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Over the course of its life, your horse may be required to undergo recovery periods of varying durations. This period may follow an illness, an operation or an injury. Strict stable rest may be required, or limited outings.
Though your vet will help you get through the “crisis” phase, they are also there to advise you on how best to manage your horse’s recovery.
During this period of decreased activity, your vet will be able to recommend food supplements to help your horse get back on top form.
Steps of the recovery period
Food and the recovery period
As we have seen, your horse’s recovery will likely require an absence of work or very limited physical activity, therefore their nutritional needs will be lower than those of a working horse.
As with any horse, opt to feed good-quality forage (grass or hay). As well as covering a significant amount (or even all) of your horse’s needs, forage will also help to keep it busy.
If forage does not cover all of your horse’s needs, you can also use concentrates. Take care with this choice however, as high intakes of concentrates can result in digestive problems or even “agitated” horses with excess energy, given their lack of activity.
To support your horse’s digestion, which may be disturbed by a change in diet or by stress, you can support it with suitable food supplements.
Movement and the recovery period
Recovery periods generally involve a limitation of your horse’s movements. As well as causing a loss of muscle mass, this will directly impact overall motion and, in particular, that of your horse’s joints. This lack of use can have consequences upon the return to work. As such, if your horse is liable to joint problems, don’t hesitate to help it protect its joints and proper mobility.
Managing your horse’s anxiety
Resting and/or stabling can have consequences on your horse’s mental state. As such, it’s worth offering your horse food supplements to limit anxiety, such as Zzen.
Elimination and the recovery period
Plant extracts (like dandelion, milk thistle, etc.) support the kidneys and liver to eliminate toxins. It can therefore be useful to incorporate food supplements based on these plants.
Managing the return to work
At the end of the recovery period, or during it, your horse will be required to return to work very gradually. The recovery period is likely to have caused a reduction in your horse’s muscles. As well as adapting the work, food supplements can help restore this muscle mass. As muscles are mainly composed of proteins, it is these that must be regenerated. That’s why, in addition to a suitable diet, supplements like Myostem Mass, based on essential amino acids (which make up proteins) can support your horse during this recovery period.
We’ve covered a few of the elements to monitor during your horse’s recovery. Of course, there are many more—sometimes specific to your horse—to keep an eye on. As every horse has specific additional needs (joints, stress, etc.), ask your vet for advice.
