37. Natural Disaster Horse Nutrition: What to Feed When Everything Changes

Feeding horses during emergencies (bushfires, floods, storms, evacuations) can quickly become a “take what you can get” situation, but the choices you make in your makeshift feed room can determine whether your horse copes… or tips into dehydration, gastric ulcers, hindgut dysbiosis, colic, or even laminitis. In this practical episode of the Happy Horse Nutrition Podcast, PhD equine nutritionist Dr Nerida shares her approach to natural disaster horse feeding with one core rule: keep the diet as close to normal as possible.

You’ll learn how to prioritise clean water (and what to do when horses won’t drink), why hay and fibre are your horse’s lifeline, and how to reduce risk when you’re forced to swap feeds or hays fast. We cover smart strategies like ingredient/forage variety, feeding little and often when hay is limited, avoiding the trap of over-using grain/hard feed, and why you should keep hay available when pasture regrows. There’s also specific guidance for horses with PPID (Cushing’s), insulin dysregulation, and laminitis, including when soaking hay might help in a tight spot.

If you want a simple emergency checklist to protect hydration and gut health when your horse’s world is upside down, this one’s for you.

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Useful links & resources

📲 MyHappy.Horse app (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/app/myhappy-horse/id6633422324

🎧 Start here: Episode 1 - Feed Your Horse Like a Horse (foundation principles for gut health and safer feeding)

🎧 Also helpful: Episode 24 - Ingredient Variety and Why it Matters in Horse Nutrition

🎧 For metabolic/laminitis horses: Episode 15 – All about laminitis – keeping your horse safe