My Gas Colic Experiment

[twelvegates]

I have a sensitive WB mare that has been prone to frequent gas colics, as in 2-3 times per month.

This is an easy keeper, stalled with a run at night, and turned out in a pasture every day, fed 6 flakes of good grass hay each day and a small amount of soaked beet pulp with a TB salt, 1 oz of MSM pellets and 1 TB of Remission. I eliminated the beet pulp, the MSM and the Remission without improvement. The symptoms persisted through different grass hay suppliers.

When the mare was colicky, the standard advice from the vet was to administer banamine and call him back if there were no enduring response. This treatment worked well, but I fretted about the mare and whether she would suffer a twist.

I did some reading on herbs and decided to add 2 TB of whole fennel seeds to her beet pulp. I started in May 2015, and since then, she has experienced only one episode of colic, when she was trapped in the barn throughout a hot day.

Obviously, there could be many explanations for the improvement, but I just wanted to share this with others.

[IPEsq]

Thank you for sharing. I’m going to talk with my vet about this next week.

[twelvegates]

Cheapest source for fennel (that I have found) is: http://www.herbalcom.com/store.php3?list=cats&alpha=yes&lett=e-hE-H&session=bba380aa4c1df16ce14eb1582647989c

$3.90 per pound/$7.25 handling fee regardless of order size

The seeds go faster than you think.

[csaper58]

Thank you for this info!!

What was it that inspired you to try the Fennel Seed? Why 2 Tbs?

Would a smaller horse take less? Is the dosage related to the horse’s weight?

[twelvegates]

One of my veterinarians is into Chinese medicine and herbs and she always encouraged me to think outside the box. I started with a book called Equine Herbal Energetics and noticed that there are a few different herbs that assist with digestion. Fennel was noted to be a classic “prescription” for gassiness. As for dosage, I went to Pegasus Health (https://www.pegasushealth.com/product/fennel-seed?search=fennel&rpage=1&sort=relevance), where they recommended 20-40 grams per day for horses and ponies. (I used my scale to weigh out the fennel seeds, and came up with about 1 to 2.5 TB as the equivalent measurements. Mare is 1500 pounds, so I went with the upper range.

[csaper58]

Thanks!

[IPEsq]

I taste tested a little bit from my pantry this evening. Because of my vet thinks it’s something good to try, might as well make sure he eats it before ordering in bulk. He about mauled me for the tbsp in my hand. Even if it doesn’t help his gas, I’m keeping this in mind as a flavoring.

[twelvegates]

Yes – they love it. I think it has a sort of licorice flavor.

[LarkspurCO]

Interesting. Fennel for the Farts. It’s so nice to find a simple solution.

[andhourspass]

Thanks for sharing - may have to try this!

[csaper58]

I found the Whole Foods here has Fennel Seed in their bulk dept.

It’s cheaper and fresher than bottled spices and might be easier for those doing a test run than ordering online.

[costco_muffins]

My vet suggested celery seeds for the same reason! It seemed to work well especially in the beginning, but in the end we found out my horse has a soy allergy and eliminating soy fixed the problem.

[twelvegates]

There are other herbs that supposedly help with digestive issues. Mint leaves may help with bloating and relaxing the digestive tract, chamomile* is indicated for nervous colic and ulcers, and slippery elm soothes ulcers and IBD.

*I believe chamomile “tests”.

Anyway, please take all of this with a grain of salt (literally :D), but I would truly be interested if anyone else notices any result.

[IPEsq]

Talked to my holistic vet today about the fennel. She said that it can help with gas but in a small number of horses it can actually make gas worse. She said a dose in the 1-2Tbsp range was fine. She said that she has known some people to give a LOT (like 1/2 cup/day), and the horses didn’t do so well with that. She also thought it might not make much of a difference. In the end, she said if it helps eat up all of his meal where I’m giving him the evening dose of RelyneGI, then to go for it, as she wants to give the trail Relyne 4-6 weeks with him. She just said to watch out for any increase in gas discomfort.

[twelvegates]

Thanks for the information. Again, I have no idea whether my protocol is actually responsible for the positive results, but I haven’t seen any adverse effects. YMMV

[csaper58]

Bumping for @Skyie1

[twelvegates]

UPDATE: Mare has been on the herbal protocol since May 2015. About two months ago, I forgot to order the fennel seeds and the mare went a week without them. Again, this could be entirely coincidental, but she had a mild gas colic during that week.(Probably because I was SURE that it would happen, thanks to my stupidity.)

When she colics, there is no doubt – classic symptoms of pawing, flehmen response, rolling , inappetence. Again, it resolved with oral banamine. Since returning to the fennel, no further incidents. The all-day session in the hot barn and the brief period without fennel were the only times she has colicked since May 2015, compared to the 2-3 monthly episodes prior to the fennel…