A decreased consumption of feed occurs with many diseases, under times of stress or pain, and due to inadequate quantities of feed being available. Regardless of the cause, it must be realized that an insufficient amount of feed causes problems with all body systems, making it more difficult for the horse to resist disease, to recover, and to respond to therapy. A horse’s intestinal tract is particularly sensitive to even short periods of starvation, and complete deprivation of feed for more than three to five days can cause diarrhea, which can be fatal. Abrupt refeeding of starved horses can lead to death very rapidly.
A horse with a low body condition score should be allowed free access to water and salt. Dehydration is usually a major factor in their depleted condition. Research on refeeding horses is limited, but small frequent meals (up to six times per day) of alfalfa hay seem to support the starved horse’s recuperation more adequately than oat hay or oat hay plus concentrate. Other research has indicated feeding small quantities of grain five to six times per day is beneficial. Either way, the initial feeding was done to meet 50% of the horse’s energy requirement for three to four days. Then slowly increasing the energy content of the diet and decreasing the number of feedings has resulted in successful refeeding of starved horses.