Pleasure and Performance Horse from Life Data Rounds Out Senior Horses’ Dietary Needs
By Life Data Staff
The best senior horse feeding program will improve the nutrient balance and increase the feed efficiency of the natural hay and pasture diet. Life Data® Barn Bag® Pleasure and Performance Horse furnishes the nutrients that are typically deficient in hay and pasture, such as the amino acid lysine, thereby improving the feed efficiency. Barn Bag supplies the daily needed nutrients and therefore eliminates the need to feed compounded feeds.
Senior horses often become underweight due to decreased digestive capacity. If your senior horse is underweight and requires a calorie source in addition to the calories provided by the hay and pasture, whole oats are an ideal calorie source because:
- The starch is easily digested.
- The horse will often masticate the oats to a greater degree than a compounded feed, therefore maintaining improved dental health and reducing dental spurs.
- The chewing stimulates salivary production, enhancing digestion and reducing stomach ulcers.
- Whole oats are highly palatable to the horse.
As horses age they usually require increased medical and dental care from your veterinarian. Dental health is a frequent concern for the senior horse. Feeding steam rolled oats or other easily digested feed stuff to horses with bad or missing teeth is a good option. Feedstuffs that do not require chewing often lead to gulping of the feed. Automatic feeders can benefit horses that eat too quickly, or you can place smooth rocks about the size of your fist into the feeding trough to help overcome eating too quickly.
If you elect to feed whole oats, feed Barn Bag Pleasure and Performance Horse and gradually replace the current compounded feed with whole oats over a 10-day period. Beet pulp, coconut pulp, and vegetable oil are also good calorie sources. Farrier’s Formula can be given along with Barn Bag without concern of over-supplementation.
Life Data Labs, Inc.
1-800-624-1873
The Northwest Horse Source is an independently owned and operated print and online magazine for horse owners and enthusiasts of all breeds and disciplines in the Pacific Northwest. Our contemporary editorial columns are predominantly written by experts in the region, covering the care, training, keeping and enjoyment of horses, with an eye to the specific concerns in our region.