Senior care: How to manage your aging horse

WELLINGTON COUNTY – As horses enter their senior years, retirement does not mean their care becomes less important. In many cases, older horses require more attention, specialized feeding and closer monitoring to maintain their health and quality of life.

With advances in veterinary medicine and horse management, it is increasingly common for horses to live into their late 20s and even 30s. But as they age, their physical needs can change significantly.

“I’ve seen thoroughbreds live to be like 35. I saw a 35-year-old standardbred yesterday. I’ve known minis and donkeys to be like 40,” said Dr. Christy Barnes, a veterinarian with Bennett Equine Veterinary Services. 

“But I’ve also seen horses degrade much quicker and be, you know, like some of them feel old by the time they hit 20 ... some of them just seem to age way quicker.”

Just like humans, the ageing experience is unique to each horse and can be unpredictable. However, there are steps that can be taken to ensure the best outcome possible for your ageing equine. 

Veterinary care, prevention

Aging horses, like all animals, can present new health issues as they age. Regular veterinary visits and a keen eye can help to ensure the continued health and comfort of your horse.

Common ailments to look out for include;

 – respiratory issues such as asthma or heaves;

– arthritis leading to lameness or weakness;

– Cushing’s disease, which can manifest through muscle loss and weight fluctuations; and

– dental degradation that can prevent proper chewing of coarse forage.

“Some of them [senior horses] end up with strange late life allergies that they were coping with when they were younger that worsen as they age,” said Barnes.

While all of the above ailments can cause issues for ageing horses, Barnes says the one owners should be looking extra carefully for is Cushing’s disease.

“We see Cushing’s disease in tons and tons of those horses,” says Barnes. 

Equine Cushing’s disease is the older name for pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, a slowly progressive endocrine disorder that affects the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. 

In affected horses, the pars intermedia portion of the pituitary gland produces excessive amounts of several hormones, including adrenocorticotrophic hormone. This disrupts normal metabolism, immune function, stress responses, coat growth and body condition. 

While there are tests to check for Cushing’s disease, Barnes says they aren’t always accurate and that further diagnostic testing is sometimes needed. 

“I get a lot of people saying, ‘Well, their Cushing’s test is negative,’” said Barnes. “So I guess one thing that I’d really like people to know is that the Cushing’s test exists, but it’s not perfect, and that we definitely get negative Cushing’s tests in horses that are ... actively [experiencing Cushing’s disease], and there is some advanced testing we can do.”

Common signs of Cushing’s disease can include;

– delayed shedding;

– an abnormally long or curly coat;

– muscle wasting/loss of topline;

– lethargy;

– abnormal sweating;

– increased thirst; and

– increased urination. 

Some horses may also develop regional fat deposits, weight loss, infertility, loose teeth, or recurrent infections due to impaired immune function.

Laminitis, a painful inflammation of the soft tissues that connect the hoof wall to the coffin bone inside the foot of horses and other hoofed animals, can also occur and may be one of the first noticeable signs, especially when hormone levels rise seasonally.

Barnes encourages those with senior horses to have them assessed by a veterinarian at least once a year.

“Senior horses [should be vaccinated annually, and] that’s a good time just to get a body condition score and a quick look over, and have a chance to ask questions and bring things up,” said Barnes.

“We’ll often try and recommend Cushing’s testing or adjust calorie [intake] and things like that at that time, and then we always offer kind of a fall check, especially if there’s any weight loss concerns or abnormal chewing, or they’ve just noticed changes.”

“But once a year is sufficient for some, and does really well. And a dental once a year does really well for most of those horses. And at the very least, seeing them once a year and having their teeth done once a year helps us to see and hopefully notice ahead of time whether there’s issues coming up.”

Barnes stressed the importance of good dental health as sharp points or overgrown teeth can lead to difficulty chewing which can then lead to weight loss and other unfavorable conditions. 

Nutrition, diet

Another important facet to caring for an aging equine is proper nutrition and diet. 

“So we always feed horses from a ... forage-first kind of perspective. So your baseline diet is usually grass and hay. Older horses will get to the point where either they can’t chew that well enough because their teeth have maybe aged enough to the point that they don’t have good grinding surface, so that would mean we’d have to go to shorter stem forages,” said Barnes.

“That would be things like ... hay cubes or soaked beet pulp. From there, after we’ve figured out like a forage based on their size and weight and their needs to make sure that their gut stays healthy. Then we start adding usually a complete feed.”

When asked about supplements and vitamin intake, Barnes says it’s better to keep it simple. 

“You can add six million supplements, but it gets really hard to balance. And the software to do that properly is expensive and actually remarkably difficult to use. So instead, we’ll usually recommend a balanced single product instead,” said Barnes.

“That would be something like a ration balancer. For a horse that gets fat on air, or is insulin resistant, those products can be chosen with really low NSD (non-structural carbohydrate) values, really low sugar and starch values, so that we’re not triggering those horses with their grain to lead them towards laminitis, but also giving them the protein, vitamins and minerals in a balanced way that they would need.”

“If the horse needs more calories or doesn’t have an insulin component, then I usually go to a regular complete feed. And then if they’re underweight, pregnant, you know, recovering from anything, and need extra calories, then usually a senior feed would be what we call the product with extra calories.”