HOW DO YOU RE-FEED A STARVING HORSE?

Carefully is the answer to this question. Deciding what to do depends greatly on what we have already discussed. Age, size, breed of the horse and health all should be taken into consideration. First contact a veterinarian and have a full check up and blood work done to determine health. Start slow, too much at once can cause a life threatening colic. Wetting or soaking feed with warm water and adding mineral oil along with bran can be very helpful to ease digestion along the way, always monitor for diahreah. The digestive system in a starving animal works slower than normal, nerve reflexes can be sluggish in advanced cases. Hay cubes containing alfalfa can be used for some cases providing the liver can handle the protein. These cubes have been used over and over here at our farm to restore health quickly to starved animals. Adding hot water to the amount of cubes that can be contained in an icecream pail will swell the cubes twice the size in a large pail, many horses learn to love the cubes with their grain. A basic 12% sweet feed does quite well as a starting point for nutrition. Using beet pulp as an additive in the sweet feed can add nutrients and fiber. I believe soaking feed is very important especially if the horse is not drinking enough water. Soaking feed also shows you exactly how much they are eating, you would be surprised how large a pound of feed becomes with 2 quarts of warm water, beet pulp and bran. Break the feeding up into several smaller feedings through the day, the horse will tell you when it is ready to eat. Dont over feed, horses may become slow or uninterested if they have been over fed. Good quality hay should be offered with fresh water at all times. Alfalfa hay is a controversy, we have had success with it as well as other people. The protein content is the deciding factor...to high will cause a very loose stool. If you can not get a veterianrian out right away to determine health or if you have any doubts regarding good health, it would be safest to feed quality hay and water until help arrives.