Managing stall rest: keeping your horse healthy and happy

Sometimes a horse temporarily gets stall rest to recover. If a horse is put on stall rest due to an injury, this is inevitably accompanied by changes in mood. Movement is extremely important for the well-being of a horse, especially free movement such as grazing. When a horse is deprived of free movement, it can become stressed. As a result, there is a good chance that behavioural problems will arise. Long-term stress can manifest itself in stereotypic behaviour such as weaving, wind sucking or self-harm. The horse can also become grumpy in the stable, impatient at feeding time or aggressive towards people and horses passing by.

Free movement is also often the moment that horses have social contact with other horses. Horses on stall rest often miss this. One of the most important parts of social contact is mutual grooming. Grooming helps a horse to relax and lowers the heart rate. Exercise is also important for health: it stimulates blood flow, through which nutrients and oxygen are circulated and waste can be removed. Movement also helps the horse to keep the intestines active.

Feeding horses on stall rest

Sometimes stall rest is unavoidable. Support your horse during this difficult period with a suitable ration. Hartog Senior is well suited to rehabilitating horses: it delivers slow-release energy so that the horse does not get hot. In addition, Hartog Senior provides a high concentration of vitamins and minerals to support the body during recovery.

(Early) retirement

Some injuries do not recover enough to allow the horse to get back to work, so a horse is sometimes forced to retire early. It is also possible that an older horse does not have an acute injury but is simply too worn to work. The retired horse often receives less attention, is no longer groomed daily and often gets a monotonous life. Fortunately, unlike a horse on stall rest, a retired horse can go out in the pasture with other horses, so that the essential need for social contact can be met. Research has shown that older horses move less than young or adult horses. This may be because the horse is worn and experiences discomfort when moving. Old horses are therefore often described as grumpy.

Hartog Senior is specially formulated for older horses. It is easy to eat for horses with dental problems and reduced chewing capacity.