>I have never heard or read or researched
anything that indicated rolling after a >hard ride could cause trouble. Of
course, that doesn't mean it ain't so.
Well, there is some evidence that anything that
causes a lack of 'fill' in the abdomen of large herbivores makes it easier for
intestines to move around into positions they aren't supposed to be in, since
the hindgut isn't very well tacked into place. Example, displacements
are more common after giving birth; or in cattle, if for some reason the rumen
isn't properly filled with fermenting forage then the abomasum is alot more
likely to migrate around and get the cow into trouble. Technically, I
suppose a horse that had gone 50-100 miles and had a decrease in gut fill
could *potentially* be more likely to roll and displace something, probably
cecum---but I wouldn't consider it enough of an issue to prevent them from
rolling after a ride. I guess I would rather use that as just one more
reason to provide the horse with plenty of opportunity to eat throughout the
ride. :-)
I agree with everything else you had to say,
Lisa, although if a horse is cramping after a roll (we're talking a horse that
just finished a ride, right?) then I would be more prone to suspect he needs
more e'lyting and waterwaterwater (on the inside, not the outside.) more than
specific vitamin deficiencies.
Susan G