Question
Lotus is my 31-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding that’s in moderately fleshy body condition (score of 6). He’s turned out on pasture for several hours daily. When stalled, he’s fed hay and given a balancer pellet. He’s becoming pickier about his hay, which is completely new for him. While I worry a bit about this fussiness, I am more concerned about the consistency of his manure, which occasionally becomes runny for several days. My vet suggested that age and frequent changes in forage could be responsible for the manure changes. Lotus is boarded at a small barn. Hay is delivered frequently, and each batch is different on visual inspection (color, maturity, weed content). Lotus is given pergolide daily for Cushing’s disease and bute sporadically for arthritis if I have ridden him more than usual. What are your thoughts?
Answer
I agree with your veterinarian in that your gelding’s manure changes are likely due to age-related digestive disturbances and inconsistent hay supply. I would also include possible dentition problems. Aged horses often have a decline in chewing ability that makes long-stem hay or mature hay difficult to process and digest, leading to digestive upset. For horses as old as Lotus, I would recommend two dental exams annually.
Because of the unpredictable hay supply, consider replacing some or most of the hay with hay cubes or pellets to provide a more consistent and easier-to-chew forage source. Depending on the state of your horse’s teeth—at 31 years of age, I would expect some loose or missing teeth—you may have to soften the cubes and pellets with water for a few minutes just before feeding them. Offering different forage options can also be helpful in promoting appetite in older horses.
The ration balancer is appropriate, as it provides complete nutrition to balance the forage-based diet without adding unnecessary calories. A healthy hindgut can help mitigate problems associated with frequent changes in feed. With this in mind, consider EquiShure, a time-released hindgut buffer designed to support hindgut health and reduce the incidence of loose manure.
