Worn teeth change what grazing can do. A senior horse may crop grass happily yet chew it so poorly that much of its value is lost in dropped, balled mouthfuls. The management answer is not to stop grazing — turnout still gives him movement, company and steady trickle feeding — but to choose the pasture deliberately, accept grass as only part of the ration, and let soaked feeds carry the difference, guided by weekly measuring rather than guesswork.
Choose Shorter, Softer Pasture Deliberately
Put him on shorter, softer pasture: young, leafy growth he can tear with his lips and grind with what grinding surface he has left. Long, stalky grass defeats worn teeth; he pulls at it, chews long and slow, then drops quids — rolled balls of half-chewed grass — and walks away underfed despite hours outside. Graze him on the paddock you would pick for a horse that needs easy eating, rest it before it turns stemmy, and watch the ground where he has grazed for quids as a direct report on whether this field suits him. If quids appear in numbers, the pasture is too coarse for him whatever its quality on paper, and his grazing time should shift to a softer plot while soaked feeds take up the slack.
Grass as Part of the Ration, Not the Whole
Plan the day's feed with grass contributing only part of the ration. Soaked forage replacers — fiber feeds soaked to a soft mash — replace the grazing he cannot process, offered in the amounts the feed's guidance and your vet's advice suggest for his weight, and split across the day rather than served in one large bucket. Mashes suit worn teeth because they ask almost nothing of the mouth: no tearing, little grinding, and water taken in with every mouthful. Feed soaked feeds fresh, rinse buckets between meals so residues do not sour, and weigh what he actually eats for a few days; the ration that matters is the one that disappears, not the one written on the feed-room wall.
Weigh-Tape and Condition Score Weekly
Each week, on the same day and at the same point in his routine, run the weigh tape around him and score his condition by hand, because weekly readings catch a slide while it is still a small soaked-feed adjustment. Run your hands over his ribs, withers and hindquarters: older horses can look round under a thick coat while losing condition underneath, and hands find what eyes miss. Record the tape figure and the score together, along with how much soaked feed he is eating and whether quids are appearing on his pasture. If the weekly readings fall twice in a row, or he starts leaving mash he used to finish, raise it with your vet promptly — chewing changes, mouth pain and other age-related problems are all possibilities a vet investigates, and worn teeth alone should never be assumed to explain a sudden change.
Keep Intake and Readings Together
A senior ration gets adjusted often, and adjustments only work if everyone feeding him follows the current version. Note his grazing hours, the soaked amounts as fed, and each set of weekly readings in one place, and review the run of figures before changing anything: one low week may be weather or a missed bucket, while a steady weekly drift is a ration asking to grow. Every grazing note and ration change sits in the Pet Passport file on KinsLe, beside dental findings from his latest check.