Refeeding the Poorly Conditioned Horse

lean tissue degradation. Body fat provides the major energy reservoir. The horse’s body systems will mobilize fat for fuel when energy needs are greater than the daily energy intake. As the time period of inadequate nutrition is prolonged, fat stores are depleted and noticeable amounts of muscle are broken down for use as energy. There is no uniformly agreed upon benchmark as to what constitutes a horse in undesirably low body condition. It is common for some highly trained equine athletes to have thin to moderately thin body conditions and be in the peak of health. Generally, most reports from veterinarians and nutritionists consider horses in body condition scores of one or two as emaciated, malnourished, or under conditioned as a result of being underfed or combating a disease or age condition that restricts weight gain. Poor body condition is usually associated with insufficient intake of energy or protein. Malabsorption, parasitic infestation, old age, senility, and a number of diseases can also cause emaciation. Thus, to be effective, nutritional therapies for correcting poor body condition must be aligned with the correct diagnosis of the cause and the health status of the horse.