malnourished horses

Question
What are the signs of malnourishment in horses? I'm doing a project on preventing malnourishment and I want to make a list of things for owners to look for. Any ideas?

Answer
Hello,

There are varying degrees of malnourishment going all the way from your typical neglect cases, to simple deficiencies in the horses diet which aren't being filled properly by the feed they are getting.  When horses are missing a certain mineral, they may develop strange tastes so to say.  For example, a horse missing enough copper or zinc in his diet may begin eating dirt.  Also, if a horse is not receiving enough quality roughage through his hay or through pasture, he will begin to eat wood or straw (depending on which bedding you use) to satisfy that need
in his diet.  

However, as far as weight and body condition are concerned, there is a standard scale which veterinarians use called Heneke's scale.  It numbered from 1 - 10 with one being emaciated and 10 being excessively obese.  It is far too extensive in description to list here, but that is the basics.  However, I did include a link to the scale which gives a great understanding along with pictures for you.  It is done in regular horse person's terms, so it is easily understood by anyone.  I hope this helps you.  

Here is the link
http://www.equinerescue.com/idneglect.html

Best of luck to you.