horse got into bag of moldy feed

[farmmomofmany]

HELP!!! My dd left tac room open by accident horse got int here and knocked over a feed bag I was inteneding on dumping today cause it was molded. Called vet said just have to wait and see. Any one hoave thoughts or can i just ask for prayers

thanks
amy

 

[welsummerchicks]

Please, No.

Do not keep walking and walking and walking continuously through the night. You do not want to exhaust the horse or dehydrate him, if he is colicking or foundering. However, you must keep walking him intermittently through the night. A usual schedule is to walk the horse for an hour now, and then 15 minutes out of every hour through the night and until you hit the 12 hour mark.

Check the color of the horse's gums. The gums are normally a rather pale pink. Whitish or a deeper red color or a blue color is an ominous sign.


Look for signs of founder -

Standing with the front legs pushed out in front of him, and/or the hind legs bunched up forward, under his body.

Lifting first one forefoot and then the other. Both are intended to take weight off the front legs.

Other possible signs are the hoofs or lower leg feeling hot, a bounding pulse in the artery in the pastern


Look for signs of colic -

Stretching, peeing repeatedly, looking back at the flanks, lying down and getting up over and over, lying down in strange places where the horse doesn't normally lay down (or if confined to a stall, lying down).

Abnormal sweating, such as a light droplet like misting of sweat on the forehead, face.

Worried, frightened facial expression, dull, disinterested appearance, abnormally quiet

Then please - discard all moldy feed - discard all bags of feed with any mold in them. Put a spring and 'slam lock' on your feed room door so it always locks when someone goes through it. If you do not have a feed room and cannot secure your feed, do not store it in the barn.

 

[dewey]

Hoping the best for your horse.

 

[georgialee]

Did your horse eat the whole bag?

My mare and my sisters mare got out and ate about 50 lbs of sweet feed and 25 lbs of mare & foal pellets and about 2-3 cups of colt grow. We had the vet come right away, she suctioned their stomachs (nothing in there) and then gave them oil to help pass everything. She then came the next day to give charcoal. It was worth it to us to know that they had received top care.

Was the feet pellet or grain?

We switched to pellet feed right after that b/c there is a lower chance of colic if they eat too much of it.

I hope your horse ends up being ok.

 

[farmmomofmany]

not sure how much she ate not much by looking at bag the big molded piece looked nibbled on but not much of bag looked messed with. Dont think she ate much BUT not sure how much is to much how much she can tolerate. Right now she seems ok dd just took her for a ride UGGGHH
The feed we feed is a sweet molasses not the dry pellats

 

[georgialee]

If she only ate a tiny bit I think she'll be fine. If she had eaten half the bag then I'd be worried.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I would have the vet out right away.

It doesn't sound like you can tell how much she ate of it, and to boot it was moldy. Double red flag. I would not wait.

 

[babyblue]

I wouldn't be ridding or stressing her out in any way till you are sure shes not going to get sick and colic. a handful to one horse with a stomach of iron may be nothing. a handful to a sensitive horse not so good. I would just you rather not find out the hard way. make sure from now on all feed is clean and sound. perhaps put a elastic on the door so it shuts on its own like a screen door. make it far harder for the horse to get in.

 

[Akane]

It also depends on the mold. Some you can eat a bunch and have a mild stomach ache. Some is deadly with a handful. You don't know unless it's tested and identified which it doesn't sound like this vet is interested or capable of doing anything like that. I also thought charcoal might be appropriate but I've never dealt with it. With no veterinary help I would probably try to get in as much fiber and as little carbs and sugar as possible to keep the digestive tract moving without upsetting it more. Really good hay or beet pulp, no concentrates like pellets (except pure beet pulp pellets) or grain, and minimal to no grass.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Please do not feed the horse anything.

No beet pulp or pellets, no concentrates, nothing, no hay. You do not want to put anything in on top of whatever is going on in there. That is only going to make it worse.

If you have a tiny bit of grass, nothing long, thick, lush, just a little bit of grass to pick at, but don't allow too much.

Walk the horse. Keep it up and keep it walking.

Give banamine if you have it - call the vet. Ask the vet for further 'til I get there' instructions.