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[RC] Colicky Mare - Bruce Weary DCHi Cindy--That's a tough one to call. If it were my mare, I would try putting her on well soaked alfalfa cubes (not pellets). She may just be having trouble processing dry hay. I firmly believe that is the most difficult thing for the horse's digestive tract--to rehydrate hay in their gut that is about 8% moisture, whereas their natural forage, growing grass, is 90% moisture. We certainly see enough gut problems in endurance horses, don't we? Younger, healthier horses can cope with the rehydration process, even under extreme exercise, but when their bodily fluids are compromised from exercise, sometimes the gut pays the price. Your horse may have recurrent tummyaches that pass as soon as she has hydrated her food. The bulk of her intake will undoubtedly be her forage, so the supplemental feeds you mentioned will only represent a very small percentage of her gut fill. If you can fill her up with moist forage, she may do better. Good luck. Dr Q, who wants his mommy, not Banamine, when he has a tummyache. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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