HorseAdvice.com Equine & Horse Advice: Effects of starvation on yearling bones

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	Discussion on Effects of starvation on yearling bones
Author	Message
Member: leslie1	Posted on Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008 - 9:44 am: DrO What can be the long term effects of extreme starvation on a young horse? my mare was starved from weanling until she was around 1 1/2. eventually seized by sheriff. skin and bones, unable to walk from weakness. She is perfectly healthy now, age 7, but I always wonder what effect that had on her during that critical phase. would it create brittle bones? Thanks for your time Leslie
Moderator: DrO	Posted on Thursday, Aug 21, 2008 - 7:38 am: Leslie, in the horse this is not a well studied subject but most practitioners will have seen one ever so often. From experience I would not expect any long term consequences. Poor nutrition during growth often delays maturation but once good nutrition is reinstituted the body catches up. Of course much depends on the exact nature of malnutrition but if your horse is healthy now and within normal height ranges for the breed, I see no reason to think he will regress in some way. DrO
Member: leslie1	Posted on Thursday, Aug 21, 2008 - 9:48 pm: Great news thanks L