The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Horses, ponies, donkeys & mules => Topic started by: sabrina on November 22, 2010, 03:20:00 pm
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A young friend lost her horse at the weekend with colic. He lived out and with all this wet weather his field was water logged. Over the past couple of years i have tried to give her advice but she does not always take it on board. I cannot stress enough how bad a wet field is for a horse. If they are given hay to eat and are not hungry then the risk is less but a hungry animal will eat soaking wet grass, take in too much dirty water and before you know where you are you have a horse with colic. I always make sure my lot have a feed before going out in the morning, also hay in the field when the weather is bad. I had to move my boys from the stable paddock back onto the hill field as the rain is now running down on top of the grass, not good. I hate the winter but would rather have cold one than all this rain. Frosted grass has its problems but I find the ponies will go to their hay when first turned out. :horse:
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sabrina, i have had horses for many years and never knew this!
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makes me glad I live on a well draining hill. Mind you ours got colic from eating snow, so you cant win! Where are those limestone pastures when you need em!
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mine stay in until they have had there breakfast, this time of year. nasty thing colic, my thoughts are with your friend
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I didn't know this either. We're feeding hay now anyway so fingers crossed that they are OK.
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my dad has had horses over 50 yrs and he never heard of this. my 1st pony i lost in the 90's treated for colic even the best vets in the area never saw it but PM was a lurpendulated tumor sorry i cant spell but its worth keeping an eye out for colic all year round.
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I knew they got colic from wet ground but was told it was because they pull the grass up by the roots and take in too much soil like a too sandy or beach grazing horse field. My last horse had a really bad digestive system and was on all sorts of medication for more or less monthly mild colics.
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We had a Shetland filly who was prone to colic if the field was water logged, lucky for me I saw she had a problem early on and took her in. It was my vet who explained why it had happened. After 48 years working with horses and ponies I now know you never stop learning and nothing surprises me at what they can get up to. My OH is always saying I am over protective but after my friend losing her horse at the weekend maybe now he will shut up.
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We've been feeding hay to the boys in the field 3 times a day for the last 10 days or so because where they are the pasture is finished but our other fields have too much grass. The 26 yo gets colic when he stuffs his face with good grass. Hard to know what to do except encourage the sheep to get another paddock ready for them.
The chaps are arriving tomorrow morning to build 4 new big stables, not a minute too soon. It is astonishing that it took ove nine months to get final planning permission for stables that can't be seen from the road, had the active support of our neighbours and are in keeping with the local plan. Having granted permission for wooden stables roofed with onduline they reserved approval of the actual materials. It then took 8 weeks to get the wood approved...
The St Albans planners are the most unhelpful, uncommunicative, process-exploiting bunch of jobs-worths I've ever met, but no doubt others have had worse experiences. Of course our neighbour is "Mr Smith" who parks trucks on his land without planning permission and without any trouble from the council.
With luck they'll be housed overnight from thursday
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Just bringing this old thread up as I was reading it from the 'search' at the top and it makes interesting reading especially with the recent wet weather.
We had to call the vet today as one of our mini shetland ponies was having obvious problems, shaking spasms and having trouble getting up, wanting to sit on her backside all the time - colic was the diagnosis. He says there is no real cure for it, gave her a laxative / pain killer and she's happy in the goat shed now and is eating hay but not interested in anything else. Have tried to give her bran with live yoghurt but she won't touch it so will try and mix a couple of chopped up squidgy apricots in dry bran tomorrow.
It may be the wet field and the soil eating as this thread suggests. He said 30% of mild cases die and it can take months for recovery sometimes, so :fc: hope she pulls through.
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Just bringing this old thread up as I was reading it from the 'search' at the top and it makes interesting reading especially with the recent wet weather.
We had to call the vet today as one of our mini shetland ponies was having obvious problems, shaking spasms and having trouble getting up, wanting to sit on her backside all the time - colic was the diagnosis. He says there is no real cure for it, gave her a laxative / pain killer and she's happy in the goat shed now and is eating hay but not interested in anything else. Have tried to give her bran with live yoghurt but she won't touch it so will try and mix a couple of chopped up squidgy apricots in dry bran tomorrow.
It may be the wet field and the soil eating as this thread suggests. He said 30% of mild cases die and it can take months for recovery sometimes, so :fc: hope she pulls through.
I'm so sorry to read this :-((
You could also try sloppy fast fibre, my colicy chap found that very appetising and it got him eating and getting fluid in again.
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hope you pony improves Goosepimple, colic is such a worry and has many different causes.
Having done a lot of work in grass sickness and knowing too much about that, horse's guts in general and atypical myopathy I would urge horse owners to always feed supplementary hay (or another form of long fibre such as a hay/straw chaff)-year round, It need only be a small amount but it helps keep things on an even keel.
Sudden changes in temperature can also lead to colic-especially in natives with heavy coats. Just recently we swung between +10 and feeling like -10, sometimes in 48 hours-make sure your ponies are taking enough water-very cold and unseasonably warm weather can mean they aren't getting enough-especially if eating hay/straw.
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just to add, soil or sand colic does happen-we (very large equine practice in Newmarket) would get maybe one case a year in from a riding school one county up that was on very sandy soil. Although it was astounding how much sand the little fellas would carry before showing symptoms (a testament to how stoic equines can be), I'd say it was fairly uncommon compared to other causes. Its obviously a bigger risk in other parts of the world and its usual there to feed slippery elm as a deterrent (although, fyi, it can interfere with orally taken medications).
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My neighbour is having a hard time, both her horses have had colic twice in the past month. Trouble in my opion is some mornings they do not get seen to until 10am and often left out late at night. they are both show jumpers, fully clipped in a field that is often water logged. Stables are right next to the house so they could be fed early, all she has to do is get out of bed, see to them then go back to bed. Animals like routine and if left hungry get upset. Now that she has vet bills well over a £1000 maybe she will change her ways. I thought I was doing a good thing when I put my mare on shavings to stop her eating her straw bed, she ate them and got colic much to my horror. Never thought she would do this. I ended up giving her a toy in her stable which kept her busy when the weather was bad and I could not get them out.. I also have a small radio which is left on ,also helps. My lot maybe pampered to some but in good health, happy which is all that matters to me. Just because you read a book telling you how to look after them does not mean you have all the answers, horse and ponies do not read. I tell my granddaughter this all the time, no matter how long you work with them you never stop learning so never think you know it all. I can tell by her face she does not believe me but she will learn by her own mistakes. We all do.
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So right Sabrina, l did the same every winter with my daughters horse and my Shetland Zak.
She loved coming in even though she had a thick coat being a cob, but Zak had to come too in the next stable, both had warm dinner, hay net and radio 2, l would leave the lights on till my bedtime then check them both, kiss goodnight lights out and bed myself happy in the knowledge they were warm and happy.
lts not a crime to love your animals, they give us so much pleasure they deserve it :love:
lm the same with all my animals :innocent: hubby says l would have them all in the house if he didnt keep an eye on me :roflanim: l could never lay in bed knowing they were all waiting to be fed they are the first thing l think of when l wake every morning. :thumbsup:
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Thanks all - pony now right as rain. Gave her bran (thanks to suggestion from Daisys Mum's daughter) and live yoghurt - she wouldn't take it as a sloppy mixture so put some dry with a few chopped prunes in which she ate, did that for a couple of days and she looks completely normal, brilliant. Am aware this might change again so keeping an eye on but she looks great so far.
They have hay 24/7 and I'm up the back of 6am, they're always fed at first light in the winter months, so they have a routine. They're in with the pygmy goats and take over their shed occasionally and they all get on very well, the ducks and the geese giving them company throughout the day. They're down by the river too which is quite noisy in bits so lots going on, it's not a boring grass/fence type paddock.
Haven't tried the radio but that's a good idea, they're must be a market out there for music for your animals, someone must have done a phd on which music they respond to, like babies in a mummy's tummy type thing ;D Thanks all.
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Good news :-)
Apparently radio 3 is the best for animal listening...
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glad to hear she's better. afraid I am a R1 listener and therefore so are my horses :D not too loud though.
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A tip that my vet gave me was if a pony has a mild colic (as mine does from time to time) try to get them to drink water sweetened with a bit of honey or soaked sugar beet, as much as they want, it helps to get things moving. Worked for Ranger :)
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Good tip thank you, we've only had the ponies over a year so it's new livestock and I'm learning, good tips always welcome ;)
I put out some spring greens for the goats the other day to give them some winter veg, but the ponies scoffed the lot - does anyone feed veg / greens to their ponies?
Also, is there anything they shouldn't get (presumably high in sugar things of course)?
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I wouldnt feed greens (if you mean brassicas) to horses due to toxicity. small amounts are probably ok but I wouldnt do it on purpose.
swede, turnips, carrots, parsnips, apples,pears, citrus, raspberries, rosehips are all fine in moderation. obviously these all have sugar and should be fed in small amounts if you are worried about their waistline. anything evergreen isn't good for them either.
potatoes arent good, neither is bread (although have used small quantities of stale bread in marmite sandwiches to disguise medication).
horses are very susceptible to toxins-far more than ruminants.
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Oh thank you that is helpful Lord Flynn and a good tip about the marmite sandwiches - personally I'd prefer the taste of medicine :D
Anyone else offering tips I'm all ears, thanks in advance.
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oh, and bananas are fine too! (without skins)
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oh good, goats eat the skins actually, so that's that sorted :D
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oh, and bananas are fine too! (without skins)
Did you suggest without skins because yours won't eat skins, or because there's a reason not to feed them?
My donkeys and mule absolutely love eating banana skins, so obviously would want to know if there's likely to be a problem in feeding them.
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Very glad to hear your pony seems to be recovered/ing, goosepimple :)
lts not a crime to love your animals, they give us so much pleasure they deserve it :love:
lm the same with all my animals :innocent: hubby says l would have them all in the house if he didnt keep an eye on me :roflanim:
BH is as bad as me, if not worse!
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oh, and bananas are fine too! (without skins)
Did you suggest without skins because yours won't eat skins, or because there's a reason not to feed them?
My donkeys and mule absolutely love eating banana skins, so obviously would want to know if there's likely to be a problem in feeding them.
I expect they are fine, certainly the small fat one would eat them- but there is alot of pesticides associated with banana growing in certain parts of the world so am a bit wary. I guess organic might be alright but havent looked into it.
my old horse would sniff at bananas enthusiastically, but when he bit into it would pull the most disgusted face! Then he watched the small fat one scoff one and decided that they were indeed edible. I think the texture put him off ;D His favourite was dates (with the stones taken out-alot of fruit stones can form cyanide as a process of digestion-plus there's the potential blockage issue) and pears.
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Love the pic Sallyintnorth :roflanim: I also have my neighbours horses leaning over the fence at feed time, its like they know you are a push over :) Gotta luv em !
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We quite often have a shetland in the house, but only if OH isn't about!