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RE: [RC] Feeding - Susan E. Garlinghouse, DVM

 

>Keeps the flavor consistant so that they will drink strange water. I had heard Apple Cider Vinegar helps to dissolve Enterolithes. I have also heard >that this is not correct. Whom are we to believe. Beccy
 

 Those statements are based on some research done at UC Davis that demonstrated that feeding 2 cups a day of vinegar (any vinegar) will very slightly acidify the pH of the hindgut.  It did NOT attempt to demonstrate that doing so had any direct effect whatsoever on enteroliths, let alone dissolve them.  Raising the pH of the hindgut probably has some minor beneficial effect on decreasing future formation of enteroliths (maybe), but you’re also as or more likely to significantly acidify the hindgut by eliminating or minimizing alfalfa in the ration (the calcium content is a significant buffer against acidification), and feeding fermentable feeds, like beet pulp, grain to some extent (obviously, that has its own limitations), or just lots and lots and lots of the ‘neutral’ grass hays.  So you can raise the pH of the hindgut, but you mostly have to do so downstream from the pancreas’ bicarbonate output  that has no trouble whatsoever neutralizing the much, MUCH stronger gastric acids secreted just upstream in the stomach.  Acidic by-products as the result of fermentation occur in the cecum and large colon (downstream) and so aren’t affected by pancreatic secretions. 

I have a jar with a small enterolith sitting in cider vinegar from 1992.  I even added some phosphoric acid to make the solution 100 times stronger than any vinegar you’d ever buy at a grocery store.   Fifteen years of 24/7 marinating, and I’m still waiting for the enterolith to start to show signs of dissolving.

Susan Garlinghouse, DVM

 


Replies
Re: [RC] Feeding, Rebecca Fabiszak