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RE: [RC] sand colic - Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M.

Wheat bran has an effect on the digestive tracts of simple gutted species (ie, humans, dogs, pigs, etc), but doesn’t have the same effect in foregut or hindgut fermenters, like horses, cows, etc.  Good research to verify it---ZERO effect against colic or sand removal.

 

The jury is still out on whether psyllium does much---it seems to be more beneficial if the gut motility is abnormal, such as following colic surgery, but a lot of good researchers and clinicians are of the opinion that psyllium has minimal benefit; and if it does, only if you feed a good pound or so of the stuff once a day for five days out of every month.  Horses seem to be able to remove a lot of sand from themselves normally, so if an individual horse doesn’t have sand in his gut, I’m not sure I would credit the psyllium.  However, the psyllium also does no harm, except to the wallet.

 

Since gut motility is better stimulated by exercise, a much better treatment is to ride your horse often and consistently.  Plus, prevent him from eating more sand than is absolutely necessary.  Feed off the ground, put rubber mats under the mangers, feed enough that the horse isn’t vacuuming up every last stem from the ground, and feed grass hay instead of alfalfa.  Alfalfa is cut very close to the ground and especially in the SW, the soil is already very sandy and gets incorporated into the bale.  I once soaked and tore apart a 110-pound bale of #1 alfalfa into a big tub of water, collected the sand from the bottom and weighed 15 pounds of sand.  Not stuck to the bottom of the bale, it was INSIDE the bale.  It can also happen with some grass hay, but much more likely to sift out as the horse eats, as opposed to the congealed cube some flakes of alfalfa turn into.

 

Susan Garlinghouse, DVM

 


From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Sky Ranch
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 3:06 PM
To: larry Miller; ridecamp
Subject: Re: [RC] sand colic

 

That's good to know.  I've fed bran mashes in the past, but never lived on true "sand" like I just moved to... it's red sand, pure sand.  Scary stuff.  Not pebbles, but fine sand.  The "Sand Clear" directions state it's better than wheat bran, to clear sand out of the ventral colon.  I confess I am totally ignorant of this, having never dealt with "sand" before.

 

Sorry - if this is a repeat on the list, I apologize.

 

Carla

----- Original Message -----

From: larry Miller

To: ridecamp

Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 3:55 PM

Subject: [RC] sand colic

 

Carla, here in MI we live on sand.  I feed our horses once a month 2 or 3 times in a row, 1/4 cup of WalMart metamucil.  So far so good.  It is way cheaper than Sand Clear and they scarf down the orange taste.  Jeanie


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Re: [RC] sand colic, Sky Ranch