Nutrition for Rehabilitating the Starved Horse

It is difficult to comprehend the long-term neglect and surrounding situations that produce such a devastated, depressed creature as a starved horse. The bones are so prominent that the skeleton appears to belong to a larger horse, the head is disproportionately large compared with the body, and the tail is always low and motionless.

But the low hanging head tells it all. The ears barely move to any sounds in the environment, no extra energy is spent interacting with herd mates. The eyes are dull, without expression, without expectations.

Malnourished and poorly cared for horses can be found even in countries of relative wealth such as Canada and the United States. In fact, the problem of neglected horses in these countries has worsened in recent years and reflects the growing number of horses that are no longer wanted or needed, or whose owners are no longer capable of providing care for them, physically or financially. The degree of worsening could be related to both the global recession that has created economic hardship for many horse owners, and the simultaneous closure of U.S. equine slaughter facilities in 2007. During the previous decade, these slaughter plants had processed approximately 68,000 horses per year.

It is estimated that approximately 100,000 horses per year in the United States alone are categorized as “unwanted.” Unwanted horses range from being normal, healthy horses of varying ages and breeds, to horses with some type of disability or infirmity, horses that are unattractive, horses that fail to meet their owner’s expectations for their intended use (e.g. athletic ability), horses with non-life-threatening diseases, horses with behavioural problems, or horses that are dangerous.

A relatively small number of these horses end up in a rescue or sanctuary facility where they can be rehabilitated and rehomed. As might be expected for horses that are relinquished to non-profit facilities, poor body condition is apparent in many of the horses, with a number of them considered emaciated, very thin, or thin.