CONVALESCENT

Whether recovering from injury or surgery or confined for another reason, a horse on stall rest can be challenging to feed. When the medical crisis requiring rest has passed, long-term stall management becomes a matter of balancing the horse’s needs and keeping it occupied.

A nutritional evaluation should be done for horses recovering from injury, surgery, or illness. 

Manage weight and nutrient intake.

In each case, a carefully balanced diet rich in specific minerals and vitamins should be designed to provide the horse with the best possible nutrition for its recovery and future health. For instance, a horse recovering from laminitis would benefit from an advanced hoof supplement that includes biotin, zinc, and methionine.

Track the weight of horses on stall rest to monitor if their diet provides too much energy for their sedentary lifestyle. While an electronic scale is the gold standard in measuring weight, a weight tape can be used weekly to track changes in girth circumference, as long as the same person measures in the same manner each time.

A ration balancer is a low-calorie feed that provides the amino acids necessary for the repair of damaged tissues, and the minerals and vitamins required for maintaining health. Follow the feeding directions based on the horse's weight.

Provide sufficient forage

Provide hay at 1.5-2% of the horse’s body weight. A mixed hay with grass as the majority plant type is ideal. If you do not have mixed hay, add a flake of alfalfa (lucerne) each day to the other forage. Alfalfa will help prevent the development of gastric ulcers. 

To keep the horse from eating hay too quickly and becoming bored the remainder of the day, consider a slow-feed haynet or other device that extends feeding time. 

Guard against bone demineralization

Regardless of why a horse is confined to a stall, as soon as free-choice or forced exercise is reduced, bone begins to weaken. One of the most important factors in bone density and strength is the stimulus that exercise and the resulting concussive forces provide. The bone reacts to these by building more bone where it is needed, a process known as remodeling. When that stimulus is removed, the amount of bone resorption exceeds bone accretion, and bone loss results.

Add DuraPlex to the diets of horses on stall rest to positively influence the balance of bone resorption to bone development. In controlled studies, DuraPlex effectively maintained bone mineral content in horses stabled for two weeks.

Manage Inflammatory Response

While inflammation is a normal and necessary part of the healing process, excessive inflammation can slow recovery. This is one reason NSAIDs are frequently recommended for horses recovering from illness, injury, or surgery. However, NSAID use comes with its own set of risks and side effects, such as an increase in risk for right dorsal colitis associated with the use of phenylbutazone.

Providing a source of DHA and EPA, two biologically potent omega-3 fatty acids, can provide natural support for production of compounds that mediate and resolve inflammation.

Which solution is right for your horse?

DuraPlex® Bone mineralization supplement. Ideal for horses who spend the bulk of their time stabled, including those transitioning to a management program that includes significant time spent stabled, those undergoing a convalescent period (lay-ups), and those that have sustained a bone injury or recovering from surgery.

EO-3™ Omega-3 supplement. EO-3 is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, compounds found to optimize the well-being of all horses, regardless of age or use. Choose EO-3 to promote a more natural balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids in the body and the benefits this can confer on inflammatory processes, immune system support, and bone health.

Micro-Max™ Ration fortifier. Micro-Max is a low-intake concentrated source of vitamins and minerals for mature horses. Micro-Max is ideal for horses that maintain body weight on diets of forage and small amounts of concentrate. The use of Micro-Max ensures that all vitamin and mineral requirements of mature horses and ponies are satisfied. Because of its low feeding rate, Micro-Max can be fed by itself or mixed with a concentrate.

Nano-E® Nanodispersed, liquid natural-source vitamin E supplement. Nano-E provides a highly bioavailable natural (d-α-tocopherol), water-soluble source of vitamin E to horses through a unique delivery system. Recommended for horses that spend a significant portion of their time in stalls or otherwise confined, performance horses, horses whose forage intake is largely from hay rather than pasture, those with neurological problems, those exposed to stressful events, and convalescent horses.

RiteTrac® Total digestive tract support. A proprietary blend of ingredients designed to support total digestive tract health. Targeted at both the foregut and hindgut of the horse, RiteTrac works in two distinct ways. First, with its combination of fast-acting antacids and coating agents, RiteTrac quickly neutralizes excessive gastric acid, protecting the stomach lining and restoring the normal gastric environment. Second, RiteTrac contains EquiShure, a time-released hindgut buffer designed to act on the cecum and colon by minimizing the effects of subclinical hindgut acidosis.

Learn More

• Tips for Managing Horses on Stall Rest
• Ligament Inflammation in Horses: Consider Bone Supplements for Layups
• Detriments of Immobilizing Horses
  
• Poor Behavior in Stalled Horses Related to Feeding Routine
• Gastrointestinal Motility Key to Horse Digestive Health
• Confinement Weakens Bones in Horses
• Feeding Young Horses in Confinement
• How Should Horses Be Fed After Colic Surgery?
• Sick Horses: Feed Them Less or More?
• After a Layoff: Getting Your Horse Back in Shape