Re: RC: Re: Starved horses

["Susan Evans Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

>Cartilage destruction/repair is problematic. But cartilage destruction is
>pretty far down the catabolism curve--just as it's difficult to rebuild
>cartilage through nourishment, it is also difficult to destroy it through
lack
>of nourishment. Hopefully, proper nutrition is restored before there is
>nothing left in the joint to work with.

That's what makes me wonder what was different about the two starvation
cases I saw in which the cartilage was totally gone, and I mean gone.  No
integrity left there at all.  I think both of these were horses that had
been on a essentially-straw ration for months, maybe years before they got
to this point.  It's certainly a different response from horses like Lari's
that had total lack of energy, protein and everything else for a relatively
short period of time (though I'm sure it didn't seem that way to the horse),
but then were able to totally repair the system to its former condition.

One thing I remember from human nutrition courses---when humans reach
extreme starvation, the body no longer has sufficient protein enzymes to be
able to digest a sudden meal, and the food goes right on through undigested.
I can't remember for sure, but I think the body requires small amounts of
simple carbs for awhile to supply the fuel to rebuild enzymes to start true
digestion again.  Don't think anyone has looked at that in horses yet.

Susan G



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