
An older gets the same as a younger one (see the website below called www.whattofeedyourhorse.com) with a few exceptions.
First you can soak the oats overnight (forget the allergy testing issue… I have dozens of horses specifically allergic to oats that get oats -never an issue) to those oats add our Just add oats supplement and our Weight check oil (typical amount is 2 oz daily but I would give 4 oz for now) Keep the Red Cal of course too. I would consider the Joint Check too especially if the age has him slowing down any.
The Bug Check I do suggest for all horses anyway. If the allergies are currently an issue I would add the Aller Check but generally this is not needed long term. Gut Check will help any horse get more "goody" out of whatever he eats.
Also Please Stop the beet pulp. It has NO nutrition except fiber (hay is cheaper anyway) and actually sucks the nutrition right out of the gut and has the potential for pesticides too. You will not need the vit e selenium either with the above.
What To Feed Your Horse?
http://www.
Hay or grass is a bulk food. It makes the horse feel full and helps them to digest their food.