RE: psyllium

[Cheryl Newbanks <horsetrails@inficad.com>]

On Saturday, January 09, 1999 10:25 AM, OasisArab@aol.com 
[SMTP:OasisArab@aol.com] wrote:
> We use Sand Clear 99 (psyllium) and have for the last 2 yrs on a gray 
that use
> to sand colic and we have not had 1 colic since we started it. We give 
him
> about a cup twice a week. So I think in our case the psyllium does work. 
Maybe
> not for all but certainly ours.
> Bill P.
>

OK, my next pet peeve is how much money people give away wasting it on 
psyllium.  I live in deep sand, feed off the ground and have not had one 
speck of sand in their stool tests ever!  Wanna know why?  Because if you 
all recall horses were meant to be grazing animals, meaning they have 
forage to eat all day long.  We humans turned around and started feeding 
them like our pet doggies 2 times a day and nothing in between.  Well their 
gut is supposed to be kept moving all day from grazing, if in this ideal 
situation your horse while eating long stemmed hay all day long will move 
what ever sand he picks up back out of his system. On horses who are fed 
only twice a day with no free choice hay what do you think happens to the 
sand they are picking through for that last piece of hay?  It all settles 
down in their intestines and doesn't get moved through their system by an 
active gut and intestine, you get sand colic.  Feed them free choice long 
stemmed hay all day long and you won't need psyllium no matter where you 
live.

If I recall Susan G once wrote that it would take a pound or more of 
psyllium to actually move the sand out of their systems.  Correct me if I 
am wrong Susan.

Ok my finger is poised and ready to hit the idiot key now!!! <VBG>



                                  Cheryl Newbanks
~~~          ~~  ^ ^        SW Region
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