Anyone have any experience w/Collic in horses????

[Coco]

Hey Jackie,

I didnt see the bottom of your message before, why no corn in the grain? Because that's what I was instructed to feed to all of our horses...sweet grain that includes corn (except for the 2 brood mares right now, they have pellets but will go back to sweet grain eventually) I also used to board mine at a large boarding facility, they grained w/sweet feed to all the horses...there had to have been over 150 there. And every horse...every...was grained at least once a day, a lot were grained twice a day. I have many good friends that have horses too, they all grain as well every day. So this is the first I've ever heard of anyone not graining horses or that it can be bad for them. I cant even count how many people I know that have horses and grain daily, probably at least 30 to 50 right off hand...considering the community we live in. It would be interesting to know more so I can ask my vet and see what his opninion is on the matter. Thanks!

 

[DuckyBoys]

Horses are very sensitive to carbohydrates. They rely on the bacterial colonies in their cecum to digest them, and those little buggers do a really good job. The problem is that an overload of carbs can lead to many digestive upsets, even laminitis, and especially colic. Corn is a high energy carb - one that is notorious for colic in horses. I don't know who told you that but I can almost guarantee it was not an equine vet. If they are - I'd like to know where they went to school because corn is a huge no no.

Most horses will do best on a grass hay or a grass mix and will never NEED grain. Performance horses, i.e. open jumpers, eventers, cutters, barrels, racing, high level dressage, endurance etc will require grain on a regular basis. Most will give oats, never corn.

If your horse isn't doing any of that she doesn't need grain. Give her a nice alfalfa and some beet pulp and only some oats for a treat occassionally. AVOID lots of fresh spring grass as well.

The horse digestive system is backwards and complicated, as are their nutritional requirements and complications.

Horses happen to be the opposite of cows and digest fat pretty well, so the number one thing to give for weight gain is always oil. It is cheap and it works.

Hope that helps.

Real good book on all of this is
Feeding and Care of the Horse by Lon D. Lewis. That was the text we used in college for equine nutrition. Also, if you're serious about what and how you feed pick up the Nutrient Requirements of HOrses from the NRC.

 

[Coco]

It certainly sound's like you know your stuff! Wow! Well, that's the very first time I've heard any of that before, and I've been around horses the majority of my life!

My vet isnt a specific Equine Vet as in he doesnt just deal with horses ONLY but I would say that probably out of all those who I know who are clients are of his, have mainly horses and then some...like me...will have a couple dogs or cats or goats, additionally that he also cares for. But the reason they have him as a Vet is because of horses. I'm not sure how long he's been in practice but I'm sure it's well over 10 or 15 years at the very least. He is wonderful, I've called him with questions in the middle of the night when my mares have foaled, on a holiday once and weekends...he's also so kind and handles our animals with care every time.

So while I certainly do not doubt what you are saying...I mean, it obviously sound's like you know what you are talking about and have a lot of info to back it all up...I don't know you or havent ever met you in person, and I've known and worked with my vet for many years and have many people close to me who are also clients of his. I have a hard time understanding how the Vet could be so blantly wrong in what he tells all his clients to do with their horses...if you knew this man, you would understand, he would NEVER put an animal in jeporady! So I do have to admitt I really struggle with that. I put a call into the Vet at his office, waiting to hear back, I'm just curious to see what he would think.

And I did ask a good friend who's also a horse owner and has been for much, much longer than me, about this to get her opninion...she said that was insane...that EVERYONE she had ever heard of grains their horses, it's just part of good horse ownership and what we are doing is just fine. So there again, I'm torn...not denying you dont make sense...it's just interesting the complete difference in opninion on this subject. I'll be interested to hear what my Vet says and will let you know! Thanks for the info...I dont mean to ruffle any feathers...of course I want the very best for all my animals, I love them all as family members!

 

[silkieluvr]

A good alternative to "true" grain is rice bran. That combined with 1-2 tablespoons of oil can be very good for the horses coat and helps to keep weight on without extra energy or hotness especially for young horses. I've been feeding my pony this for 4 years and he is doing great!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
I would STRONGLY urge you to do some reading and educate yourself on the subject, because it sounds like everyone who's advising you (locally, I mean - your vet, your neighbors, etc) are going with historical practices and information that is at least thirty years out of date. Sometimes 'the way it's always been done' is in fact good or the best -- but sometimes 'the way it's always been done' stands a lot of room for improvement.

Your vet is almost certainly going to tell you what he learned in vet school umpty years ago, and/or what people in his family have been doing for generations. That does not make it the best thing to do necessarily. Vets do not all keep up with the current state of the field. Some do; a LOT don't. Some don't even keep up with what they were taught back in vet school in fact

Honestly, really, truly--- do some reading. www.thehorse.com is a good place to start. Read, learn, decide for yourself. Avoid fads, but respect advances in our knowledge of equine nutrition.

And the most important thing is to be feeding lots of good HAY. Like, really really good hay, not 'enh' stemmy hay. Plus it has to get into the horse -- having herdmates keep her away from it may be a problem.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Momo]

Yes, I agree. Unfortunately it does sound as though the information you are being given is out of date. I'm sure your vet is a wonderful caring person but he's probably like a family physican in that he has to be a generalist, someone who knows a little bit about a lot of stuff. If you were to talk to an equine nutritionist, someone who studied the subject in detail and who actually does careful experiments with real horses under controlled conditions, you would get a very different answer. I used to grain all my horses routinely, too, so I know where you're coming from. I know it *seems* like the right thing to do. But unfortunately it is not. I would also seriously recommend NOT creep feeding the babies as it can set them up for a lot of developmental issues. I'm sorry to sound like a wet blanket here but the newer information is out there and it is backed up by very good science.

 

[ChickNLittle]

My husband has been a horse trainer (john lyons type) for over 25 years. He too said to get some banamine shots from your doctor, if you don't know where and how to give them, have him show you until you do. Also, since they don't live by you, I would definitely get some corn oil or even vegetable oil and put some in a tiny bit of grain so she will eat it. Another words do not give her her regular scoop full. Colic can be funny! I just lost a beautiful rocky mountain mare and two foals (twins) to colic. She was about a day or two from delivery. So I lost all three of them. So banamine is definitely what you need to keep on hand. We ran out and where we live, no vets want to come out here unless they have to. They charge about 150.00 just to come out. They came for her but by the time they got here it was too late. They had to put her down as the twins got all twisted inside her. We are only 35 miles from the nearest vet. Go figure!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Some lady I know had her horse die from collic. It was only a matter of a couple hours and the poor horse was dead. I heard that you are supposed to keep the horse up and not let her lay down.

 

[sema01]

There are a lot of different types of horse colic and even more possible causes. However, as it is the number 1 cause of premature horse death, it is the most important horse illness to educate yourself about. There are a lot of articles out there, but perhaps the most detailed is: http://www.wowhorses.com/horse-colic.html

Of course, diet is really important as well, and not just for colic prevention. So, good to educate yourself on that. Unfortunately, I don't have a really good reference for horse diet.

 

[starforever61]

Quote:
Yes colic is extremely serious. Don't let your filly lay down and especially don't let her roll over- it'll give her twisted gut and kill her within a couple of hours. Just walk her around until she poops. One of my friend's horses just died of colic. Be careful.