One of my horses seems quite “gassy” when ridden. The first 20 minutes of our ride he is busy passing gas. He doesn’t think he can trot and fart at the same time. His reactions sometimes makes me think there is some discomfort while passing gas and he has some difficulty bending to the right.
Once we have passed this stage he works quite well and willingly. My trainer suggest that perhaps I should put him on some anti-gas product.
Any suggestions?
Is you r pasture full of dandelions or plantain? These are full of short chain fructans that are very rapidly fermentable. Have had some clients that killed the dandelions and the gas went away.
I’d for sure have him on a probiotic, complete gut health supplement, Los starch feeds, hay & grasses, etc. If your not doing that already.
My horses are still on pasture, no hay. They get two cups of Equilizer which is a vitamin/mineral supplement along with one cup of flax and one tablespoon of salt. There are a lot of dandelions but I thought they were good for liver function. None of the other horses are particularly gassy.
I was hoping there was something like Gas/X which is for people but also worked for one of my dogs that I could give him before I ride.
I have never heard him pass Gas while in his stall, only when being ridden.
Could be the soy in the equalizer. Even a small amount of soy can cause this. Look for a vitamin/mineral supplement that doesn’t contain soy.
Some horses just love dandelions while others avoid him. If he’s a dandelion lover, this problem will probably resolve itself as he kills them off by selectively eating them.
Another thought is some horses just seem to hold it when they’re still and then it all comes out when they start moving! Or when they feel the girth tighten, or from the weight of a rider… Is he in turnout before your ride? What about tacking up early and doing a jog with him?
He has a routine. When we first enter the arena he has to pee. While I adjust the stirrups and girth he has a poop. I then put him on the lungeline for 10 minutes so he can fart. Then we are usually good to go. I was OK with that routine.
However on the day my trainer comes I usually get right on him and it was her suggestion to get some anti gas meds so that I don’t have to go through this all the time.
Right now he is still on night turnout and my lesson is early in the morning so he is worked right after coming in.
It will be the same once they are in at night because my lesson will be in the afternoon so he will again come in from the field to be worked. If I bring him in early he will just lie down and go to sleep and I don’t like to kick him to get him up.
He has a routine. When we first enter the arena he has to pee. While I adjust the stirrups and girth he has a poop. I then put him on the lungeline for 10 minutes so he can fart. Then we are usually good to go. I was OK with that routine.
However on the day my trainer comes I usually get right on him and it was her suggestion to get some anti gas meds so that I don’t have to go through this all the time.
Right now he is still on night turnout and my lesson is early in the morning so he is worked right after coming in.
It will be the same once they are in at night because my lesson will be in the afternoon so he will again come in from the field to be worked. If I bring him in early he will just lie down and go to sleep and I don’t like to kick him to get him up.
We had one gelding that was overly gassy all his life.
You could not sneak up to cattle in the brush, they could hear us coming from far away.
He was turned out to pasture with all the other geldings and he was the only gassy one.
He was healthy all his life, being gassy didn’t affect his health.
He did get ringbone in one foot from maybe a pasture accident, so we had to retire him early.
I still would check him over, just in case there is some reason for that you need to address.
I wonder if it has something to do with the sugar levels in the pasture. Today it is overcast and rainy and no gas problem.
FYI lots of people do feed GasX to horses. They do it at first signs of colic. I have also tried this route with a horse that went through a period of acting mildly colicy once a week or so for several times. In my case, he ate seven tablets right out of my hand, and seemed to feel better very soon, but that is not much to go on.
I have not had enough experience and do not have enough knowledge to recommend it, but you may consider a new thread “gas x for gassy horse” and see if you can get some responses.
My paint mare is gassy, a farting queen. Under saddle or on the ground. Pick up a hind foot and youre getting a fart.
My gelding I rarely hear fart. Both are in the same pasture with the same schedules.
Though I had a friend growing up who had a paint gelding who was a frequent farter. Maybe its a breed thing?
Paints usually farters? LOL
Sugar from the pasture could very well be the culprit. If you are also feeding a high NSC grain, and treats such as carrots, apples, and prepackaged treats, add that into the sugar side of the equation, as well.
I would imagine he is also passing gas in the stall, as most horses pass gas all day long. However, if you are hears toots or explosive blasts he may well be expressing a reaction or allergy to sugar. We had an appy that had this problem. The answer was to put him on a low NSC diet with a pre/probiotic, and kill all sugary treats. Within a week the gas quieted right down. You can use GasX or Tums as a quick shortcut, but a better answer would be to take care of the diet.
Mine is a heavy farter. All that he eats are Timothy pellets with a very small scoop of Safe Choice. He has always been the gassy one and going down the trail he would alert all people about his presence with explosions. Same on picking up the hind feet. We used to call it his “gas release valve”. Some just have an active digestive system and a boat load of gas!
There is an older horse in our barn, who also happens to be the largest.
After his walk warmup, when starting trot work, he always has a series of sneeze/cough/explosive fart blasts, from both ends. He’ll yank you out of the tack if you allow it! Once he’s had four or five chances to clear the pipes, he’s ready to work. Nothing wrong with him, and once he’s moving on, he’s good to go.
His name is, suitably, ‘First Salut’. 
Yesterday I experimented. He came in at noon and I waited four hours before I rode him. No poop or gas while in his stall. He looked very bloated. As soon as we entered the arena we peed and pooped. However it took 20 minutes of lunging and riding and to pass gas. He would always try to stop when another fart was coming. At one point he bolted while passing gas so I think there is some discomfort involved as he is usually well behaved.
I would really just like to get down to work right away and not have to endure this routine.
I have changed the field for turn out. His previous field also had a lot of clover. The current field is mainly grass.
Any other helpfull ideas? I will start a thread on “anti gas” products.
I see now you would like something for day-to-day gas, while I would only do Gas-X, Equi-spaz type treatments for a suspected gas colic. I guess you could try what I call the “toot” buttons under the tail before your ride. At about one o’clock and 11. Just press gently with your thumb for a few seconds or till you know it’s coming… Try not to stand down wind.
[QUOTE=Bluey;8313527]
We had one gelding that was overly gassy all his life.
You could not sneak up to cattle in the brush, they could hear us coming from far away.
He was turned out to pasture with all the other geldings and he was the only gassy one.
He was healthy all his life, being gassy didn’t affect his health.
He did get ringbone in one foot from maybe a pasture accident, so we had to retire him early.
I still would check him over, just in case there is some reason for that you need to address.[/QUOTE]
My mare was like this…gassy all her life. Never an issue. She lived to age 31. That said, when trail riding with friends no one wanted to ride behind us. :lol:
I know at the race track they feed a teaspoon to tablespoon of baking soda to gassy horses. One of my mares can get gassy so I keep a bottle of no name Tums and give her 6-8 as a treat (peppermint flavored). Helps keep the gas down.
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