# calf manna for starved 8 month old?



## lamoncha lover (Mar 1, 2009)

I know some folks on here do rescue.
I went and bought groceries for my starved 8 month old mini filly. I am giving her free choice hay(high protein bermuda)..a little soaked beet pulp with a little bit of alf cubes, 1 cup of calf manna, and about 1 c of omalene 300 mare and foal feed (for growth) does this sound reasonable?
of course water always and mineral salt block.
I know nothing about proper calcium/ phos? ratios. Anyone with experience with extremely starved baby please advise if this sounds ok,.


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## littlebitfarm (Mar 21, 2005)

I have never dealt with a "starved" colt. But I do know you want to grow colts slowly. Too much protein and calories and they grow quick and big but their joints don't keep up with them and you end up with a lame horse. 

I would put out a good quality hay, all he wants. and a good quality loose horse mineral. A horse can't lick enough off a mineral block to get what they need. 

How much does this guy weigh? Hard to judge grain amounts without knowing a size. 

Kathie


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

_"a little soaked beet pulp with a little bit of alf cubes, 1 cup of calf manna, and about 1 c of omalene 300 mare and foal feed (for growth)"

_Is this per feeding or per day divided into two or more feedings?

My personal feeling is that this is too much grain/calf manna for a mini weanling that has been starved and is as thin as you say yours is. But then I am not particularly experienced with minis and if it is divided into two feedings, it may be okay.

One cup of 'sweet feed' (similar to Omalene) twice a day is maintenance for one of our minis that is a hard keeper (the other one doesn't get grain at all) and two Welsh ponies that need a bit extra.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

I have always used calfmana for any horse that needed rehab without any problems. I love the stuff for that purpose but I've never had to use it on a mini. I have more of a problem keeping weight off of mine.

I use a cup for a full size horse so if it were me I'd probably cut that ration down for a mini. Maybe to 1/3 of a cup.

Other than adding the calfmana I've always fed them what all the other horses get fed around around here which is a mixture of cracked corn, oats, horse pellets, trace mineral salt, and just enough molasses to cut the dust created from the cracked corn. In the summer it gets switched to dry oats because I have problems with the other getting moldy, high humidity here. I do not start out giving them free choice hay until they've gotten used to the idea that they will get a next meal and they quit scarfing it down so fast.

Besides having loose TM salt added to their feed they also have a block of that and a block of white salt.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

For growing colts, I feed a oat and cracked corn mix with minerial mix and a vitimin mix. I add molasses to keep the minerials and vitimins from settling. Make sure the minerals contain selinium and the vitimins contain lots of B. 
But, as is true for all changes in horse feed, start slowly. Resist the urge to " fatten him up" right away. He went down hill sllowly and will need lots of time to plump back up. Great harm can come from over feeding a colt. Keep an eye on his growth plates in his legs and don't let the hocks get meaty, either.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

SFM got her post in while I was typing mine and it reminded me to add that with the calfmana--that was per day not per feeding. On a rehab it's best to feed a little at a time but give them more meals. I do 3 times a day to start with.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

You have to be careful with minis as they are really prone to founder. For adding weight, shredded beet pulp will help. At TSC they have rice bran(?) and we've found that to be excellent for putting weight on underweight horses. We have a 2 year old mini and she gets 1 cup of beet pulp, 1 cup of Miniature Horse and Pony Feed and maybe a cup after soaking of alfalfa cubes 2X a day. Just be careful on the protein as miniatures are more feed efficient than their lager counter parts.


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

When you say "starved", what do you mean? How long have you had her? What was her situation before? I'm just worried about refeeding syndrome if you only got her just now.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

6e said:


> You have to be careful with minis as they are really prone to founder. For adding weight, shredded beet pulp will help. At TSC they have rice bran(?) and we've found that to be excellent for putting weight on underweight horses. We have a 2 year old mini and she gets 1 cup of beet pulp, 1 cup of Miniature Horse and Pony Feed and maybe a cup after soaking of alfalfa cubes 2X a day. Just be careful on the protein as miniatures are more feed efficient than their lager counter parts.


My thoughts as well - you don't want to trade one problem for another. I'd check with your vet if you can; minis are really small compared to full sized horses (obviously, but it's easy to forget that they are not just "half the size" or so...they are much smaller in every way).

Until you are sure what is absolutely asafe, I'd stick with hay and a small amount of something designed for minis. I've never heard of a "hard keeping" mini, so I wouldn't be surprised if even a *starved* mini gains weight quickly on just hay.


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## lamoncha lover (Mar 1, 2009)

thanks for the replies. I got snowflake a couple days ago.she is literally bones and skin. Her hair covers the horid condition she is in. i did look up feeding a starved baby and ended up giving just a little bit of the mixture to snowflake over 3 feedings. The rest was split between the others.
I will keep in mind small..and probably will call my vet as I see she has a slight cough. Poor baby.


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## TroutRiver (Nov 26, 2010)

This sounds like too much grain for a mini. As someone else mentioned, they are prone to founder. Also, in general you do not want to feed too much protein to babies, you want nice slow, steady growth or you risk them having joint problems when they're older. Also be careful feeding a lot of concentrates to a horse that has been starved and is severely underweight. I know it's our nature to want to see them get fat really fast, but really it is not good for them, and puts them at risk for founder, colic and blockages (I learned this the hard way a few years ago). Slow weight gain over the course of several months is much healthier. 

Most minis will get fat off of free choice hay. Personally, I would stick with that, with maybe a handful of grain once a day. Personally I would cut out the calf manna. The mare&foal grain should be plenty. 

Has she been wormed?


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

It's important to remember that emaciated horses don't get that way overnight and restoring condition takes quite a while. To rush the process may seem well intended but you can, in fact, literally kill them with kindness so please talk to your vet and don't pound feed into her.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

Another post was right, mini's are NOT hard keepers and that's one of the reasons it is so easy for them to founder. I would give just good quality hay, make sure she's wormed and feed Purina Miniature Horse and Pony Feed at the recommended amounts as it is designed for all life stages of minis. She will gain weight as she gets the right amount. Main thing is to make sure she's not wormy and they're the reason for the thinness. Give them the feed they need and the weight will come by itself! It's dicey to feed feed designed for big horses to mini's just due to size and trying to scale it down. Good luck!


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

You can use a weight tape or just a tape measure to see what she weighs. My youngest mini is 2 years old and 33" tall and weighs 275 pounds and is in good flesh, maybe a little chunky.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

I would not deworm yet; again...consult your vet for their best advice, but if an animal has been "starved", it's likely that parasites are not the main cause of their poor condition. I would be careful deworming an animal that is already in poor condition from lack of food. I'd get them on good hay for a few weeks before doing anything "drastic" which also includes dental care. 

Obviously - if you are feeding a horse and they are still underweight - parasites and teeth may be the cause and you should treat them. But for a starvation case, I'd think that any major systemic treatment could be dangerous unless absolutely imperative. Seems that unless you know for sure that they have a massive parasite load, it would be good to get their digestion and hydration back to normal before anything else.

Good luck!


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

Here is some information on refeeding syndrome:

http://www.stuurgroepondervoeding.nl/fileadmin/inhoud/ziekenhuis/documenten/artikelen/refeeding.pdf

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext/animalwelfare/equine/eq-isoenergetic-javma212-5-691.pdf



> After a great deal of research the American Association of Equine Practitioners determined that the following protocol should be followed to optimize recovery of starving horses through re-feeding. The early introduction of concentrates in the feeding regimen of a starving horse is likely to cause re-feeding syndrome which leads to organ failure and death. Concentrates (grains and complete feeds) should not be fed to the recovering horse until the horse has re-acclimated fully to eating hay.


http://www.kentuckyhorse.org/en/art/75/


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## Harmony_Meadows (Nov 4, 2007)

My minis were in horrid condition when I got them. The vet was pretty adamant that they get only hay and maybe a bit of vitamin supplement to make sure they were getting what they needed. It takes time but it does work, unless there is an underlying reason for the low weight.


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