30/09/2026
Caring for our oldies in Winter ❄️
The weather is feeling very Autumnal so it’s time to start thinking about how we manage our veterans over the cooler months.
As horses age, they become less efficient at chewing and digesting their food and can lose weight over the Winter months more than they perhaps did when they were younger. Some things to think about.
TEETH 🦷 is your veteran up to date with their dental check ups?
FORAGE - does your horse have continuous access to forage, and is the forage in an easily chewable/digestible form for those who are dentally challenged?
RUGGING/SHELTER - horses use energy keeping warm. Rugs and shelter should be used to make sure our older chaps are cosy to prevent excess weight loss.
SUDDEN WEIGHT LOSS - some sudden drops in weight are due to PPID (Cushings) or other underlying conditions which can be mistaken for normal ageing. Call the team if you notice a sudden change. October is the perfect month to blood test to catch the condition early.
Monitoring weight and early intervention is vital - here is 19yo Thomas having his weigh in. The equine scales are available for hire, but if you don’t have access to scales, a weigh tape is a good method to monitor changes.
As always if you need further help or advice give the team a call 🙂
