|
SELECT HAY CAREFULLY
Avoid sticky hay. It's yellow, coarse and
harder for horses to digest. We prefer good-quality, green grass hay, although it can be a challenge to find an affordable
source during years when the hay crop is bad. Never feed moldy hay, hay that's excessively dusty or that just looks crummy.
LESS STRESS
Horses need lots of care, but they also need to be in
an environment where they can just be horses. Barns with frequent, high levels of frenetic activity, as is common in some
schooling and show barns, is a less desirable environment for horses. Stress can lead to gastric ulcers, which increases the
risk for colic.
It's my personal opinion that owners who are too demanding by riding too often and too hard
for their horse's ability and temperament and who "fuss" too much over their horses by overfeeding, giving too
many supplements and overblanketing set their horses up for colic.
WORM
Parasites can cause colic. Have horses on a regular, rotational worming program and one that includes a wormer
for tapeworms. We worm 6 times yearly (every 2 months). Two of those 6 times, we use a wormer that gets tapeworms.
If a horse is a hard-keeper despite regular worming and a good diet, ask your veterinarian about administering a wormer
that gets encysted small strongyles; many of the wormers routinely used don't get these parasites.
DENTAL CARE
If horses can't chew well, they can't finish
digesting their food well. Horses need their teeth checked at least once a year and old horses may need their teeth checked
every 6 months.
FEWER SUPPLEMENTS
Questions have been
raised about whether soluble carbohydrates in supplements might contribute to colic, particularly in horses already receiving
concentrated, high-carb diets. We recommend that owners do not give supplements unless there's a specific reason for doing
so and that they avoid multiple supplements unless their veterinarian gives the okay.
AVOID RAPID FEED CHANGES
If feed needs to be switched because a horse is moving to a new barn or
his dietary needs change, mix a small amount of the new feed with the old; gradually increase the amount of the new feed and
decrease the amount of the old feed so the horse is gradually converted to the new feed over the course of 5 or 6 days.
Be cautious with hay too if at all possible. If you have a change in your source of hay, try to mix the "old"
with the new hay for a few days.
Be equally careful with horses new to pasture. Over the years, we've had
horses come in that have never been on grass. Working with our veterinarian, we devised a transition period: 30 minutes the
first day on pasture, 1 hour the second day, 2 hours the third day and so-on, increasing 1 hour daily until we got up to 8
hours. After that, the horses were allowed out 24/7, but our pastures are not lush. The transition schedule might need to
be even more cautious if the grass is lush or it's spring grass. Transitioning a horse to grass is worth consulting about
with your veterinarian.
|
 |
CONSIDER MANAGEMENT DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER
Many veterinarians
and horsemen associate changes in the weather with colic. The real culprit, however, might be changes in management that occur
due to the weather. For instance, if there's a hurricane or a blizzard, horses used to being outside may have to be stabled
for a prolonged period. Additional changes may have to be made.
When horses at our farm have to be in their stalls
24/7 due to inclement weather or for any other reason, such as an injury, we routinely cut the amount of feed (not hay) they
receive in half because they don't need so much energy when they aren't expending many calories.
In bitter-cold
weather, some horses won't drink as much, especially if the water is starting to freeze over, and decreased water intake
is a risk for impaction colic. We have heated water buckets, which keep the water from freezing, and on the advice of our
veterinarian, we administer one tablespoon of Epsom salt once daily in feed, which helps draw water into the gut. There are
also heaters you can buy for outside water troughs.
Horses that are poor water drinkers, which tend to be old
horses, may also benefit from having their feed soaked and served in warm water to help maintain adequate hydration.
THINK TWICE ABOUT BRAN MASHES
Feeding horses a bran mash
a couple times a week has long been considered therapeutic and a method of colic-prevention since bran provides fiber, which
theoretically helps keep the bowels moving. In recent years, however, the benefits of bran mash have been called into question.
Some critics say that administering bran to a horse occasionally constitutes a dietary change, which might do more harm than
good by altering microflora in the gut. Check with your veterinarian; sometimes giving the horse his regular feed soaked and
served in warm water might be a better way to help prevent colic.
LEARN THE SIGNS
OF IMPENDING COLIC
Watch for horses going off their feed, that
have low or no manure output or that simply act like they don't feel well. It can signal the beginning of a colic that
might be avoided by early veterinary treatment.
SIGNS OF COLIC
Signs of colic include pawing, tossing the head toward the side while standing or lying down, lying down and getting up
repeatedly and lying down and rolling and/or thrashing. Call the veterinarian!
A pdf of an excellent article on colic prevalence, risk factors and prevention, written by noted authority Dr. Nathan White,
can be accessed by clicking here.
|
