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“...there is a secret pleasing and cherishing of the horse with the bridle, which the rider must accomplish with so unperceiving a motion that none but the beast may know it.” — Gervase Markham
Del Camino Honors Groups that Honor Senior Horses
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Topics on Their Own Pages
(See Table of Contents on the Left)
Nearly 4 Million
Pleasure Horses in the U.S.A.
 Today's American equine
population includes an historically high
percentage of seniors. We can attribute this to many factors, but it
is a trend that has created a growing demand for attention by feed
manufacturers, veterinarians, equine dentists, farriers, barn managers,
trainers, horse retirement facilities, and all the other service providers.
Of the 6.5 million horses in the United States today, 60% are
pleasure horses, according to the American Horse Council. As
the role of the horse in America has
changed dramatically from laborer to recreational partner, so has the viewpoint
of his caregiver.
These changes in the role of the
American horse, and advances in equine science and the resulting products on the market benefit
our seniors. More options for managing their diets and health enable
us to customize better for each horse's specific needs. At the same
time, this means owners of older horses must become more knowledgeable, in
order to select the correct combinations.
 The aging people learn to wear
hearing aids, and eyeglasses. They learn to wear support stockings
and dentures. They drink Ensure and take Senior Multi-vitamins and MSM
and glucosamine and chondroitin and baby aspirin. .
And so it is with our senior
citizen horses. They are loved and valued family members. They are useful
well into their twilight years, because we didn't wear them out or break
them in their youth or their prime.
Deserving, beautiful, if only
in the eyes of the owner who has shared so many trails with them, our
senior horses look to us. It is our job to maintain their quality of
life. It is our job to learn what is, and is not, an acceptable
quality of life. Lastly, it is our job to ensure they do not suffer
when that quality cannot be maintained.
One of the missions of Del
Camino is to help horse owners find timely information that guides them
through this journey. We want to keep our seniors as fit, as active,
as contented as possible, as long as possible. It can be done.
We dedicate our work to a few
of many beloved Del Camino horses: Freckles, who left us at age 43,
Miss Cricket, who delighted children until age 38, Captain Oliver
"Ollie" who fought Cushing's until age 32, and Brandy's Prince,
and Smokey, both of whom had Cushing's which caused laminitis at age 26.
Thank you for having graced our
lives, and taught so many people the joy of horsemanship.
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Careful age-appropriate feeding practices,
routines, and records are really helpful for managing the dental care of
senior horses and spotting trouble with teeth before expensive veterinary
intervention is needed or many unsatisfying riding sessions cause you to
suspect something. Please visit the pages devoted to these basic
requirements for many helpful tips on food and water.
Basic rules of feeding seniors are:
Older horses may have difficulty eating hay, or
grazing pasture. Yet, they still need plenty of fiber, or roughage,
continuing the balance of at least 60% of their feed. What to feed a
horse who is having trouble chewing?
Most feed manufacturers now offer Senior Horse
pelleted feeds specifically formulated to provide the fiber and protein with
a good balance of vitamins and minerals.
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The small pieces are easier to chew, so your
senior is less likely to choke or quid.
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The pellets will dissolve into a mash in water,
so you can moisten it lightly for a horse with teeth, or considerably to
turn it into pablum for a toothless horse.
As your senior ages, it is a good idea to
introduce a senior feed with his grain, then in place of his grain, so that
you transition him gradually over the years to eating more senior and less
of the difficult to chew and difficult to digest foods.
For your senior horse to get the maximum benefit
of his feed, and for you to get the maximum value for your dollar, you need
to keep his digestion, beginning in the mouth, at as high an efficiency
level as possible.
Also, horses experiencing dental pain or pain in the TMJ associated with chewing or uneven pressure in their mouths often hold their head (and neck and body) in a protective position to prevent jarring or making it worse. Changes in your senior's willingness to do movements or activities, changes in how he stands in his stall, can be related to sensitivity or
aches in his mouth or head from dental issues.
Aging teeth need to be monitored closely.
Here are some symptoms that all may not be well in your senior horse's
mouth:
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Head shaking or head tossing, with or without a
halter or bridle, with or without a bit.
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Head shyness, especially in a horse that never
minded having his face touched before.
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Feed packing (bumps on the outside of the molars
from an accumulation of feed). Get in the habit when you groom of looking at
his face for lack of symmetry.
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Pain in the face. If you touch along his
cheeks or jaw, does he move away?
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Bad breath or odor from nose.
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Bitting problems - refusing the bit, mouthing
the bit excessively.
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Reluctance to eat.
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Pulling or carrying his head to one side when
working on the lunge, under saddle, or driving.
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Dropping food from his mouth. This is
called "quidding". You may not see him do it, but you may find wet
"cigars" of hay or globs of grain in his stall after feeding.
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Large particles of hay or grain in his manure.
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Frothing and excessive salivation.
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Swelling and deformities of the face.
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Nosebleed.
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Sinusitis with or without nasal discharge.
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Respiratory problems if there are swellings in
the nasal tract.
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Draining abcess from jaw.
The following symptoms are more general, and can
be caused by other physical problems or discomfort besides dental issues.
For example, a dull coat and loss of condition can be due to parasites,
resistance can be due to pain from a saddle that no longer fits, and so on.
These symptoms are a starting point for checking many possible health
issues, teeth included.
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Resistance or crankiness under saddle or when
driving.
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Ache or pain in the TMJ reducing flexion at the poll
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Needing more feed to maintain his weight without
increased activity or colder weather.
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Losing weight and condition, despite more feed
without increased activity or colder weather.
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Dull coat.
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Colic or choke incidents.
If you normally scheduled your veterinarian or equine dentist to
examine your horse's teeth and mouth annually, and needed to float his teeth
about every 12 to 18 months to remove hooks and ramps, cut that schedule in
half for an older horse. For a horse with parrot mouth, wave mouth, teeth already
missing, or an arthritic jaw, uneven wear probably means you already give
him dental care every six months, and are already extra vigilant for the
symptoms given above. If your horse cribs or wood chews you probably
already have his teeth checked twice a year, and watch for cracks, loose
teeth, and infection.
 Even
if you check inside his mouth regularly yourself, if he is already missing
one or two teeth, the opposing teeth have nothing to wear against, and
become too long. The overlong tooth can interfere with the sideways
chewing action. Even if it doesn't do that, the whole set of upper and
lower teeth do not fit together properly when he chews, causing incomplete
chewing, food dropping from the mouth, or choking. If the overlong
tooth keeps growing, it can actually poke the opposite gum where the missing
tooth once was. The uneven pressure in your horse's mouth can make the muscles surrounding his head and jaw ache, or his TMJ joint ache. To make up for it,
you must float more often than in the past.
We often find broken or cracked teeth, loose
teeth, abscessed teeth, missing teeth, sticks stuck in between teeth, and so
on that need care, even in young horses. All a horse needs to do is bite
down hard on a pebble in his feed or the pasture, after all, for that to
happen. Other problems to check for are tumors, ulcers, and wounds,
such as a cut tongue, palate or lips. A worn bit with rough edges, a
bit that does not fit, or a jagged soda can blown into the pasture can cause
a wound that is not only painful, but can get infected before healing. Rotting food packed into the socket of a recently lost tooth
can cause infection. Of course, an abscessed tooth is infected, and that infection
not only causes painful swelling, it can spread. Besides, how long
would you want to walk around with an abscessed tooth?
If the root of an upper molar (back grinding
tooth) is infected, the infection can spread into the sinuses. Talk
about a sinus headache!
While taking care of any new problems, you can
discuss the results of these checkups with your veterinarian, to decide when
it is time to change to a feed that is easier to chew, or doesn't need
chewing at all.
We may not have horse bridges, dentures, or
dental implants yet, but who would be surprised if we don't have them in
another decade?
The Del Camino Products and Services catalog offers some horse
products of interest to owners of senior horses.
This PowerPoint presentation below by equine dentist Krystin Dennis "Natural Balance or Whole Horse Dentistry" is clear and especially helpful for the owner serious about understanding the relationship of a horse's movement and wellness to its teeth. Or visit her website to learn more about working with an equine dentist:
HorseFloss.
For referrals to equine dentists and veterinarians who practice Natural Balance Dentistry® or Advanced Whole Horse Dentistry in your area, visit Advanced Whole Horse Dentistry.
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