Horse Weight and Horse Nutrition

For years vets have constantly been captivated by how horses can lose 30% of their body mass, or more, and still recuperate and endure. Horses are the greatest animal survivors!

On the other hand, when a horse is in an injured or famished state, they are not that strong. In fact, horses will possess not much muscle mass and they are more at risk for shattering bones. To help a horse recuperate from this awful experience, there are numerous things they will require. The most important thing is lots of love and care. Next, they will need a great nutrition plan to aid them gain back weight and develop muscle. Another good thing to look into is equine probiotics.

To start with its nutritional diet, give the horse some good quality hay. Excellent hay is significant since you don’t desire the horse to have any further digestive troubles. A fine way to tell how much hay to provide a horse is to remember to offer daily hay total that equates to 2% of the horse’s body mass. For an 800 pound horse, this would total to about 16 pounds of hay feed for the day.

If your horse is old and cannot chew correctly, you may require turning the hay into purée. Specialized feed for elderly and mature horses may be used as well. Sufficient water is essential at all times. A good vitamin supplement or equine probiotics is also helpful in reconstructing strength and gastric health.

Afterwards two weeks of the hay regime, you can try to initiate grain again. Grain must not be pushed and ought to be given gradually. The purpose to slowly re-introduced grain is because their gastric system must re-adjust to consuming grain. You can open with a pound of grain, twice a day. Once you think the horse can accept that quantity, you can augment the grain by a pound per day. Your goal at the end is to feed your horse grain that totals one percent of their body mass, each day and maintain feeding hay too.

You must be tolerant when you are attempting to put weight on a horse. It may need up to six months to see standard weight. Be in consistent contact with your vet and observe the horse diligently. Be sure to give the horse more care as well. Additional TLC can truly help a horse regain rapidly! The horse may be unwilling to trust humans at first. So, give the horse a moment to adapt and be cautious not to distress him or her.
When your horse has become strong again, you can start arranging your next move for your horse. A dewormer is usually the next step or a good equine probiotics to maintain his strength. In addition, a dental checkup is also recommended and also to check the horse’s hooves.