The North American Horse council asserts more than 170,000 horses are unwanted in the US. It is no wonder that horse sales appear to feature more and more horses or that the quantity of horses 'released' to the range keeps rocketing.
Neither is it anything to wonder about that there has been a massive increase in the population of malnourished horses. Good Samaritans adopt or shelter some of the more lucky of these horses, but the problem here is that many of these Samaritans aren't really conscious of the best way to bring underfed horses back to excellent health.
Are you a good Samaritan for horses? If so , here's some advice for you: the last thing you do is 'stuff' an undernourished horse in the hope he will get plump again. Leading an undernourished pony to a heap of food is almost certainly going to prove less than productive because the potency of the horse's digestive process will have been weakened. It is way better that you stick to these 3 steps.
Step 1: Get to the root
Underfed horses will undoubtedly have developed health complications, and your first step should to spot and treat any issues like this. Generally these issues include:
- Teeth that must be floated instantly
- Bugs and worms to be eliminated
- Energy loss
- Injury and/or stress and pain.
The top 3 issues are easy to discern and treat, but things aren't going to be so easy with the fourth issue. It is very possible that stress or agony has led to ulcers or upset digestion. The pony might have lost more weight because of this. The digestive processes of horses in this condition can be eased and slowly brought back to normal with SUCCEED, Stomach Soother or KAM UF (Ulcer Formula).
You address each issue listed by logic and priority. For instance, floating ought to be done right away with a pony suffering from bad or broken teeth, otherwise the pony is going to have problems masticating feed.
Step 2: Feeding the thin horse
After you've started treatment of the more pressing issues, you start feeding the pony according to a plan. The diet should be nutritive, but quantities should be limited at the beginning. Care ought to be taken to ensure correct digestion. There is a mistaken belief that skinny horses must be fed tons of rich feed that's laden with fat. Horses that have become skinny due to food deprivation will also have developed faulty digestive tracts. They have to be nursed back to health slowly.
It is better to adhere to a diet plan that envisages frequent meals of smaller quantity. This will enable the pony to digest the food and recover its digestive powers. If energy levels are low, slowly build up to a pound and a 1/2 pelleted feed or grain for every 100 pounds of horse weight. Additional benefit can be had by adding a bit of oil or rice bran. If the pony shies away from grain, you can try alfalfa, which is eminently suitable for weight gain in finicky eaters or horses with ulcers.
In case the horse appears to have fairly ordinary energy levels, you must focus on more hay and less grain in the diet. Again, vegetable oil or rice bran will facilitate weight gain. Another excellent food for weight gain is dunked pulp of beet.
Step 3: Supplements
After you have arrived at the best basic diet, you must work on supplements which will boost the horse's digestive processes. Enzymes are good at helping the horse take the maximum nourishment from his feed. Digestion is eased with probiotics, which also heal the stomach and strengthen the immunological system. Simplexity Health's acidophilus and bifidus have excellent probiotic content, as do Conklin's Fastrack, Equilite/Arenus's PreProbiotics and ABC's Pro-Bi.
Eleviv from XanGo is a highly effective herbal supplement for horses subjected to stress or trauma. It helps restore the horse's nervous system to normalcy. Simplexity Health's blue-green algae, Omega Sun, provides high levels of nourishment for horses without adding to nervous energy.
To wrap up, you must also think about digestion-boosting herbs like greasy elm, aloe vera or marshmallow root.
Nursing an undernourished pony
Getting back an undernourished horse to the pink of health is not going to be a matter of one or two days. The process is sure to take time, and the more the complications present, the more the time that'll be taken. If you approach the problem the correct way, by addressing the health issues before the nutrition issues, you can achieve wonders with thin horses.
Neither is it anything to wonder about that there has been a massive increase in the population of malnourished horses. Good Samaritans adopt or shelter some of the more lucky of these horses, but the problem here is that many of these Samaritans aren't really conscious of the best way to bring underfed horses back to excellent health.
Are you a good Samaritan for horses? If so , here's some advice for you: the last thing you do is 'stuff' an undernourished horse in the hope he will get plump again. Leading an undernourished pony to a heap of food is almost certainly going to prove less than productive because the potency of the horse's digestive process will have been weakened. It is way better that you stick to these 3 steps.
Step 1: Get to the root
Underfed horses will undoubtedly have developed health complications, and your first step should to spot and treat any issues like this. Generally these issues include:
- Teeth that must be floated instantly
- Bugs and worms to be eliminated
- Energy loss
- Injury and/or stress and pain.
The top 3 issues are easy to discern and treat, but things aren't going to be so easy with the fourth issue. It is very possible that stress or agony has led to ulcers or upset digestion. The pony might have lost more weight because of this. The digestive processes of horses in this condition can be eased and slowly brought back to normal with SUCCEED, Stomach Soother or KAM UF (Ulcer Formula).
You address each issue listed by logic and priority. For instance, floating ought to be done right away with a pony suffering from bad or broken teeth, otherwise the pony is going to have problems masticating feed.
Step 2: Feeding the thin horse
After you've started treatment of the more pressing issues, you start feeding the pony according to a plan. The diet should be nutritive, but quantities should be limited at the beginning. Care ought to be taken to ensure correct digestion. There is a mistaken belief that skinny horses must be fed tons of rich feed that's laden with fat. Horses that have become skinny due to food deprivation will also have developed faulty digestive tracts. They have to be nursed back to health slowly.
It is better to adhere to a diet plan that envisages frequent meals of smaller quantity. This will enable the pony to digest the food and recover its digestive powers. If energy levels are low, slowly build up to a pound and a 1/2 pelleted feed or grain for every 100 pounds of horse weight. Additional benefit can be had by adding a bit of oil or rice bran. If the pony shies away from grain, you can try alfalfa, which is eminently suitable for weight gain in finicky eaters or horses with ulcers.
In case the horse appears to have fairly ordinary energy levels, you must focus on more hay and less grain in the diet. Again, vegetable oil or rice bran will facilitate weight gain. Another excellent food for weight gain is dunked pulp of beet.
Step 3: Supplements
After you have arrived at the best basic diet, you must work on supplements which will boost the horse's digestive processes. Enzymes are good at helping the horse take the maximum nourishment from his feed. Digestion is eased with probiotics, which also heal the stomach and strengthen the immunological system. Simplexity Health's acidophilus and bifidus have excellent probiotic content, as do Conklin's Fastrack, Equilite/Arenus's PreProbiotics and ABC's Pro-Bi.
Eleviv from XanGo is a highly effective herbal supplement for horses subjected to stress or trauma. It helps restore the horse's nervous system to normalcy. Simplexity Health's blue-green algae, Omega Sun, provides high levels of nourishment for horses without adding to nervous energy.
To wrap up, you must also think about digestion-boosting herbs like greasy elm, aloe vera or marshmallow root.
Nursing an undernourished pony
Getting back an undernourished horse to the pink of health is not going to be a matter of one or two days. The process is sure to take time, and the more the complications present, the more the time that'll be taken. If you approach the problem the correct way, by addressing the health issues before the nutrition issues, you can achieve wonders with thin horses.
About the Author:
Horses are Heather Toms
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers go here
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers go here
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