Nutritional management and feeding of sick or hospitalized horses

The nutritional management of the hospitalized horse aims to adapt its energy requirements according to its state of health, in recovery or sick, and the hospital environment, as they are typically kept in stalls, in such a way that they offer support and promote the optimal recovery of the horse. Weight loss and the appearance intestinal microbiota dysbiosis must be avoided. The nutritional plan will vary depending on the condition or pathology, its cause and the medical or surgical treatment of choice (especially at a caloric and protein level) so there is not a single nutritional solution. Commonly seen pathologies such as laminitis, colic in its different forms, diarrhoea, liver or kidney diseases require specific nutritional management in combination with conventional treatment. The choice of the type of forage or concentrate to administer based on its content in non-structural carbohydrates or digestibility, the frequency and number of meals, the pattern of fasting or extra supplementation are the key points of the specific nutritional plan.