How to Take Care of an Elderly Horse

By Rob Domarkas

In this article I would like to share with you some useful information about how to properly take care of an elderly horse. More specifically I would like to talk with you about two different types of horse supplements that you should be giving to an elderly horse.

The fact is that elderly horses have different nutritional needs when compared to their younger companions. Their digestive systems are not working as good as they once did, their bones and joints are not as strong and they once were and in general, years of pounding and twisting of horse's joints left them vulnerable to an injury.

The fact is that your elderly horse will never look and feel the same as he once did, but with proper diet and supplementation you can make sure that your horse remains in the best shape he possibly can. In this article I want mention two different types of supplements and ingredients that you should be looking in them if you want your elderly horse to get everything his old body needs to function properly, feel great and look good.

Veteran feed balancers.

There are a lot of different types of feed balancer formulations. Some are formulated for everyday horses, some are formulated for competition horses and there are also balancers for veteran horses.

Feed balancers for horses are just like multi-vitamin supplements for humans with few extra ingredients. They are packed with all of the essential vitamins and minerals that your horse needs to be healthy and strong, and they also contain extra ingredients such as pre and pro biotics which in digestion and increase nutrient uptake.

Most of the feed balancers also contain oils such as soya oil and linseed oil which in combination with certain minerals such as zinc promote healthy, scurf-free skin and a glossy, gleaming coat.

Joint supplements for horses

In addition to feed balancers you should also start supplementing your horse's diet with high quality joint supplements for horses. Such joint supplements are packed with all of the essential ingredients that stregnthen and support the joint.

For example, we have already learned that as a result of constant pounding and twisting joints of elderly horse's become vulnerable to an injury and as a horse owner you want to do whathever is possible to strengthen and support your horse's joints.

Mainly you want to look for joint supplements for horses that contain ingredients like glucosamine and MSM. These two ingredients are proven and tested by time and thousands of horse riders worldwide have used them to help their horse's joints. Glucosamine aids in renewal of connective tissue in and around the joint, whereas MSM provides necessary building blocks that are needed to repair the joint.