I am trying to put together an ariticle about care of elderly farm animals. Not cats and dogs, I'm interested in sheep, goats, cattle, horses, etc. I would be very happy to hear from any of you that have experiences, hints, references, sources, etc. to help me gather information. I have a small flock of elderly (10 years and aging)cross-bred ewes, so have some experience, but it seems like I learn something new every day. I appreciate any advice I can get.

-- Evalyn Lemonq (elemon@peacehealth.org), December 07, 2000

Answers

We've had several elderly ponies and horses over the years. I have found that when their teeth go bad, you can keep them healthy with the special old horse food (pellets that they just kind of mush up in their mouth, rather than grain that has to be chewed real well.) Two brands that come to mind are Equine Senior and Golden Generation. There's also pelleted or cubed hay for the old ones. But, eventually old horses will get thin even on the special food, and then I put them down. I don't even wait for them to get real thin...though I used to feel like I should keep them alive for as long as possible. Anymore, when they start to lose condition, I wait for a pretty day, give them extra attention & treats all day, and then have the vet out in the afternoon to give the shot. I used to have to see an obviously suffering or distressed animal in order to feel ok about putting them down. Now, I would rather let them go while they still feel decent, rather than wait til they really suffer. Once a horse is 30-plus years old, you know what's coming. Why drag it out? We lost a 17-year old ewe last winter. She went blind, and got thin, and yet still had spunk, so I let her be. I figured the winter would do her in, and she wasn't suffering, so I waited. She lasted all winter, and then in the spring one of our very gentle, totally non- killing dogs killed her! We were just shocked. We wondered (this is far-fetched, I know) if she somehow conveyed to the dog that she needed a nudge to get to the other side. Anyway, I'm getting a little long-winded here so I'll wrap it up. We see a lot of old animals here, and we don't do anything extensive anymore to keep them alive. Once they get to the point where they can't eat enough to stay fat or where they can't move about without pain, we put them down.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), December 07, 2000.

Evalyn, I think TLC is the key, don't ewe? I have some old ewes who need to eat separately from the rest of the gang. Their teeth aren't as good as they used to be, for one thing. I hand-feed them grain and spend more "personal" time with them when I can. When it's really cold, I make sure to give them a little more grain. I lock them in the barn at night when the weather looks rainy or cold. Fresh bedding is nice, and I wish I could lay it down more often.

I'm sure you are familiar with this yourself.

Old chickens, ducks, etc. get some attention, but we mostly just put them down if they are sickly. I just don't know what else to do with them, other than isolate them and keep an eye on them. I hope your article has information that would help out here! Good luck.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), December 07, 2000.

Lets take a wild guess here, I will do the goat one!!!

My first suggestion is to keep them in production, this keeps them fit! A diary goat needs to be milking and kidding. We have had does kid till they were 14, most does are put down between 12 and 15. Very obviously you are going to see some physical problems though most does who live to this age, do so because they are very healthy, with a stong immune system, some of the problems we see are a loss of pastern strength, which is going to make hoof trimming much more important. Now with the understanding we have about CAE most older does don't have the dibilatating arthritis associated with this horrible disease. They will also around 8 need close attention taken to their teeth and most of ours have their rear molars floated (a speculum is placed in the mouth, the teeth are then filed down to take off sharp points, a good looking into the mouth to pull rotting teeth and even pulling teeth that don't have a biting surface from another lost tooth). Some does with very few teeth may need to move on to a senior horse feed, that is a softer pellet with roughage already mixed in, it is a complete feed for horses, though my older does have no trouble eating dehydrated chopped alfalfa. Older does don't usually have any trouble living in the herd, unless they get ill or very slow moving during pregnancy, then a keen eye to make sure they aren't loosing their status (pecking order) in the herd. Once my older does start getting picked on by the younger adults trying to take her place in the herd, as herd queen, I will move her into a younger group of does, or perhaps into a stall with just her and her best friend.

When a doe becomes unable to reproduce and to a lesser degree stay on the milk string, this is when we choose to put them down. They have led usefull productive lives, and we are usually blessed with many daughters, grand daughters in in some cases even great grand daughters from these animals. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), December 07, 2000.

I do some tough mountain riding with friends and some of their horses are in their 30's. They sure don't look it. Their backs are still straight, they're muscled up, their bods are nicely filled out, and they ride like younger horses. All the horses I know in this age bracket are fed Purina Senior. One of the things that keeps these critters healthy and going is using them. When you retire them, they die....no job to do.

I know of blind horses who are still ridden, altho not quite the same as those above!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), December 08, 2000.

I've kept ducks and chickens that lasted to twelve years. I have had three (one a 'niece') geriatric horses seen through to the end, plus several others belonging to other people that I have been in close contact with. My views are of a person living in a cold climate, -30 in winter not being uncommon. As the horses got older, I found that they were less able to maintain their body temperatures in winter and required blanketing, especially ones that become hard keepers.

I don't totally agree Shannon on what age to put a horse down, however, she knows her horses and situation better than I do. I've had horses that were little changed at 36 over 18. When it is time, a true horse manager will know, but it is a little bit more specific to each horse. That 36 year old -- Roberta-- stayed fleshed out and quite normal til the day she died. The other 36 year old lost flesh, but it was a boon to her arthritis, so sometimes you do have to carefully manage an old horse at a 'thin' rating, it just requires more attention to them getting enough nutrition and fiber.

The arthritic one -- Speedy -- improved vastly with injections of hyluronic acid into the affected joints. She had been painful to watch walk and we were considering putting her down when our vet, Mike, suggested the injections. I can't tell you adequately what a difference it made for her, but when she had walked before, her head dipped so far down to nearly touch the ground, when she got injected she had a slight 'gimp'. Hyluronic acid needs to be injected and cannot be absorbed orally, although some feed supplement companies sell it as such. Slight cases of arthritis can be managed some times by a combination of Chrondroitin sulfate and glucosamine -- testing has shown that the two work much more effectively in combination than either singly.

I have also put several old horses onto Pounds Plus, a palatable caloric supplement for horses who are starting to be hard keepers despite good oral care by Mike. One old pony -- Spot -- had lost half her molars and had a very hard time eating enough to keep weight on, I put her onto the Pounds Plus to keep weight on her. Even soaked hay cubes couldn't be chewed by her with the missing teeth, so she was on soaked alfalfa pellets and beet pulp mostly, although I discovered that Triple Crown makes a very intriguing bagged hay that is finely shredded for problem horses to eat, and sprayed with molasses to add an extra bit of appeal and seal the hay from oxidizing. Most our old horses are on some combination of feeds depending on their needs, but most frequently used is Purina Mill's Equine Senior, which should be fed with as much hay as the horse can consume, depending on weight and dentition. Other useful products are Calf Manna (Purina), roasted soybeans (not unroasted - altho even the roasted can cause some gas colic symptoms until a horse builds up the enzymes to digest it...I prefer not to use if I don't have to), pelleted alfalfa to boost more marginal hay, soaked beet pulp, and feed a probiotic, such as Ration Plus(S.E. Monroe), altho my horses always found Stride (American Superior Feeds) more palatable.

I also try to make sure that old horses have their own paddocks seperate from any other horses that will bully them. I have invested in polar fleece blanket liners for my horses both young and old and think they are worth their weight in gold. I had one old horse go down on ice and get soaked in ice water to the bone one February with an unheated barn. When we got her up, I wrapped her up in one of these, and it pulled all the water out of her coat and transferred it to the outside of the liner,leaving her dry and toasty underneath. Snuggy's, available through Valley Vet Supply are my choice for quality and fit (I don't like the ones with attatched hoods, they pull into the horse's eyes).

I also carry hot water for tempering cold, for all my horses in the winter while the barn heater is off to encourage them to drink more water to prevent impaction colics, which are more common this time of year. I make sure old horses are up on Rhinopneumonitis shots, since this is most problematic to old horses ( and pregnant mares). I'm also kind of obsessive about clean/dry bedding for the sake of their lungs, as well as ventilation when they're stalled. Neoprene hock boots or knee boots are a great help to old horses with arthritis in these joints -- they hold in the heat in the cold and improve mobility.

And then summer comes and it's a whole different set of problems.

(Valley Vet catalogue from 1-800-356-1005. Snuggy's, Stride, Ration Plus, and Pounds Plus. Triple Crown or Purina thru your feed dealer. Hyluronic acid injections through your vet only.)

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), December 08, 2000.

My first horse went blind due to advanced age and a longering carcinoma in her eyelid area. She was still an awesome riding horse! I taught her "step up" for walking up curbs and over logs, etc, and she did great. I had to see for her and she was not as sure footed as she had been in her youth, but still the best riding horse I have ever owned. We bought another aged 1/2 morgan mare a few years ago and she was also a wonderful riding horse. She was missing some teeth so we fed her soaked cubes and soaked beet pulp pellets. She did just fine and was actually pudgy (but most morgans are). I am a believer of the Purina Senior horse feed and used it on my blind mare, but this one got so dang fat on it I was afraid of founder. I have actually heard af several horses foudnering on that feed, but that is probably due to people using it on horses who really didn't need it. other than that...a warm, dry stall and maybe a rub down.

-- elle (hotging@aol.com), December 08, 2000.

We have 3 horses, all of them over 23 or 24. Our oldest, which ranges from 25 to 35, doesn't keep weight on very well and has trouble with his joints. We soak beet pulp for him and mix it with some grain and give him bute. We've had to float his teeth. Tara, out youngest and my own(:o), is blind in one eye. With her we try to avoid putting her in situations which will result in a scare. She is a bit high strung a well, as she is a pure bred Arabian. Also, change is difficult for horses I find. Ours would be terribly confused if we changed the barn around. Also, feed consistency is important. A sudden change in that area is harmful for them. Our horses are pretty spry for their ages, but exercise is still very important. Watching their wieght, so that they don't get too fat or too thin, is what I think is the most important. We've had some close calls with our old Dudley, in which we thought he was going to die, but we hope to have him ofr many more years.

-- Abigail F. (treeofl@nbnet.nb.ca), December 08, 2000.

Thanks to everyone for the great response and the wonderful information and stories. Keep'em coming!!

-- Evalyn Lemon (elemon@peacehealth.org), December 10, 2000.

My mare had an injury to a joint that was cut by barbed wire when she was a yearling. After 20 she was starting to limp very bad. I started giving her yucca and within a few days, she was galloping around her pen. As time went on, the yucca wasn't enough so MSM was added. I think that because she has freedom in her pen, she stays musceled up and healthy. All those years I kept that poor thing locked in a stall. She never goes in her shed. Even to the point of putting her head only in to eat her hay during a snow storm. I put a blanket on when it's really cold and windy at night. I also keep her barefoot and she chips herself, needing trimmings a few times a year. (what a good girl) I use Easy boots when I ride her on trails. I wish I rebred her at 20 because she still looks great at 25. No one beleives she is that old.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), December 11, 2000.