Your older horse has lost a lot of body condition over the past year. It’s already well into summer and you’re dismayed about his/her body condition. He/she just isn’t bouncing back as you had hoped.
◆︎ Determine the cause of the weight and muscle loss:
To be able to effectively help your older horse, identify the reason for the weight and muscle loss. If you haven’t already, take steps to alleviate that situation. Here are some of the common reasons for loss of body condition:
➡ Lack of sufficient calories: This can easily happen if the pasture or hay is of a lower quality than in the past. The difference between a high-quality forage and low-quality forage is sufficient to cause significant weight loss.
Besides forage quality, if the horse is in a herd, but is of the lowest status, he/she may not be permitted to consume sufficient food by others that are of a higher status.
➡ Illness or Injury. When horses get sick or have an injury, it’s not unusual for them to lose weight because they just don’t feel like eating due to pain issues. It’s important to treat the illness sufficiently. Diseases, such as Lyme disease, EPM, leptospirosis, filariasis, or Bartonellosis can affect appetite, which can result in weight and muscle loss.
➡ Dental issues. The inability to chew forage appropriately can occur from unusual dental wear. In the older horse, the teeth could be expiring. In the horse, teeth constantly grow and get worn down by chewing. In the aged horse, there could be little tooth left for chewing. At advanced ages, the teeth have so little left that they fall out. Even when there is tooth left, the chewing forces in the older horse are reduced, making it more difficult to grind forage.
➡ Increased muscle loss due to PPID. Excessive muscle loss can occur in horses with PPID. When an older horse has muscle loss, it may be beneficial to test for PPID. If a horse has untreated or undertreated PPID, muscle loss may continue.
Remedy the underlying condition that contributed to the weight and muscle loss.
◆︎ Support your horse with supplements and nutrition.
Once the reason for the weight loss is addressed, consider nutritional strategies to help support your horse.
Items to consider:
➡ Sufficient food availability. This includes food that is sufficiently nutrient dense and appropriate for the horse. If the horse has expiring teeth, soaked chopped hay, soaked pellets or cubes, can make a huge difference.
➡ Sufficient protein: While many hays and feeds have sufficient protein, it may still be deficient in the limiting amino acids. Your horse’s feed may have adequate protein overall, but still be deficient in lysine, threonine, and methionine. If those deficiencies exist, then your horse will not be able to utilize the full benefit of the protein.
» Equine Muscle Support is a comprehensive supplement that contains the 3 limiting amino acids, the signaling amino acid (leucine), acetyl L-carnitine for energy support for muscle development, as well as other products that support efficient muscle use.
» Top 4 Aminos is a blend of lysine, threonine, and methionine. Plus, it has the added amino acid, leucine. Why leucine? Leucine has been found to be a signaling molecule, which encourages muscle growth and development. Leucine is also the precursor to the expensive supplement HMB, which it touted as aiding in muscle development.
» Top 3 Aminos is a blend of lysine, threonine, and methionine. These were found to be limiting amino acids, with lysine being deficient in a significant number of diets.
➡ Specialized supplements may be helpful: Some supplements may offer support in the process of muscle development. An example of this is Acetyl L-Carnitine, which nutritionally supports the repair and development of new mitochondria within the cell. The mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cells. This is important in the muscle cell, in that it aids energy balance within the cell.
Other supplements that help support healthy and increased numbers of mitochondria include Quercetin and CoQ10.
◆︎ Support your horse with adequate exercise.
In the older horse, anabolic hormones decline. Because of this, exercise becomes critical to rebuilding muscle. Hand walking is a good way to help your horse, as well as getting some exercise. Starting at 5 or 10 minutes a day and working up to longer times can be beneficial to your horse. Besides muscle loss, the connective tissues and bones also need time to acclimate to the increased workload.
Some owners with sufficient space, use a Paddock Paradise and spread the hay at different points to encourage walking. This can be a great idea if your horse is mobile enough to walk around. For some debilitated horses, walking is too difficult to get to the food.
◆︎ Recap:
➡ Address the issue as to “why” your horse has lost condition.
➡ Correct the issue, or lessen its impact.
➡ Support your horse through nutrition and supplements.
➡ Develop an appropriate exercise plan.
We do the best that we can do for our horses. Understanding muscle loss is a part of that.
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Disclaimer: Statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition.
©Joan Kulifay, MSc. 2025