Your horse is scheduled for laparoscopic surgery—an increasingly popular, minimally invasive surgical technique because of the rapid recoveries and decreased post-surgical complications compared with traditional “open” surgical approaches. Just like humans undergoing surgical procedures, horses are typically fasted prior to an operation. But how long should you keep a horse off feed before surgery, and why exactly is it necessary?

“Fasting horses before non-emergent laparoscopic surgeries decreases the amount of gas in the intestines, allowing better evaluation of the abdominal organs,” explained Qendrim Zebeli, Univ.-Prof. Dr.sc.agr., from the Institute of Animal Nutrition and Functional Plant Compounds, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, in Vienna, Austria, who recently published a review on the topic. “In addition, less gas distension decreases the risk of perforating the intestines when introducing the laparoscopic instruments into the abdomen. That said, there is a delicate balance in the feed/fast game because holding horses off feed for a prolonged period of time can predispose horses to typhlocolitis—an inflammation of the cecum and colon.

“Current fasting times for various laparoscopic surgeries vary from between 12 and 72 hours,” noted Zebeli