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Caring for the Elderly Miniature Horse
Due to their longevity, miniature horses suffer from a variety of geriatric
issues unique to tiny ponies. According to vets, these issues may include:
- Geriatric teeth
issues - Because miniature horses commonly live far
beyond the ordinary lifespan of a larger horse (30-45 years),
there are special issues relating to the care of elderly ponies.
The most common issue is loss of teeth. After age 30, many
miniature horses stop growing replacement teeth and choking may
occur. Such horses can live happily on wet beet pulp and Equine
Senior feed, but vets say that they should be restricted from hay, carrots and any
other foods that require chewing.
- Geriatric joint
issues - Just like people the elderly horse may suffer
from arthritis. If the pony is still mobile and not in
severe pain, periodic shots of Adaquin from your vet can greatly increase
mobility and reduce painful joint swelling.
- Underweight
- Dwarf horses and miniature horses with tooth problems will
sometimes have trouble extracting calories from their feed. In
these cases, isolating the miniature horse with ad-libitum high
nutrition feeds such as Purina Equine Senior will help to ensure a healthy weight.
- Founder
- Founder is an especially onerous issue for elderly miniature horses.
Founder is especially prevalent in the spring among miniature horse
with free access to pastures. Rapid changes to feeding habits
precipitate founder, and the careful miniature horse owner will be
careful to gradually introduce changes to diet. This includes
changing types of hay. When introducing a new hay, it should
be mixed-in with the existing hay supply. If your horse does
founder, immediate farrier and vet care is essential because severe
founder can kill. Founder is characterized by rapid hoof
growth, and some miniature horse owners have been successful in
preventing lameness with frequent (every 2 days), corrective hoof
trimming.
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