I enjoyed the article by Mr. Nicholson on vetting your horse but am a
bit confused on the subject of poor gut sounds and his preference not to
allow horses roughage when sounds are diminished.
I often hear vets say get some food in them to stimulate the gut and
I always thought that small amounts of wet hay is recommended to help
the gut get going again. I am aware that feeding grain or any rich food
at that time is a no no predisposing the horse to gas, fermentation etc.
Am I wrong on this? Does anyone else have thoughts on allowing the
horse to eat grass hay when gut sounds are diminshed?
What does he mean by the quality of gut sounds in particular what
is he or any vet listening for in determining quality of gut
sounds...pitch of sound, duration???
Linda
Linda Eisele & Sareei and
hubby, Allen & the Iceman
& the young Lakota
nevadaghostridr@webtv.net