FAQ About Rescue Horses

The University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center (VMC) is sometimes called upon to evaluate and treat starving and neglected horses that are seized by humane organization officials and local law enforcement officers. Often, these horses are the subject of TV, radio, and newspaper stories followed by calls from concerned members of the public, who have a number of questions and concerns about the horses. Here, VMC Large Animal Medicine Division Head Julia Wilson, D.V.M., answers frequently asked questions about rescue horses.

Q: Who brings the horses to the Veterinary Medical Center?

A: The horses are brought to the Veterinary Medical Center by animal rescue groups such as the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation and the humane investigators.

Q: How do these organizations become aware of the horses' plight?

A: Neighbors usually bring the problem to the attention of humane officers. This often happens during the winter, if the horses have no pasture access and only frozen water is available. The owners first receive oral and written warnings with specific requirements and deadlines for provision of basic care for the animals. When these requirements are not met, Minnesota statutes permit seizure of the horses. The animals become wards of the county until legal proceedings are completed, at which point they become the property of the humane organization.

Q. Why do the horses' owners let them starve?

A: Most cases of starvation or severe malnutrition originate from owners who acquire more horses than they have interest in caring for or the means to care for. The horses have no feed or inadequate feed, cannot access the feed provided, or have medical conditions that affect feed intake, nutrient absorption, or metabolism. Intestinal parasites, liver disease from poisonous plants, and metabolic demands of cold weather, pregnancy, or lactation can be other contributing factors.

Q: In addition to starvation and dehydration, what problems do you often see in neglected horses?

A: Neglected horses often have parasites. We may also see hoof problems resulting from neglect as well as general lack of grooming.

Q: When a starving horse is first admitted, is it true that its system can only handle a small amount of food at first? Why is that?

A: We feed the horse only a small amount of food at first because we re concerned about a metabolic crisis called refeeding syndrome, which can happen when severely starved animals receive nutritional replenishment too rapidly. Refeeding syndrome was first described in Far East prisoners of war after World War II. When the prisoners started eating again after a period of prolonged starvation, they suffered heart failure. Fortunately, the pathophysiology of refeeding syndrome has now been established. As fat reserves are consumed, starvation induces metabolic changes that allow protein (muscle) to be burned for energy. Body mineral stores, particularly phosphorus, become depleted, which can lead to respriratory failure, heart failure, arrhythmia, seizures, coma, and sudden death. Slow refeeding prevents refeeding syndrome.

Q: How much food and water do you initially give a starving horse? How often? How long does it take for the horse to get back to eating normally?

A: If the horse has had no food for 24 hours or more, it is offered handfuls of good quality grass hay on at least an hourly basis. It gets all the water it wants. After the first day, restricted hay access is provided by placing hay nets outside the bars of the stall. If the horse has had some feed prior to admission, it is permitted full access to grass hay. Within three days, most horses are back to eating all the hay they want. Concentrated horse feed is very gradually introduced on day four, using a half pound twice a day for average-sized horses.

Q: Do most of the neglected horses that are brought to the Veterinary Medical Center recover?

A: Yes, most do recover, and very quickly. If their only problem is starvation, they gain weight and bloom beautifully once they re on a good-quality diet. A few of our starvation cases have also had chronic, incurable conditions or a hopeless prognosis. These horses were humanely euthanized.

Q: How long do the horses stay at the VMC before they're discharged?

A: Most stay for about a week.

Q: What happens to the horses after they're discharged?

A: Most go to the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation farm in Zimmerman, Minn., or to a foster home.

Q: What happens to the people who neglected the horses? Are they prosecuted?

A: Yes, the owners definitely experience consequences for neglecting their animals. Legal custody of the horses is given to the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation, and in most cases, the horse s owners are charged and convicted of misdemeanor and/or felony charges resulting in fines, jail time, or community service.

Q: Are people needed to serve as foster parents or to adopt the horses after they are discharged from the VMC? Does the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation take volunteers? Do they accept donations?

A: Yes, people are needed to adopt, serve as foster parents, handle and train, and otherwise help out with rescue horses. The Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation (MHARF) has a variety of volunteer opportunities and a wish list for supplies ranging from feed to fencing. They are also in need of financial support. For more information, please call the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation at 763-856-3119, e-mail info@mnhoovedanimalrescue.org, or visit http://www.mnhoovedanimalrescue.org. The MHARF s mailing address is P.O. Box 47, Zimmerman, MN 55398.

Q: Are there other ways people can support the care of the horses and the work of the Veterinary Medical Center?

A: Yes, there are. The Veterinary Medical Center welcomes donations in support of its work. For more information about making a donation, visit www.cvm.umn.edu/development/campaigns/ or contact Rob Nordin, development director, at nordi053@umn.edu or 612-624-1247.

Finally, good news! The University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine is currently raising funds to build a new, state-of-the-art Equine Centeron the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. This Center will be dedicated to the care of horses. For more information, visit http://www.cvm.umn.edu/development/campaigns/equine/