An old codger’s blog
Who am I? This is a photo of me
I am a fit, young-at-heart male horse.
I am actually 19-years-old nearly 20, (middle-aged in human terms) I like to think of myself as 5 years old with 15 years’ experience!
I’ve done a bit of everything through my life; got a bit of experience under the old girth……I’m sure the young fillies love my wisdom.
I am single at the moment and always happy to spend time with others out hacking.
Bank holidays, shows and diet
I used to love bank holidays, there was always a show on and without wanting to be too immodest I was usually in the winnings. Winning rosettes meant a celebration and often a chance to share an ice-cream with the jockey.
My mum told me about her show days and that they were great, none of this messing about with trailers and bandages, she hacked everywhere up to 10 miles away and if it was further than that, they simply didn’t go.
I’m lucky the current partner I have realises that just because I am nearly 20, it does not mean that I’m not just as capable as I have always been. We are off to a show tomorrow and that means a bit of indulgence. I really enjoy all that grooming and pampering before a show.
Changes in diet
Thank goodness she doesn’t feed me any extra just because I am competing tomorrow. She is quite good at keeping up-to-date with things and knows that Professor Chris Proudman from Liverpool Vet School has highlighted that changes in diet are highly correlated with an increased risk of colic.
Staying hydrated
She has also been getting me used to tasting orange juice in my water so that I still drink during travelling and at shows. Dehydration reduces
performance regardless of age. You should take a look at the table below, because it’s just as relevant for the person as it is for the horse.
Anti-oxidants and the fit old horse
Something else the Missus has been reading about is the fact that when we exercise we use more oxygen. When we use oxygen we produce free radicals. Now fit, young and mature horses up-regulate their anti-oxidants to combat the increased levels of free radicals. But I am sad to say that Dr Rachel Neville, Senior Lecturer at Lincoln University who is ‘Dr Anti-oxidants’, has shown that old horses that are in work are unable to up-regulate in the same way…………thank goodness I get extra anti-oxidants
Result of water loss on the body. Clinics in sports medicine 13, 235-246 (1994)
Normal heat regulation and performance
Thirst is stimulated, performance begins to decline, constipation and bloat
Decrease in heat regulation, worsening performance
Continuing decrease in performance, muscular endurance decreases
20-30% decrease in performance, dizziness occurs Headache, irritability, nausea, fatigue
Weakness, severe loss of thermoregulation, heart races
Collapse %
bodyweight loss.
0% 1%
2% 3%
4% 5% 6%
7%
from my bucket feed. That helps minimise cell damage and at my age one needs all the help one can get!
Overweight youngsters
Often some of the old fogies I see around in the veteran classes won’t drink, because they don’t like the taste of the water at the shows and the stuff they bring with them in plastic containers just tastes of plastic. Don’t blame our fussiness on old age, all horses are very susceptible to changes in taste…me, I just taste the orange juice. My water has to be fress that day though, not left over from the previous outing!
78
www.equestrianlifemagazine.co.uk
No, this isn’t just a whinge from an older horse about the youth of today…..but can’t they take more pride in their appearance?
Nearly all the youngsters I see in the show ring today are overweight….. you know, you can’t see their ribs, they have lovely apple-shaped bottoms and you see the fat wobble over the shoulder and as for the crest; well really it’s simply not sexy!.
An insider’s view on the life and management of the mature horse; as told to Dr Teresa Hollands
R.Nutr Senior Nutritionist at Dodson & Horrell (official supplier of nutrition to the British Equestrian Team)
They really need to understand the importance of a balanced diet. By the time they get to my age they will be insulin resistant, laminitic and obese and be suffering from Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS). When I was young no-one had heard of Cushings; now lots of us oldies get it. Mark my words in 10-15 years’ time these youngsters will be suffering from EMS. It is preventable, just get them to lose weight.
Mind you the owners can’t just starve them. They need vitamins and minerals especially anti- oxidants and omega 3s are good…staves off that arthritis for a little longer. If they are overweight the stress on their limbs, lungs and hearts is far more significant than a few extra supplements.
‘Sudden death is more common in those that are naturally fat
than in the lean’ Hippocrates 400BC
Talking of showing and fatness I think Dr T should remind us all of the latest work that was presented at BEVA (British Equine Veterinary Association Annual Congress 2010). It might seem from the quote above, that we are a little behind the times on our awareness, but of course, until recently other illnesses killed humans and horses before the long term risks of fatness had a chance to have an effect. Indeed really our increasing waistlines can be traced to an increase in ready, high calorie meals and a
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