While making small changes can make a difference in your horse’s health, the best way to support your horse is with a combination of smart management, support from the inside, and support from the outside. Read on to meet four horses with their own unique challenges, and to find out how their owners can provide them with the most comprehensive care.
Scout the Senior
Age: 17
Discipline: Lesson Horse
Problem: Scout is starting to experience the stiffness and discomfort that can accompany aging, and his owner wants to give him the right care and support to keep him going strong.
Management Tips
Schedule more frequent vet checkups
While Scout may have needed only one physical exam and one dental exam per year while he was younger, experts recommend that senior horses get two physical exams and two dental exams each year, as health problems can develop quickly in aging horses, and it’s best to be proactive.
Evaluate Scout’s diet
Because Scout’s nutritional needs may have changed as he’s aged, a feeding program that was ideal five years ago might not meet his needs now. A re-evaluation of his diet with the help of his veterinarian or an equine nutritionist will help ensure he’s getting what he needs to look and feel his best.
Check Scout’s saddle fit
It’s common for a horse’s back to change as he ages. A small difference in a horse’s back can make a big difference in the fit of his tack, so Scout’s owner should be sure to work with a professional and make sure his saddle still fits him. A pad with shims may be temporarily helpful for adjusting the fit of his current saddle.
Scout’s SmartPak
Support healthy joints with SmartFlex Senior Pellets
This supplement provides targeted ingredients to support joint health and manage the discomfort associated with aging to help keep Scout comfortable.
Provide optimal nutrition with SmartVite Thrive Pellets
Scout maintains his body condition on a partial serving of grain, so his nutrient requirements aren’t met on forage and grain alone. This formula provides a balanced selection of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to help meet his nutritional requirements.
Scout’s Tack Trunk
Back on Track Mesh Sheet
This sheet creates a soothing infrared thermal warmth and is a great way to help warm up Scout’s muscles before he gives a winter riding lesson.
Omega Nibblers
These treats provide omega 3 fatty acids to support Scout’s overall wellness, making them a tasty, healthy option for the kids who want to give him treats after their lesson.
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Hailey the Hard Keeper
Age: 13
Discipline: Eventing
Problem: Hailey has a tough time maintaining her body condition. Her owner wants to get to the bottom of her weight troubles and give her all the support she needs to maintain a healthy weight.
Management Tips
Talk to the vet
There are a number of medical reasons that could explain why Hailey is underweight, so her owner’s first step should be to have a vet perform a complete physical examination. Once Hailey’s vet has ruled out any underlying health problems, her owner can start looking into some of the other common causes for her weight troubles.
Evaluate Hailey’s diet
The foundation of Hailey’s diet should be forage. Whether it’s from fresh pasture, hay, or a combination of the two, she should be eating 1-2% of her body weight in roughage every day. Hailey’s owner can make sure that she’s supplying enough hay to meet Hailey’s daily forage requirements by weighing a serving of her hay.
In addition to evaluating Hailey’s hay, her owner should also take a look at her grain ration. While many horses don’t need a full serving of grain to maintain their ideal weight, every horse is unique. As a hard keeper, Hailey may need the full recommended serving of grain to get the calories she needs to meet the demands of her workload.
Check for stress in Hailey’s daily routine
Hailey’s living environment plays an important role in how well and how much she eats. If she’s at the bottom of the herd pecking order, she may be getting bullied by other horses at feeding time and have to scrounge for food. Alternatively, if she spends most of her time in her stall where she can’t see other horses, she may be stressed about being alone.
Hailey’s SmartPak
Support a healthy weight with SmartGain
To help Hailey maintain her ideal weight, this formula provides extra calories from healthy fat and amino acids for normal muscle development.
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Give the ultimate stomach and hindgut support with SmartGI Ultra Pellets
This supplement offers comprehensive support for both stomach and hindgut health, helping to ensure proper digestion in hard keepers like Hailey.
Hailey’s Tack Trunk
Uncle Jimmy’s Hangin’ Balls
When Hailey gets stressed in her stall, she paces and uses up valuable calories. This tasty treat keeps her busy when she has to be inside.
SmartPak Ultimate Turnout Blanket
Horses use calories in the winter to keep themselves warm. Hailey’s owner blankets her to ensure that she can stay cozy without burning too many valuable calories. Find the perfect blanket for your horse at SmartPak.com/Blankets.
Ace the Competitive Athlete
Age: 8
Discipline: Reining
Problem: Ace is a hard-working athlete who spends most of his weekends in the show ring. His owner wants to make sure that she’s doing everything she can to keep him at the top of his game.
Management Tips
Team up with Ace’s veterinarian
Regular veterinary care is the best way to make sure Ace stays happy and healthy through all of his endeavors. By keeping up with annual physical examinations, dental examinations, vaccinations,
Consider the stress that Ace is under
Between training, travel, and competition, Ace is under a considerable amount of stress. To ensure that he has everything he needs to be at his best, it’s important for his owner to provide support in several key areas, including his joints, hooves, digestive tract, and coat.
Ace’s SmartPak
Provide all-in-one support with SmartCombo Ultimate Pellets
To make sure all of Ace’s bases are covered, this supplement provides high levels of joint, hoof, gastric, digestive, and coat support.
Encourage healthy hydration with SmartLytes Pellets
When he sweats, Ace loses salt and other key minerals that are essential to his health. This formula helps replenish what he loses in sweat, plus it encourages normal drinking.
Ace’s Tack Trunk
VenTECH Elite SMB Value Pack
The right boots keep Ace’s legs protected from interference while he’s schooling.
Back on Track Quick Wraps
These easy-to-use wraps create a soothing infrared thermal heat, which can expedite warm-up and may help alleviate the discomfort associated with inflamed muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints.
Ice Horse Tendon Wraps
Ice wraps provide cooling and compression to help reduce inflammation after a hard ride.
Vetrolin Liniment
Liniment helps relieve the minor stiffness, soreness, and inflammation Ace may experience after workouts.
Ellie the Easy Keeper
Age: 10
Discipline: Leisure/Trail
Problem: Ellie is an easy keeper, and her owner knows that an overweight horse is an unhealthy horse.
Management Tips
Talk to the vet
Obesity could be a sign of an underlying metabolic issue, so Ellie’s owner should schedule an appointment with her vet. In addition to looking at Ellie’s physical appearance, her vet may want to perform specific tests to check for Equine Metabolic Syndrome, which may include fasting insulin concentration or the oral sugar test.
Evaluate Ellie’s diet
Ellie’s owner’s next step should be to evaluate her diet, ideally with the help of her vet or an equine nutritionist. In general, easy keepers should have limited access to fresh pasture, so Ellie’s hay should be the foundation of her diet (and if her owner is being extremely careful, she’ll soak Ellie’s hay to lower the sugar content; 30 minutes in warm water or 60 minutes in cold, then dump the water). Ellie likely doesn’t need the calories that come with fortified grain, so a ration balancer or multi-vitamin/ mineral supplement may be the smarter way to provide vitamins and minerals.
Establish an exercise plan
When it comes to losing weight, a multi-pronged approach is key. That’s why Ellie’s owner should not only evaluate Ellie’s diet, but should also take a look at her exercise program. When building her new exercise plan with Ellie’s vet, she should keep in mind that the length and intensity of Ellie’s workouts should be increased gradually.
Ellie’s SmartPak
Support metabolic health with SmartMetabo-Lean Pellets
This formula supports a healthy metabolism with specialized ingredients that support proper insulin function and help maintain normal blood sugar levels.
Help meet nutrient requirements and promote wellness with SmartEssentials Pellets
As an easy keeper, Ellie doesn’t get a full serving of grain and has limited access to fresh pasture. This formula provides the right selection of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to help meet her nutrient requirements, plus omega 3 fatty acids to help her look and feel her best.
Ellie’s Tack Trunk
Nose-It Ball
Exercise is an important component of Ellie’s weight management program. Her owner hides healthy treats in this slow feeder toy to keep her engaged and moving when she’s turned out.
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Tough 1 Easy Breathe Grazing Muzzle
A grazing muzzle limits Ellie’s grass intake so that she can enjoy her turnout time.
Hilton Herballs
These healthy, natural treats don’t contain molasses or added sugars, so they’re a great way to reward easy keepers like Ellie.
SmartPak Small Hole Hay Net
This hay net’s small holes help slow Ellie down so she can enjoy her hay longer. This is a great tool for an easy keeper whose hay intake is being carefully managed and who tends to eat quickly!
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