Are Senior Feeds Appropriate for All Stages?

That depends on the individual horse and the particular senior feed. A lot of senior complete feeds provide sufficient fiber when fed as a complete feed while also being nutritionally fortified to meet basic requirements if fed below recommended rates. However, not all senior feeds are complete feeds. In those situations, the senior feeds could be fed to many stages of production depending on their fortification level. A true complete senior feed is probably not as cost effective to be fed as a typical concentrate to non-senior horses, as the overall fortification will generally be less due to the higher recommended feeding rates. Some senior horses do benefit from a complete senior feed, but it can be costly to feed. The horse in the picture was pushing 30 years old at the time it was taken and at one point she was eating a senior complete feed at roughly 10+ lb per day with supplemental soaked forage pellets in several meals per day. Her senior complete feed is not necessarily appropriate for the younger fellas, nor would I want to pay that much since they don’t necessarily need a specialized complete feed. It is also worth noting that many of the complete senior feeds are not high calorie feeds, as you don’t typically want a high calorie feed when feeding 10 - 15+ Lb per day. On the other hand, there are other senior formulations that are formulated like an all-around or performance feed that could fit the bill for a number of different stages of equine production.