Starving a foundered horse?

Question

someone i know has a pony that has foundered,so its locked up, but I'm worried it hasn't been fed a scrap for the past few weeks. will its stomach shut down? how long till its starts to suffer? i am really concerned for the welfare of this pony

Answer 1

In actual starvation, the fats are incompletely metabolized for use as energy.  The result is serious alterations in the blood pH which may be fatal (ketoacidosis).  An absence of food in the gut of a horse also carries several risks that could be fatal to this horse.  An emergency rescue is in order if indeed the horse is not receiving any food.  After this long, I'm surprised he hasn't already gone down.

Answer 2

Fat or not, the horse needs to eat.  A horse's digestive system is designed to have a constant flow of food.  No food flow can cause colic, not to mention hunger.  The last thing a pony in this condition needs is colic and a weak immune system for lack of nourishment.  Explain this to the owner, if its just ignorance or call the cops.  He should be standing in sand, too.

Answer 3

Sailor, Buffy is right. You need to call animal control and the SPCA, and report these people to them so they can investigate the situation and correct it if necessary. That pony is likely either dead or nearly so, if he hasn't been fed for 3 weeks, and these people are guilty of major animal cruelty by not treating him or taking care of him. Beyond reporting what you know to law enforcement, I would stay out of this, if I were you. It's hard to look the other way, I know, but there are times when it's better not to get involved, because you have no way of knowing whether or not these people aren't going to turn on you and blame you for what happened.

What a sad situation- there are some people who should never own any animal, much less a pony or horse. These people sound like they belong in that category. Good luck.  

Answer 4

Call your local animal control. That is the best way to deal with the welfare of the pony.  You know it is sad that people today put an innocent animal through such misery.  Believe me it is already suffering. Please call ANIMAL CONTROL you can remain anonymous all you need is the address where the pony is

Answer 5

If they are truly starving their pony, then they are doing much more harm than good. Founder isn't caused by eating, it's caused by what they eat, and how it effects their system. If they think not feeding the pony will prevent future founder, they are wrong. The pony should stil be given hay and water, and if they consult with a vet, certain types of carb-reduced grain. They should avoid things like sweet feed, oats, corn, and treats like apples and carrots. Not feeding the pony will only stress it's already stressed system, resulting in MUCH more serious conditions than founder, like colic. If you truly believe this pony is being starved, give them a name of a local vet that could help them.  

Answer 6

A founder pony needs to be fed! When our pony foundered, we put him on a diet of straight timothy hay ( 2 flakes a day) and 1/2 a scoop of plain oats twice a day. We later switched him to a feed called "Mare & Maintenance" (by Purina) that has lots of extra Vit E, Selenium, and Lysine, which are important for founder ponies. That diet plus a special trim job, he made a full recovery! Still remains on his medication for Cushings disease (pergolide)

ADD: During his recovery, our vet also recommended at much time OUT as possible (not necessarily on grass though) to increase circulation. We also had him on 1cc of ace daily to increase circulation in his feet.

Answer 7

Do you know its not being fed grain or grain and hay? If the animal gets neither that is a problem. However, many many laminitic horses survive on a half handful of low quality grain or hay per day. They are probably containing the pony to allow the inflammation is the hooves to go down, and keep it comfy on soft bedding.

If you are concerned why don't you approach the owners and ask them to explain to you what their plan of treatment is? If their plan is truly zero grain and zero hay then you can approach the Humane Society or otherwise.  

Answer 8

Call your nearest humane society or animal control agency and tell them your concerns about a possible neglect/cruelty case.  They should send someone out to check on the pony and evaluate the situation.  If the owners of the pony are indeed starving it, the pony will most likely be confiscated and taken to a place where it will receive proper medical treatment.  Don't hesitate on this - the pony could be suffering a great deal and if it is not getting fed, it's time is limited.

Thanks for caring.  Good luck.

Answer 9

You cannot do much for the pony legally until you know what the laws are concerning animal care in your local area.  I encountered a similar situation a few years back.  A lady at the barn had 4 stallions and she only feed them once a week and they were in pretty rough shape.  I contacted animal control and got in touch with a local group charged with monitoring the welfare of animals - I dont remember the group, but not local animal control or humane society.  The person I got in touch with had encountered this lady before.  She'd been charged in other counties and was disallowed from keeping any animals in those counties, but had yet to be caught in our county.  Unfortunately the local laws simply specified the animals had to be fed regularly - it didn't say how regular, just regular - and once a week is regular.  So, since there was food of hers on the premises and I'd spoken with her, she was older and had car problems, I had been helping out giving them food more regularly but they still were wormy and stuck in stalls with c**p up to their knees.  I was required to stop feeding them for her - she knew I was but that my doing so was difficult due to my schedule.  The guy had to monitor them by going to the farm and checking in on them for a certain amount of time.  He was able to prove that she was randomly feeding them and his looking at their conditions and taking pictures helped.  He never did bring charges to her, but I believe she was contacted because she started getting rides to the farm, asked me to help clean the stalls and handle the stallions for her as she was scared of them.  Two ended up being sold after they were cleaned up and handled a bit.  The mare and one stallion were still there but soon after disappeared.  I heard they'd been given to someone.

So it wasn't fun - but if you don't follow the law, you can become entangled in an awful mess.

There's another situation in our area where 60+ horses were seized by the local animal control due to neglect and unsafe conditions - it's a long story, but they belonged to a person who knew horse bloodlines, was active in racing and had many connections - his place just was very run-down and his horses were not in very good shape - my opinion is that the situation described by the animal control was accurate - others disagree.  But the point is, the county seized them, took him to court, the court ruled the horses could be confiscated, treated and later sold to the highest bidders as public auction.  The horses were treated as best possible, tens of thousands of dollars worth of care, they were sold at auction, many for a pittance.  A later judge in the trial of criminal animal neglect ruled the animals were falsely sold and there is a good chance the county will have to pay the guy for what he considers the value of all the horses sold - what a mess, all because someone tried to do some good.

So - find out the laws, find out who is responsible for investigating them.  Find out, if you can, what vet(s) the guy uses and what their knowledge is of the horse's situation.  Be prepared if you start any proceedings with such organizations against him to testify in court with facts, not what you "believe" to be true.  The local large animal or horse vet should be able to tell you how to monitor the situation to determine whether the animal is being abused or not as well as how the perceived activities could be affecting the pony.

It's sad, but this is what happens - people do not all responsibly own any animals - and large animals are easier to spot neglect taking place than say a dog or cat.  We cannot control this type of activity, but we can know the law and how to properly move forward to stop the activity in such a manner as to make success more probable.

A horse can't go very long without food no matter how fat they are before they start suffering. Their systems are made to keep food moving through constantly - the way to control the weight and founder is with the quality of hay or grain.  High protein, sugar and starch content in things like sweet fed, alfalfa hay and treats are what cause fat, foundered horses as well as inconsistent feeding.

Good luck!

Answer 10

I gave Amy S a thumbs up on this answer. She is exactly correct. The horse you see in my avatar recently foundered. We have had a special Equine Vet treating him. You can't starve them. He gets 1/2 scoop of Senior Equine feed and three flecks of hay twice a day. He has lost a lot of weight, but is not starving. Just yesterday the vet increased his feed to 3/4 scoop of feed and four flecks of hay twice a day. But upon the initiation of founder, he should only be getting hay, and when the founder improves, slowly add the feed to his diet.

Answer 11

Bunnie and I would call animal control imediatly.  No sense taking it on yourself report for abuse please.

xxoo bunnie and mandy

best friends forever

Answer 12

Does it look thin?

Just because an animal is penned up doesn't mean they aren't feeding it..

What other proof do you have that it isn't being fed?

EDIT-  if they are truely not feeding it anything, and with it being overweight, it will live on its fat for a while, but again it can cause damage to organs by doing that.  I'm not sure if horses can get hyperlipidemia as easy as ponies and donkeys can.. but its a huge concern when someone pulls an animal off feed like that.  Once that sets in, its very very difficult to rectify and its a fatal situation majority of the time.  

They need to do a feed reduction with exercise program once the pony regains its health after the founder.