Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Nutritional care helped an 18-year-old warmblood horse with weight
By López-Císcar, C et al.·Published in Journal of equine veterinary science·2026·Servicio de Nutrició, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Successful nutritional management of a warmblood horse with multiple pathologies that respond to nutrition.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
An 18-year-old warmblood horse was brought in for severe weight loss, muscle wasting, and other serious health issues like gastric ulcers and kidney stones. The horse's diet was lacking essential nutrients and was too high in sugars and starches. A new, balanced diet rich in energy and protein was recommended, along with medical treatment, but financial issues and caregiver compliance made it difficult to implement these changes quickly. This case highlights how important proper nutrition and timely medical care are for preventing further health problems in horses.
People also search for: horse weight loss treatment · warmblood horse nutrition · gastric ulcers in horses diet
Abstract
This report describes the nutritional management of an 18-year-old, 553 kg gelding warmblood used for dressage lessons that presented with severe weight loss, marked muscle atrophy, poor dentition, sabulous urolithiasis, gastric ulcers, and later small colon impaction. On admission, the diet consisted of ad libitum wheat straw and mixed cereals (73:27 forage:concentrate), providing 2% of body weight as dry matter without vitamin-mineral supplementation. Marked deficiencies were identified in digestible energy (38%), crude protein (20%), lysine, threonine, vitamins, and minerals, while sugar and starch intake was excessive. A balanced, energy and protein dense diet, together with medical treatment was recommended. However, financial constraints and limited caregiver compliance prevented timely implementation. The case illustrates the critical role of evidence-based, integrative nutritional management combined with prompt medical intervention plus regular monitoring and demonstrates how inadequate diet and delayed corrective measures can perpetuate disease and predispose to further avoidable complications.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42025860/