A healthier senior horse with Equi-Strath

Horses might just be among the most significant animals in human history. Before planes, trains and cars there were horses. They were our very first means of high-speed travel for 4,000 years. They helped us build, farm, lift, haul, explore, migrate, win wars, learn new cultures and languages, and heal. It was with the help of horses that humankind achieved and built incredible things including the modern world.

How times have changed. The trusty steed continues to add value today. Whether it is for our entertainment, sport and recreation, search and rescue, farmwork, policing or crowd control.

Horses are even being used to help treat a range of new cognitive, physical, and psychological conditions and disorders brought on by the stresses and strains of our modern lifestyles. Equine Therapy is proving hugely beneficial in this field, especially for the treatment of autism, addiction, anxiety, bipolar, depression, trauma and post-traumatic stress disorders. This is an area where senior and retired horses continue to add value.

Horses have a lifespan of between 25 to 30 years but can live much longer, healthier lives with the right care. And your horse can too. The next time you look at your ageing horse, think about everything its bloodline did to help us get to where we are today. Then lavish it with love by giving it Equi-Strath.

How do I keep my horse healthy for longer?

Horses are senior from around 18 to 20 years old. As your horse ages, it will start becoming vulnerable to age-related disorders. Horses become particularly prone to arthritis and secondary infections as their immune system starts to weaken from the ages of between 15 to 18 years old.

This is why we recommend that you pay attention to:

• Veterinary care – an equine vet should visit senior horses twice a year, and at the very least once a year. This is to help prevent and identify age-related disorders. Cushing’s disease affects between 20 to 30% of senior horses. An early diagnosis and the right care may prevent further complications.
  Also, remember to check your horse’s manure regularly for worms. Senior horses should be dewormed twice a year, once in spring and again in autumn.
• Vaccination – Continue to vaccinate senior horses on a regular basis. They may even need booster shots. Work with your equine vet to decide on a suitable vaccine schedule.
• Hoof care – The speed and density of hoof growth changes with age. It will start to slow down quite a bit and become more fragile making older horses more susceptible to abscesses and arthritis. On average, farriers recommend trimming the hooves of senior non-use horses every three months. Mature horses that are shod need trimming and reshoeing every six to eight weeks. Horse parents must remain vigilant about hoof care, particularly as horses age. Speak to your farrier about orthopaedic options for mature steeds.
• General grooming – More mature horses tend to have increased body sensitivity due to thinning skin. Approach grooming gently. It is a wonderful place to bond, show affection and relax. Dandruff is a common condition with senior horses making ageing skin particularly sensitive. Coconut oil is a natural and soothing balsam.
• Dental care – A horse’s teeth never stop growing. They need dental care. As horses get older, teeth may grow unevenly which is when they need filing down. This is called floating. Senior horses need a dental float once a year. It is important not to overdo it either. A healthy mouth environment will ensure that your horse feeds more efficiently and feels more comfortable.
• Stabling and environment – Your senior horse will need to be kept safe from the elements especially the harsh summer sun, chilly winter nights and extreme weather conditions. Although horses can sleep standing up, they do also need to lie down, so be sure to make their stables clean and a little more comfortable. As they get older, arthritis becomes likely. They will also need a little more room to get up and down in.
• Exercise – Your horse will start to get a little more nervous with age as eyesight goes and will experience a decrease in coordination too. You will also start to notice a decrease in their topline with age. We recommend gentle exercises like walking over trotting poles to get them to lift their legs and get those muscles stretching.
• Diet and nutrition – The correct age-appropriate diet along with plenty of fresh water becomes increasingly important as new requirements will need to be met with age. Discuss this with your equine vet.

Top tips:

• A diet high in fibre is an absolute must as your horse ages. You will also need to feed according to condition. Weight loss and sometimes weight gain are issues to take into account.
• Consider other ailments along with age when it comes to feed. For example, a liver condition combined with Cushing’s disease means frequent feeds of smaller amounts including moderate to low protein levels and very low starch and sugar levels of under 10% combined.
• And of course, make sure that your horse has access to an abundance of water troughs which should be cleaned daily.
• Consider supplementing with a nutritional supplement such as Equi-Strath which helps horses absorb up to ten times more micronutrients from their food.

Why are diet and nutrition so important for my mature horse?

Good health means better well-being, and that starts with optimum nutrition. As your horse ages, the nutritional requirements will change, and they will start to rely on you more to do just that.

Nutrition is a process of supplying and obtaining the necessary nutrients from food for health and growth to happen in the body. It is about nourishment to ensure that your horse flourishes and thrives. The extraction and absorption of these nutrients start in the gut. And that is not all that starts in the gut. Up to 80% of your horse’s innate immunity is also in the gut.

But with age, the health of the gut deteriorates. This means the following:

• The number of protective antibodies in the immune system starts to drop and they become more susceptible to diseases and secondary infections.
• Horses cannot digest their food as well as they once did which means that they are not extracting the same amount of nutrients from their diets anymore.
• They start to lose lean muscle mass with age as protein stores get used up more quickly. The first place that we notice this is in the topline.
• As a result, their metabolism starts to slow down meaning that they burn fewer calories and become less energetic, more lethargic, and a little clumsier.
• Internal organs start to weaken and once pristine coats which kept the skin protected is more compromised and sensitive, and they become more prone to secondary infections and the parasites that cause them. We also notice this in their hooves.
• Your senior horse will take longer to recover from illnesses and may be more likely suffer from inflammation, arthritis, and stress.

What supplement does my senior horse need?

Living Naturally recommends supplementing with Equi-Strath for senior and geriatric horses.

It is a 100% natural Swiss made nutritional supplement which will support your horse’s body through every life stage. Equi-Strath contains a unique Strath Plasmolysate which balances, nourishes and supports every organ and system in your senior horse’s body, specifically the immune system.

We recommend Equi-Strath because:

• It is 100% natural and has no additives, preservatives, or stimulants.
• It is proven to help your senior horse absorb up to ten times more nutrients from their food.
• It is an immune system modulator that strengthens the immune system naturally before, during and after illness, infection, inflammation, stress, or injury.
• It works to create and maintain balance in your senior horse’s body to help the immune system react rapidly and appropriately.
• It may slow down the ageing process by supporting the body from deteriorating.
• It encourages growth and development.
• Horses love its malty taste.

This article originally appeared on Equi-Strath and can be found here.

References and additional reading:

1. Lönker, N.S., Fechner, K. and Wahed, A.A.E. (2020) Horses as a crucial part of One Health, Veterinary sciences. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7157506.
2. B;, P.G.A.W. (no date) The development of equine immunity: Current knowledge on immunology in the young horse, Equine veterinary journal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25405920.
3. Author links open overlay panelRobert H. Mealey and ∗ (2017) Mechanisms of disease and immunity, Equine Internal Medicine (Fourth Edition). W.B. Saunders. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323443296000012.
4. Caring for the older horse – Oklahoma State University (2017) Caring for the Older Horse | Oklahoma State University. Available at: https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/caring-for-the-older-horse.html.
5. Scientists find way to make diphtheria treatment without injecting … (no date). Available at: https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-find-way-make-diphtheria-treatment-without-injecting-horses.
6. Koca, T.T. and Ataseven, H. (2016) What is Hippotherapy? the indications and effectiveness of Hippotherapy, Northern clinics of Istanbul. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5175116.
7. How long do horses live? (no date) PetMD. Available at: https://www.petmd.com/horse/how-long-do-horses-live.
8. Author links open overlay panelRobert H. Mealey and ∗ (2017) Mechanisms of disease and immunity, Equine Internal Medicine (Fourth Edition). W.B. Saunders. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323443296000012.
9. Senior horse care (no date) PetMD. Available at: https://www.petmd.com/horse/senior-horse-care.