A Horse is NOT a House Pet

Peter

6 years ago

I got a call today, from someone who wanted to buy a horse. Her father wanted a pet for their garden. While I’m sure there was enough space in the garden, I had to explain to her that a horse is NOT a House Pet, at least not in Malaysia. That’s because they just can’t get enough nutrition from our tropical grass, and would starve.

We have already seen many horses that are starving in Malaysia, especially since the onset of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Many horses have been abandoned. Some have been turned out into fields, the owners thinking that they are ‘providing’ for them, without realising that Tropical Grass is Not Enough.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, it is not enough to expect horses to survive on just grass. There just isn’t sufficient nutrition in our cow-grass that horses can survive. As you can see in the picture, they starve.

Another factor is that whatever calcium there is in the grass, it is “locked” in by oxalates. For more information on what Oxalates are, here is an informative article: Oxalate (Oxalic Acid): Good or Bad?

“One of the main health concerns about oxalate is that it can bind to minerals in the gut and prevent the body from absorbing them.”

This is the case with tropical grasses. It means that horses cannot get the calcium content that is in the grass.

This article from Cambridge.org explains that there is actually negative calcium in tropical grasses, caused by the Oxalates:
The effects of oxalate in some tropical grasses on the availability to horses of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium

Negative calcium means the horse actually robs calcium from its bones to maintain the balance of calcium, phosphorous and magnesium in its bloodstream.

I have also written in Exercise and Feeding During MCO, but of course you can’t expect a non-horseman to understand feeding.

A horse as a house pet, doesn’t work. Horses would still need to have their vaccinations maintained. Their feet and teeth would still need regular care, and they would need worm control.

Unless the house owner is a horseman himself, for the sake of the horses, I would never recommend a horse as a house pet here in Malaysia.

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