Once senior horses have lost enough molars to make chewing difficult, it becomes increasingly complicated to get forage into them. Their need for forage does not diminish. However, old horses are sometimes unable to break down forages in small enough particles to be digested by the microbial population or keep them from getting lodged in places, causing choke or impaction colic.  

Fortunately, there are forages that are ground fine and do not require chewing. The caveat is that these forages usually come pelleted. If fed dry, these can cause a horse to choke because the horse doesn’t have sufficient teeth to break apart the pellets. Forage pellets or hay pellets can be soaked until they fall apart and make a mush. Hay pellets are typically made of either alfalfa or grass hay, and a horse can meet his forage requirement by consuming them.  

Senior feeds typically include some ground forage plus some type of ground roughage, like beet pulp and soy hulls, to help senior horses with teeth problems get adequate fiber in the diet. While senior feeds can be fed alone, manufacturers usually recommend that they be fed with some hay. For horses with dental problems, this is where additional hay pellets come in handy. The hay pellets and senior feed can be fed as one mash.

Re-Leve may be a high-fiber product, but it is made with a special process that allows it to have high amounts of fat incorporated into the pellets. This is what makes it effective for use with horses that have issues handling starch, like horses with polysaccharide storage myopathy. Re-Leve was not formulated to be a standalone complete feed like senior feeds and should always be fed with forage of some type. If you feel that your horse would benefit from a product like this, I would recommend it be used with hay pellets and not fed alone.