I bought my horse about a year ago and don’t have him on any supplements besides electrolytes, but when I bought him I was told he had colic surgery a few years before and I’m not sure if I should keep him on a stomach supplement because of it? Should I just keep doing what I’m doing or should I be adding something to his diet for prevention? Does anybody have any similar cases or horses that had colic surgery and what they do to prevent? Also, on a slightly different topic I’ve been thinking of also adding salt to both of my horses diets and was looking at the Selina naturally Celtic sea salt from tractor supply and if that is good enough to help them replace minerals lost especially during the summer - they are on a grain-free feed that is already high in nutrients and minerals. I think the salt would be so much better for them especially during the warmer months in comparison to their electrolytes since I know electrolytes really only work within a couple of hours of exercise. My one horse is super picky and I was wondering if the salt will be a problem for her?
Also, my one horse (the picky one) is in sweat more because doesn’t sweat - would the salt be too much to add with that?
what exactly was the surgery for? No supplement will prevent an entrapped spleen, or an impaction, or a twist. I can’t think of any issue that a supplement COULD help with, that would lead to surgery.
If the colic was due to an impaction which was caused by dehydration, then work to improve his drinking. That may be a different colored water bucket, adding salt to his feed, or offering 1 plain bucket and 1 bucket with a flavor added (which can be as simple as a handful of alfalfa pellets or rice bran or a squirt of molasses).
Salt - plain white table or livestock salt. Cheap. Mix-N-Fine is about $10 for 40lb. The majority of minerals lost in sweat are sodium and chloride - salt. Any additional mineral in any of these $$ designre Celtic/Himalayan/gray/pink salts is teeny tiny they might as well not be there - they’re still 95%+ salt
What feed and how much? Most contain some level of salt, or sodium + chloride, already. But even they often supply only about half what an average horse needs, at the minimum feed rate
Thanks so much for getting back to me! It was a twist and I did already figure there wasn’t much prevention for that sort of thing besides water, but was still curious. Both of my horses are on a hay and flaked kind of cereal diet the feed composition/analysis is shown below:
Do you have a specific kind of salt you recommend? I almost have never given my horses supplements besides electrolytes/minerals - is that a good feed plan? Or should every horse have some sort of basic ground line supplement in their diet like psyllium husk for sand colic prevention or salt for minerals or flax for omegas? I know every horse is different and you should find out what it is they are lacking and supplement for it, but is there just a standard feeding plan most horses should follow where you can’t overdo and can be an important addition to any horses diet, regardless of their feed situation or condition?
I’ve had a couple colics.
This is what helps:
Slow feed hay nets. If they still eat too fast, you need to double the nets. Limit their hay so they don’t get unlimited hay. My horses are pigs so unlimited hay even with a slow feeder means colic.
Add extra water to their feed. I dump a bucket of water on their feed and they get soup for supper.
If you are feeding something like coastal you need to add a legume like alfalfa. Better yet, don’t feed coastal at all.
Make sure they are eating off of mats and not off of a sandy surface.
Lots of forage and turnout. If not turnout then lots of exercise. Not just one training session but also getting out of the stall for hacks. But I think it does a horse good to be able to be a horse and move around. Mentally and physically.
That feed is not grain free. Maize - corn, and you have oats and barley in there.
These 2 things don’t jive 
What’s the actual feed? Is the GA you listed, all that they list? What’s the actual ingredient list?
Not that this feed caused a twist, or another feed will prevent one. If you’re invested in truly cereal grain-free, then this feed isn’t it
Thanks for all your responses lol thanks for noticing that mistake - I meant to say my one retired horse is on a grain free feed at the one barn she boards at and my other horse is boarded at another barn down in Wellington for training and he’s the one with the colic surgery and he’s on the flaked cereal feed, but I’m bringing them both to my sister’s barn in a couple of months and will be keeping them on the same feed the flaked cereal because it’s just more practical to keep them on the same feed for me since with this feed you don’t give hay with it and I’m actually super allergic handling hay and if we did have hay we’d have to keep it in the barn and I don’t want an extra fire risk, so personally I’ve decided to switch my other to the flaked cereal when we move barns. Also, my horse with the colic surgery has not had any problems since starting on this feed thank God and I don’t want to switch him because if something did happen even if it wasn’t the feed I’d blame myself for switching it. I just feel better keeping everything the same and building a feed plan around him. My other horse is a really easy keeper and in the 8 years I’ve had her I’ve switched feeds several times and thank God was always good never a problem. I think the only supplier for this feed in the US is in Wellington and I know several of the top show barns in that area have their whole barn on that feed and swear by it, and the barn where I’m at in Wellington more than half their horses show at Grand Prix level and they’re all on it and I know just because they’re at a high level that isn’t reason enough to justify a feed being good, but from what I’ve seen myself these horses look absolutely amazing their coats, their weight, their demeanor. They are all at the peak of fitness and I have to think their diet plays a huge role in that - almost none of them are on supplements. So far I’m really happy with this feed, I know it’s not grain free and I really wish it was, but I think it’s better than most feeds out there and the trainer who owns the barn I’m at her one stallion is in the high six figures and she is really picky and careful about what she feeds all her horses and I’ve always trusted her judgment based off of how much she cares and invests in them.
How many pounds are you feeding? There are enough cereal grains listed I’d be concerned how high the NSC is. But if they’re far enough down the ingredient list, it may not be a big deal. I also really wouldn’t want to feed no actual hay, no long-stem fiber, to horses without a good medical reason. Long stem fiber helps keep a healthy gut
But I bet they also get hay and/or grass
“better” is very subjective and needs more context. There are a lot of really high quality feeds out there
I think that having a horse on a hay free diet is a really bad idea, unless he has no teeth or for short term treatment of colitis. Or obviously if there’s enough grass in the field that they don’t need or want hay!
What do you know about your hay allergy? For some people it is dependent on species. When my sister was a teen she was very allergic to Timothy so we only got field grass “local” or alfalfa hay. I doubt you are allergic to every forage crop. These days there is field grass (brome etc), Timothy, alfalfa, orchard grass, teff, and southern things like Bermuda that I’m not familiar with. My guess is that it’s the flower heads that are most allergic to humans (Timothy has many) so if you get hay without flower tops you might be OK. Also neither Teff nor alfalfa are grasses. Teff is technically a straw of a grain/seed crop and alfalfa is a legume.
You can also wear gloves a long sleeve jacket in the barn, wear an N95 face mask, even safety goggles to feed and do it last thing leave the barn go.imside and wash your face thoroughly. Or have another family member toss hay after you leave the barn.
I suggest you get the book Feed Your Horse Like a Horse by Julie Getty which is an excellent primer on current best practices in horse care. It will answer many questions you have about salt, minerals and hay. It is a big step going into self care or home care if you have been in an all inclusive boarding environment your whole life.
Feeding horses is not difficult. I figured it out at age 14. But you need to be consistent and respect their natural body functions. Ample good hay at frequent intervals, or 24/7 on a good pasture. Salt block plus an ounce in their mash. A good vitamin mineral.supplement in some kind of mash or a ration balancer. A bagged feed preferably fairly low NSC if the horse needs the calories. But the main diet is long stem forage, either hay or pasture, unless they have no teeth.
