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HELP! new horse from slaughter

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2K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  kchfuller 
#1 ·
I rescued a horse from slaughter today and I have no idea what type of grass to put him on.
I'm not sure what he was eating,if anything, before....
I feed my other horses timothy alfalfa and grain....

but im not sure with him because he is so underweight...I dont want him to colic or anything.

What do you think I should start him out on?
 
#2 ·
First, I would like to thank you for rescueing a slaughter bound horse. :D Seeing him come back from the brink is one of the greatest experiences a horse owner can have.

I would put her out in the pasture for an hour, than take her in. Watch for colic after that, but I don't think that an hour will hurt. Good luck :)
 
#4 · (Edited)
Little and often , it is important to keep a horses digestive system working, do you have a grazing muzzle? this will allow the horse to out grazing for longer periods without stuffing his face, this will reduce the chance of his system getting overloaded by short periods of lots of eating followed by no eating at all.

Either that or I would suggest a paddock that is already heavily grazed and therefore less for him to gorge on. Be careful with hard feed to start with - again probably better to feed less ammounts per feed but have more feeds in a day.
 
#5 ·
Actually, if he didn't graze at all for while I'd start with just 15-20 mins and add another 10-15 mins every couple days. Timothy is certainly fine whether it's underweight or not, just let him munch on it as much as he can. I'd also add mash and oil to his grain - that'll put weight on him pretty quickly. Just feed him small portions several times a day (if you can) or at least twice/day (morning - night).

BTW, kudos for saving the slaughter horse!!
 
#6 ·
I agree with Kitten_Val about the pasture. You're supposed to start with 15 mins then increase by 15 mins a day until you hit 4 hours. Then you're fine to put them out all day. This helps the enzymes and nutrient transport systems in the small intestine increase so that the horse can actually digest the food.
 
#8 ·
I know other have chimed in but I didn't read everything .. this would be my plan f I were you:

Try feeding a breakfast, lunch and dinner ... not a lot at each meal but a flake or two and you will be able to tell if he is cleaning up or leaving things behind. Also it would be a good idea to have him somewhere that he doesn't have to "fight" for food or fend others off his meal. Also not too rich hay would be best till him body is used to actually getting a good meal or a meal at all...

Keep us updated! And some pictures would be great too :)
 
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