The term, “geriatric,” by definition relates to the aged, or the process of aging, whether it pertains to humans or horses. In sports today, whether an athlete is “old” or not depends as much on the sport as it does on the actual age of the competitor. For example, a gymnast may be old at 18, and certainly a boxer is old at 40. On the other hand, a forty-something boxer named George Foreman won the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and, in doing so, defeated a superbly trained world class athlete still in his twenties. Many of the world’s best equine athletes competing in the Olympics in Atlanta also certainly fit into the “geriatric athlete” category.

The Evaluation
Any program directed at revitalizing or maintaining older equine athletes should take into consideration both the similarities and differences between the geriatric athlete and the “young guns” they must compete against. Similarities might include energy and exertional stresses that must be met for a certain sport. For example, some events place more stress on hind limbs, while other events may stress the neck, back or forelimbs to a greater degree. Differences might include an older athlete suffering form less efficient kidneys or a younger, growing competitor may require a much higher energy above and beyond that required for a certain event.

Often specific problems of older athletes are nothing more that problems or injuries they sustained as younger athletes that were dealt with inadequately or ignored completely.

Always do the initial evaluation at least twice, at least one day apart, and ALWAYS record your findings for future reference.

General Evaluation
The general evaluation should include body weight and hair coat condition. Actually weigh the horse rather than relying on weight tape measurements. Make notes as to whether the ribs are showing and/or the backbone is protruding.

• Fat over the ribs with backbone protruding means back injury with atrophy or muscle “wasting” secondary to the injury.

• Ribs protruding with backbone protruding even when stomach appears full may mean adequate amounts of feed, yet inadequate protein and/or inadequate energy uptake from that feed. The horse could possibly be on a starvation diet.

Specific Evaluation
The specific evaluation should include special attention to eyes, teeth, limbs and metabolic problems as well as medical records, if available.

Eyes
An older horse may have sustained an eye injury that has healed, however, a vision impairing corneal scar may be present. To the horse this appears as a “bug on the windshield.”  The size of the scar determines the extent of vision loss. Cataracts may be present. If so, the horse’s vision is similar to looking through a “frosty windshield.” Impaired vision may be okay for certain events, yet can create a dangerous situation for the rider or handler in other events.

Teeth
Don’t float teeth on a geriatric horse too vigorously, since often a poor tooth is better than no tooth at all. A hook on the outside edge of an upper front tooth will almost always be accompanied by a hook on the inside edge of the lower back cheek tooth, which is more difficult to see but can cause greater pain.

Legs
Limbs, including the hooves, must be closely evaluated, comparing the size and shape of left to right and front to back. Wetting the hair or shaving the leg may aid in evaluating lumps and bumps. Ultrasound imaging may be necessary to pick up subtle soft tissue injuries. If ultrasound imaging reveals a problem, always have the opposite leg examined for comparison.

Metabolic Problems
Metabolic problems are many and varied, but thyroid problems and kidney impairment are by far the most commonly seen metabolic problems in geriatric athletes.

Thyroid Deficiency
Thyroid deficiency is evidenced by a cresty neck and fat deposits over the hips and along the ribs. Confirmation by blood testing for thyroid function is difficult because it is possible for false positives and false negatives to occur. However, thyroid therapy is quite safe in horses. T₄ (thyroid USP) as well as T₃ (tri-iodothyronine) can be used to treat thyroid problems.

High Protein Diets
Feeding high-protein feeds, especially alfalfa, which may contain up to 20-25% protein, may lead to excessive urination, especially in older horses. These horses may be literally “standing in a lake” or urine in their stalls. If no infection is present and there usually is none, then feeding only grass hay as roughage for 10-14 days will improve the situation dramatically. Alfalfa can the gradually be reintroduced into the diet to bring the protein level back to 12-16% and the energy content back to satisfactory levels as well.

Evaluating Metabolic Problems
Hair samples may be evaluated along with blood and serum samples to obtain a more complete understanding of subtle metabolic problems. Always take hair from the mane, (ideally the bridle path) or tail for evaluation, since the least amount of seasonal growth fluctuation occurs in these two areas.

Medical History
When medical history is sketchy or absent, it’s better to repeat vaccinations than to leave them out. Also, deworming can be repeated. Remember that:

• Ivermectin does not kill pin worms, so tail nubbing will continue if pin worms are present.

• Always rotate deworming products and consult a veterinarian regarding usage of dewormers.

The Program: Exercise, Rest and Nutrition

Exercise

• The safest exercise for the horse is either riding or driving, simply because the handler has the most control.

• Lunging or mechanical horse walkers allow the horse to buck and play during the first minute or so, when the horse is not warmed up and most likely to foolishly injure itself.

• Swimming is an exercise option especially good for wind and limb, but can be dangerous to heart and muscle. If the horse swims poorly or holds its breath excessively, exercise may be in the presence of an oxygen deficit. Pay special attention to how well the horse breathes during swimming, and always record the pre- and post-swimming pulse, noting time it takes for the pulse to return to normal after the swim.

Rest
Taking the time to rejuvenate an athlete between exercise sessions is important. In addition, resting a particular muscle, group of muscles and especially an injured area is equally important.

• Horses rest while standing, which makes limb balance absolutely essential.

• Proper hoof angles will allow a proper resting state for tendons and ligaments of the limb. Measuring and recording hoof angles and hoof toe length will assure shoeing consistency.

Nutrition
Nutrition plays the single most important role in revitalizing the geriatric athlete. We live in a world of fast food, quick fixes and miracle pills. The equine world has become trendy as well, partly because horse owners are willing to spend whatever it takes to provide the best nutrition possible for their equine athletes.

Feed store shelves are lined with buckets, boxes and sacks of feed supplements designed to give our horses the ultimate in equine nutrition. Most of these products fall disappointingly short of our naive expectations, and yet we realize the hay and grain rations of yesteryear fall shamefully short of a balanced diet as well. In addition, grain brings to the feed trough a very real, but undocumented, burden to horse trainers and handlers. The energy level of an over-grained horse can make training extremely difficult.

Fat
In recent years, feed scientists have introduced fat as an energy source in horse feed. In early work, animal lard along with less saturated vegetable oils were used. While both lard and vegetable oils utilize fats as the energy source, the question of how lards and oils affect the “good bacteria” in the intestine remains unanswered. Literally, hundreds of millions of bacteria could be altered with just a small amount of change in the intestinal contents and normal digestion could be altered along with them.

Rice Bran
Recently, a new source of high-fat nutrition has become available. Rice bran has been around for centuries and is extremely nutritious. However, in the raw form, the 20-22% fat content made is extremely prone to rancidity and, therefore, dangerous to feed to horses. However, a new high-tech stabilization process recently introduced virtually eliminates the possibility of rancidity or spoilage. Consequently, a new nutritional program is available for geriatric equine athletes.

The all natural, highly-digestible fat provides an alternative to the high-protein, high-grain diets that bring inherent problems to performance horses. Using stabilized rice bran to replace a portion of the grain, or in many cases, eliminate grain from the diet, appears to quiet the horses and often horses are more manageable during warm-ups. Horses also appear to have more endurance toward the end of the training session. In addition, body condition is improved visibly and the tendency to over-grain the horse just to “keep him looking good” is reduced.

Feed Supplements versus Feed Complements
Rather than simple supplementing, or adding to a ration, stabilized rice bran should be complemented with a good vitamin, mineral and electrolyte which fills the nutritional voids left by the hay or hay-grain diet.

Nutritional voids will vary, depending on where the roughage and grain were raised. Leave the science of feeding up to the feed scientists. Consult a horse nutritionist. A feed expert can help “nail down” a ration. Your part, the “art of feeding” rather than the “science of feeding” means you should step back once a week, reevaluate your geriatric athlete, and make the necessary adjustments to keep your horse’s program on course.

Exercise..Rest..Nutrition
Remember, continued evaluation of the geriatric horse, as well as ongoing adjustments to the program, are of the utmost importance.

For More Information e-mail at AN_EquineHelp@admworld.com

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ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. 1000 North 30th Street P.O. Box C1 Quincy, IL USA 62305-3155