Both Bullwinkle and Frankie are passing sand. Bullwinkle much more so.
I feed his phsyllium with Strategy before I ever give him hay, so he doesn't have a choice on what to eat. By this morning, he'd eaten everything I gave him last night. And by the time I gave him his breakfast, he'd eaten everything from this morning. I'm keeping his run clean - I want to be able to see his poop output at a glance.
With Frankie, I have to stand an hold the grain tub. He tends to paw at it and flip it with his lip.
For now, all is well. But I'm under the impression that it's because the banamine is still in effect. Once it wears off, he'll be uncomfortable again. At least I have a path forward and am not panicing anymore. And as long as he's pooping, we don't have any impaction problems. I am of the opinion that it would be best to continue with what we are doing for a week, then tube him and get some liquid phsyllium into him. The vet's opinion differs but she's wonderful, takes my calls, and calms my fears.
7 comments:
Yay for good news!! Sorry to hear Frankie is passing sand, but at least you caught it early!
Out of curiosity, what does the vet think?
The vet doesn't want to tube him if he's passing sand on his own. She wants him to work through with the phsyillium and use tubing as a last resort.
She said that the amounts of phsyllium he eats will bind with the sand and move it little by little, gradually eliminating it. If she tubes him, it could cause an impaction. Steady gradual clearing of the sand is safer for him.
Karen, interesting. The way you said it I thought maybe the vet wanted to do it sooner or something. Hmmm... Wish I knew more about all of that, but I don't. Thanks for answering, and good luck!
I don't know a lot about sand colic..so this may sound like a silly question, but are the little guys more apt to eat dirt/sand than the older horses thus creating this problem? I lived in Reno for 5 years and never had a stitch of problems with sand, but my horses were mature. I never fed anything to prevent colic. Maybe I dodged a bullet.
Hope your little guys get through this quickly!
Nikki -
I don't think it's how old they are, I think it's how I feed them.
The Boyz have been together in the arena since last November. They were eating their hay right off the ground. When they grub for the last bits, they pick up sand.
The sand doesn't always flush through and it can either give them an upset tummy (like Bullwinkle) or cause a blockage. I want to get this flushed because an accumulation can rear it's ugly head years down the road.
The horses at the barn eat off mats in their stalls, which I sweep clean twice a week.
Bullwinkle is now in a stall that has a mat. Frankie has a metal feed tub in his pen. I know he'll toss some out, but hopefully, that, plus the fact that I'm feedin them more often, they won't feel the need to clean up their scraps.
From now on, any horse that lives in the arena will either have hay bags hung, or I'll put in feed tubs.
My barn uses big troughs or feed tubs in the corrals (stalls have mats and/or feeders). It's a good way to make use of a leaky water trough!
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