My old eventer (24) is now struggling to eat hay because of his teeth how can I help him?

My old eventer (24) is now struggling to eat hay because of his teeth - how can I help him?

Clare Barfoot BSc (Hons) RNutr Registered nutritionist, research and development manager for Spillers answers your questions on Equine Nutrition

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Question
My old eventer (24) is now struggling to eat hay because of his teeth. How  can I  help him get enough  fiber. Also should I be supplementing his feed? 
Mrs  Mann - Carmarthen 
 
Clare Answers
Dear Mrs Mann,
As with the human population horses age at different times some are healthy and active well into their twenties others age prematurely in their early teens. As your eventer is starting to struggle to eat long fibre now is the time to start to evaluate his diet and tailor it to his changing needs. The most important
part of any horses' diet is fibre therefore it is this portion of the diet that you initially need to focus on. Dental problems are common in aging horses and it is often the "quidding" of hay that is the first sign of a problem. In this case try feeding a short chopped fibre hay replacer that includes soft straw and some
alfalfa such as SPILLERS Happy Hoof or Dodson and Horrell's Safe and Sound. If he can't manage chopped fibre soaking high fibre cubes into a mash works really well in providing an adequate supply of fibre. With regards to compound feed this will depend on how his current condition is, if he is in good condition the strategy should involve providing a balanced diet this can be done by feeding a concentrated vitamin and mineral feed such as SPILLERS Cool Concentrate or Baileys Lo Cal or by choosing an appropriate compound feed such as SPILLERS Senior Maintenance Mix. If he requires more condition choose a higher energy feed such as a specialist conditioning veteran feed. If you feed any of these options at the manufacturers recommend level there will be no requirement to feed an additional supplement.