by Kristin Pitzer

Most of the major Western performance horse events focus on horses aged seven and younger, but many horses that once had big limited-age careers can keep showing well into their late teens and early 20s. They might not have the range of motion and athletic ability they did in their younger days — something many human sports legends will attest to — but as long as they are kept fit and in good care, these older horses can still be competitive in weekend, ancillary and horse show classes, or even become teachers for rookies and youth that are getting started in the sport.

Riding and competing with older horses does take some extra finesse, and much like their younger counterparts, those that are kept in a consistent program will find the most success, said Dr. Don Lee, DVM, of Double X Veterinary Services in Sunset, Texas. Quarter Horse News spoke with him to learn more about keeping aged horses fit for competition.

“Aged” Will Vary Between Horses

It’s hard to pinpoint a number for when a horse is considered aged, as there are several factors, in addition to numerical age, that can cause a horse to slow down. Some horses can develop juvenile arthritis at the age of 3 or 4, for instance, and there are plenty of other soundness issues that might cause a horse to retire early from the limited-age show pen. A good rule of thumb, though, is that once a horse reaches the 15- to 20-year age bracket, you should start watching for signs that he needs to take a few steps back and ease off on hard competition.

“In barrel horses, you might see horses not clock as fast as they used to — they might lose a couple tenths, for instance,” Lee said. “In the cutting world, it’s a little harder as many of them are sore by the time they’re 10 to 12 and have a lot of maintenance. The biggest indicator is losing a step here or there.”

Aged horses might lose their topline and muscle mass as they get older, even if they are used frequently. If you see these symptoms in your horses, they could be indicators that your horse needs some extra care, such as having a veterinarian check him over for arthritis or altering your feeding program to be more senior-friendly.

Diet Can Make or Break Your Aged Horse

In their younger years, some horses might be easy keepers that seem to get fat on air. As horses age, though, especially if they’re getting worked often, their nutritional needs can increase. A horse that might have done well on a forage-only diet could begin to need grain supplementation.

“I like hay better than I like feed a lot of times, but for the aged horses, you often have to supplement some grain,” Lee said. “There’s many good feeds out there, and they’re all fairly comparable, but I recommend a high fat feed and good quality hay.”

Be sure to maintain your horse’s dental care, since it won’t matter how good the quality of the hay or feed you give them is if they’re unable to chew properly. Teeth should be checked regularly, especially in aged horses, as their mouths can change quickly.

“Teeth can be a big part of not only how they ride, but also how they’re able to masticate that feed and absorb the nutrients from the hay and feed you’re giving,” Lee said.

Movement Is Essential

Should your horse’s housing situation require you to leave him stalled all day, keep in mind that a horse that stands around without exercise will be more prone to injury than one that is worked regularly. Therefore, Lee recommended regular turnout for older horses when possible, along with three or four days a week of 30 to 45 minute rides. If turnout is not available, he advised daily exercise, particularly long-trotting.

“A lot of ligament and tendon injuries are injuries of fatigue, so either they don’t do anything with them for two months, pull them out of the pasture, enter them and use them, and then they break down because they’re fatigued and tired, or they’re overworked, and then they break down,” Lee said. “That’s why I like that 30 to 45-minute exercise range. That’s a combination of walk, trot, lope them a little bit, maybe slow work them, things like that.”

Warm-ups and cool-downs are also important, he said. It’s better to give them five minutes of walking before exercise to loosen everything up, and then five minutes to cool down afterward, rather than pulling the saddle off and throwing them back into their stall after a hard ride.

Stiffness Differs From Pain

If your horse regularly seems stiff coming out of his stall but eventually works out of it, he likely isn’t in pain, Lee said. Think about older humans when they first wake up in the morning — it often takes a few steps to work out the kinks. Likewise, it can take an older horse’s body a few minutes to loosen up after standing still for several hours.

“It’s just like us — if I sit down for a good period of time and then get up, it takes me three or four strides to get going,” Lee said. “There are different things, like mechanical things, that can create the appearance of lameness, so you have to judge that based on how they respond to flexes. Just because they’re a little stiff doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in pain.”

Horses that have old ligament or tendon injuries in their lower legs can lose range of motion in their ankles and feet. Those horses are still sound, Lee said; they just don’t have as much elasticity as they used to because the tissue may be scarred in from the injury.

Supplements or Injections Might Help

No matter how well you care for your horse or keep him legged up, at some point, his age will likely catch up with him. If he still enjoys being ridden and is in good health otherwise, there are supplements, injections and other medical solutions that can help prevent soreness and keep him going under saddle. Talk to your veterinarian about the different options available to see which is the best fit.

Your veterinarian will also be a great source for evaluating your horse’s diet and physical capabilities, and for helping you stay on top of any other care and maintenance needs. These are all crucial for keeping you hauling down the road together.

“I think to keep an aged horse going, regular exercise, a good diet and taking care of their teeth are important,” Lee said. “You never can forget the deworming program, either. That all plays into it as well. But if you’ve got good feed, good feet and good exercise, you can keep a horse going for a long time.”

This article originally appeared on American Quarter Horse News and is published here with permission.

There are more informative and entertaining articles in our section on Health & Education. While you're here be sure to check out our Curated Amazon Store.

By Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D.

Apples and bananas used to be the predominant fruits available in your grocery store during the fall and winter. But lately, you can find all sorts of off-season fruits, including watermelon and blueberries, thanks to imports from more temperate climates. Your horses can also benefit from this variety. The old standbys - apples and carrots - still make nutritious treats but why limit your horse's enjoyment to just these?

Day in and day out, your horse eats the same thing. Boring?... yes. Unbalanced?... definitely. It's not likely that he has acres of unimproved land to explore, as he would in a wild setting, where he would eat flowers, seeds, edible weeds, and fruits from vines and trees. It is our job as horse owners to fortify their ho-hum diets with added nutrients from fresh foods. Sure, there are whole food supplements on the market, really nice ones in fact[i]. But why not add the real thing? Fruit tastes a lot better and is chock full of antioxidants and other valuable nutrients that can have a powerful impact on your horse's health.

Flavonoids are potent antioxidants

Dark blue and red berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries as well as cherries and red grapes, contain antioxidants known as epicatechins and anthocyanidins that belong to a group of antioxidants known as flavonoids. Since these flavonoids also give the fruit its color, the deeper the color, the more antioxidant-power the fruit contains. Red grapes also offer resveratrol, an antioxidant that has recently become popular as a horse supplement. (Dark chocolate also contains resveratrol, which is great for you, but never give it to your horse!)

Bananas, surprisingly, are high in anthocyanidins. Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes, while known for their vitamin C content, also contain considerable amounts of flavonoids such as hesperidin, rutin and quercetin, which work with vitamin C to promote antioxidant activity. Another biologically active flavonoid known as lycopene, adds a red color to watermelon, papaya, and mangos. Important to note: tomatoes are high in lycopene, but are highly toxic to horses.

Beta carotene is a flavonoid that offers an orange color to apricots, papayas, mangos, cantaloupe, nectarines, and peaches, as well as carrots. It is not only a powerful antioxidant, but is a precursor to vitamin A within your horse's body.

Fruits are also a reliable source of vitamins and minerals. Dried fruits such as figs and dates are particularly concentrated in calcium, zinc, and potassium. They also contain B vitamins, beta carotene, and vitamin K.

Fruits round out the diet beyond traditional supplements

Concentrated supplements may offer many of the nutrients found in fruits. However, it's difficult, if not impossible, to gather the entire essence of a plant in a commercial product. By feeding the whole food, you offer your horse trace nutrients that nourish his body in a way that cannot be duplicated by opening a container. It is important to note, however, that filling in the nutritional gaps created by a hay-based diet generally requires concentrated supplements; you would have to feed an unrealistically large amount of fruits and other whole foods to meet this requirement. Fruits should be offered in addition to a balanced diet, to round it out, but not to offer everything your horse needs.

Sugar content of common fruits

Fruits do contain a significant amount of sugar. If you have insulin resistant horses, you may be thinking that this article is not for you. While you do need to limit their sugar (and starch) intake, there still can be room for some tasty fresh fruit. The key is moderation, combined with evaluating how much sugar your horse is getting in his entire diet.

Horses love bananas (one of their favorite flavors[ii]). They also like watermelon, cherries, blueberries, and of course, apples. The chart below gives you an idea of how much sugar is in these and other fruits:

Sugar Content of Common Fruits[iii]
Fruit	Grams of sugar
Apple, one medium	13
Apricots, one (no pit!)	3
Banana, one 7 inch	14
Blackberries (1 cup)	7
Blueberries (one cup)	15
Cantaloupe, 1/8 small melon	4
Carrot, one 8 inch	3
Cherries, 6 (no pits)	6
Dates, three (no pits!)	12
Figs, one small	7
Grapes (red, green), 10 grapes	8
Honeydew melon, 1/8 7 in melon	13
Mango, 1/2 fruit (without pit)	15
Nectarines, 1 small (without pit)	10
Orange, one medium	15
Papaya, one small (remove seeds)	9
Peaches, 2 3/4 inches (no pit)	15
Pears, one medium	17
Plums, one medium (remove the pit)	7
Raspberries (1 cup)	5
Tangerines, 2 1/2 inch	9
Strawberries, 3 medium	3
Watermelon, one wedge	28

Some peels are worth eating

A wonderful way to offer your horse something tasty and nutritious is to feed the peel instead of the whole fruit. Apple, banana, and orange peels, as well as watermelon rinds, cut into bite-sized pieces, have less than 1 gram of sugar per cup. Apple peels are particularly beneficial. They contain a substance called "ursolic acid" which has been shown to stimulate muscle growth, increase carbohydrate metabolism, and reduce body fat in laboratory animals.[iv] Avoid the peels of tropical fruits such as mangos and papayas since they can be irritating to the skin.

Putting this into perspective with the rest of the diet

To reduce the sugar content of your horse's diet, you should strive to feed less than 10% of the total diet as simple sugars and starch. If you've had your hay or pasture analyzed, the ethanol soluble carbohydrate (ESC) value represents the simple sugar content.

Let's say your grass hay contains 7.10% ESC and 1.80% starch on a dry matter basis. Their sum is 8.90% - that's excellent! This would be a good hay to offer free-choice to your horse.

If your horse consumes 25 lbs per day of this hay, he/she will consume 2.225 lbs of ESC + starch (25 lbs X .0890). Convert that to grams (multiply by 454), providing your horse with 1010.15 grams of sugar and starch. If your horse also eats a cup of blackberries per day, you'll be providing an additional 7 grams of sugar. This brings the total sugar/starch intake to 1017.15 grams per day, or 8.96% of the diet. Not much of a difference.

One caveat: It is best to divide the amount of fruit you'll be serving over the course of the day, rather than feeding it all at one time. A large amount of sugar fed at once will create a higher blood glucose peak than if it were fed in smaller amounts throughout the day.

Bottom line

Fruits are bountiful sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, making them a valuable addition to any horse's feeding regimen. Diets that need to be low in sugar and starch can still safely accommodate moderate amounts of fresh fruits. This will not only be pleasing to your horse, but will offer additional nutrients that likely do not exist in the current diet.

This article originally appeared on Getty Equine Nutrition and is published here with permission.

Find more informative articles in our section on Health & Education. While you're here, take a look at our Curated Amazon Store.

---