Senior feeds are specially formulated for older horses, but can be fed to younger horses, too.

Question:

I am wondering if it's OK to feed a senior or adult feed to my 11-year-old palomino gelding. I have two other horses who are adults and love the feed.

For an answer, we turned to nutrition expert Megan Connolly from AQHA Corporate Partner Nutrena.

Answer:

Senior feeds are specially formulated to be highly digestible and provide increased levels of key nutrients that we

know are needed to maintain function in an older horse. Your 11-year-old may be getting more of some nutrients than he actually needs, but so long as you stay within the recommended feeding range, there shouldn't be a problem. “Complete” senior feeds provide the roughage equivalent for hay or pasture for those equine friends who aren't able to chew effectively. In fact, many senior feeds are also ideal options for rehabilitating neglected horses.

– Megan Connolly, Nutrena

Keeping your horse healthy means feeding it well — but not too well! Use AQHA's FREE Chubby Horses report and learn all about preventing equine obesity and the problems that go along with it.