December through March seems to be the worst months for attending to starvation cases. Winter in Maine shows no mercy to those animals that don't hibernate. This winter, a state humane agent had a starved miniature horse trucked to the clinic for emergency care. Even though the filly could still stand, she was literally skin and bones. The trucker, a cattle dealer from Pennsylvania, made a very perceptive comment. He said, “Look how tight the skin is over the bones. If the horse had just lost this weight over a few weeks as the owner swears, then the skin should be loose!” A very astute observation, I thought. She died the next day.

In February, Mr. M. came to the clinic for a confidential meeting with me. It seems that a family in his church needed to borrow money from him and they had about 20 horses that he had concerns abut. He told me that he didn't know much about horses, but that there was some hay out for the horses in their pasture.

“Is that okay for them?” he asked.

I replied, “Probably not for the following three reasons.”

“First, you must always remember that a group of animals will have a pecking order. This is very significant for the animals at the top of the pecking order will eat well whereas those at the bottom will be the first to starve.”

“Secondly, not all hay is the same quality. Remember the history of the British navy and scurvy. They had plenty of food but not enough food with vitamin C so that their sailors would die of scurvy during long voyages. By taking limes on their ships they could prevent scurvy, hence the nickname “Limey”. Likewise, horses fed poor quality hay can suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies, i.e. Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Selenium.”

“Thirdly, not all horses can tolerate the cold temperatures as well. A fat Morgan horse with a thick winter coat may not need to produce more body heat until the temperature reaches 30 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas a thin Thoroughbred with a poor winter coat may have to produce more body heat at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This same fat Morgan horse when it becomes very old with Cushing's disease will have a change in critical temperature that may require it to produce extra body heat at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. And this same Thoroughbred on a cold, windy, rainy day may need to produce more body heat at a temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold horses will shiver.”

A photo of Topper, one of my own ponies, in the never ending Maine snow.