Does he have hay the entire time he is out? Or is it thrown out a few times a day. You said rounds twice a day, but rounds are usually left out for free choice eating so I’m not sure what you meant by it.
Loose salt definitely.
1 Like
they are let in and out of the pen where there are rounds and then in the summer they are on a massive pasture also…but right now it is covered in snow. His routine is:
7-8am- Kicked out of the barn onto pasture with auto waterers
8am-11am- access to round bale
2pm-5pm- Access to round bale
5pm- into barn, grain ration and 2 buckets of water available
It is tough to add more than 2 feeds during the day since he is in a herd of 10 but more availability in his stall would be an option or maybe a change in living arrangement (much to his dismay).
Does he only have access to hay for 4-5 hours? Does he have hay in his stall overnight?
1 Like
I would definitely keep a slow feed hay net in front of him with 2 buckets of water through the night. I prefer Hay Chix slow feed nets but recently bought several of the new hay bags from SmartPak and love them. Super easy to fill and pretty tough. https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/smartpak-slow-feed-hay-bag-13939?utm_source=cpc&utm_medium=google&utm_content=shopping&utm_campaign=nb_shopping_barn_gifts&utm_term=Stall%20Supplies&gclid=Cj0KCQjwv73VBRCdARIsAOnG8u3ddrItPryyetki51zT5Ycs_-ilzpthaNfajhE1byct07Ne41LUpwgaAghgEALw_wcB
1 Like
They are in the pen with access to the bails for 2 3 hour periods a day and are on a pasture in between. keep in mind it is winter. Hay in his stall is an easy addition.
if he is drinking 1 to 1.5 buckets at night, I suspect he is avoiding the water system outside. He may have once been at the top, but I suspect there is something that has changed that.
He may be bolting hay and not drinking, neither which helps. I would talk to the barn management about changing his social situation. You may need to devote some weekend hours to observing what is going on over the course of a day
1 Like
When you say Step 8, you mean the Hi Pro Mills product, and I assume you are in Canada?
I had a look at the Hi Pro products a few years ago, emailed for actual ingredients and nutrition. All their feeds are nonfixed formulas, contain wheat and or corn and or barley and or oats, and are high NSC. I was not impressed.
I feed my guy a product from Otter Co-op called Carb Care plus rice bran for fat and a vitamin/mineral supplement I get from his nutritionist. The Carb Care is a feed pellet that is low in NSC. It is the only product the nutritionist uses that she does not produce herself at company’s feed mill. My horse has done really well on it. I am very lucky my local feed store uses them as a supplier and am able to order it in.
I’m guessing you’re in Canada like me. I am in BC and nutritionist I’ve worked with is out of Alberta. If that’s at all close to you, send me a DM and I can give you her info if you like!
Otter Coop feeds tend to be lower nsc, more forage ingredients, and more “modern” formulations than Hi Pro. But I think a lot of people like the apparent clarity of the Hi Pro numbered step system and never bother asking about ingredients or nsc.
A more off the wall thought based on a horse I knew with similar issues one winter… he had never coliced in the many years I knew him then bam impaction colic… ok… impaction colic. Turned out not all his teeth were meeting to grind correctly bc he had been over floated at some point earlier and the wear was uneven. He had to have soaked hay and a soft senior feed until later cleared by vet (it was a long time!) Hope you find out what is going on… colic is so scary
1 Like
A few things that worked for my senior horse who had multiple impaction colics:
Feeding a senior feed with enough water to make it soupy.
Feeding a small amount of hay soaked in a muck tub in his stall. He would then drink the hay water.
The senior feed is a complete feed, and contains enough forage for those oldies that can’t grind hay anymore. My senior still had decent teeth, but still would have impactions from mild dehydration. Just not drinking enough, colics occurred more in the winter months, and sometimes with storm fronts/drops in barometric pressure. (Hay or alfalfa pellets, soaked to soupy consistency, may provide a similar vehicle for increasing fluid intake.) Some horses like Horse Quencher or “grain tea”, to entice more drinking.
I used probiotics, daily electrolytes, free choice salt in the regular red mineral block form, and also a block of Himalayan salt. He made good use of the Himalayan salt. Also used a Magnesium supplement (MagRestore) at a higher than typical dose. This was to encourage gut motility.
Many small meals through the day, such as one pound of Senior, soaked to soup consistency. Then a half flake of hay in his soaking tub. Spreading out the feedings, including a late night feed, helped to keep things moving through. I had a nibble net that I would fill and soak as an extra meal or two during the day and one at night, so he had some satisfaction of chewing, and to extend the time he took to eat his hay.
Movement was also key to keeping the gut moving. He was in full work and on days I didn’t ride, he got 2-3 marching hand walks for at least ten minutes each. Again, to encourage gut motility.
Not all facilities can accommodate the special needs such as my senior required. But I had the benefit of being a working student, so could cater to his needs. And once we found what worked for him, he went two full years colic free.
He’s going for long periods of time with no hay, so when he gets access to hay he gorges because he’s hungry - voila impaction.
Any chance this is what is happening?
2 Likes
we had one that was notorious with a tendency for colics- we ended up putting electrolytes on his food year round. I add beer at times- they love it and drink better - literally :yes: I also put apple cider vinegar in their water periodically - my mare loves it, I think she would drink it straight up if given a chance. Anything to get them to drink better in particular during the colder weather and weather changes. So far we have not had any problems. Had one come close when the young one started, but then found out that his mom was in heat and it changed the milk. We had a short period where the hierarchy was somehow not right and it was a “ring around the rosie” on who is eating in what stall and who can push who out. Most the time they are out, but I like to feed in the barn. Anyway- when they did that “dance” , I assigned stalls very clearly and locked them up for their feeding time. They have good size stalls and can see each other, but not mingle while eating- that solved THAT problem and everyone settled
3 Likes
Is he on Heiro? That is for insulin resistant horses. It contains cinnamon. I had my 20 year old on this for a couple months this summer and out of the blue he had an impaction. He was okay but I could’t understand why his manure was so dry when everything he ate was wet. We had tons of rain, so the grass was wet, I soaked his hay to rinse the sugar out of it and his feed was wet too. I talked to Dr. Joyce Harman and she said to take him off the Heiro. Cinnamon dries their system out. He has been fine since.
Something to think about.
I am waiting to hear the instructions from the vet tomorrow but I am thinking of this for a long term plan:
8am- soaked cubes
all day- access to a waterer
2pm- soaked cubes
5pm-8am- soaked pelleted feed with probiotic and access to a very small hole hay net all night (perhaps this goes away in the summer when he is on grass all day).
We we have one horse that is on cubes due to a cough so y boy could live with him. This plan would allow the barn to not have to customize feeding time and hopefully keep my boys tummy happier as he would have access to feed for 15+ hours of the day.
Any my thoughts on the above plan?
Can you explain the 15+ hours he’d have access to feed? I must be missing something if just considering 2x soaked cubes, then soaked pellets and a hay net. Is he out on pasture, and does he get forage out there?
Maybe talk to your vet about what sort of forage he should have to prevent another obstruction, if possible. (As in, grass, alf, beet pulp, etc., especially because the beet pulp could carry a good bit of water with it.)
And would this setup move him to a new companion? Or stay in same group?
He is on pasture in the summer. In the winter the hay net provided in his stall would allow him to freely pick at it for the 12+ hours he is in the barn at night.
Thanks, that makes more sense. Not sure a single hay net would last 12 hours, though. Any way to add in a late night serving of soup? If it is set up at his stall? Have done that with several horses for different reasons, it doesn’t take much effort. Night check person goes through, tops off waters, toss hay, serve soup. Small, wet meals spread out keep the gut moving.
Have you figured out a way to track his fluid intake? May not be AS much of an issue when out on pasture, but as long as he has hay, it could be.
I was hoping a net with small enough holes would last, maybe I am wrong.
The barn we we are at does not do night feeding and giving one horse something causes everyone else to have a fit. On the 4-5 days a week I am there he can get a meal when I am finishing up with him. Would that help??
I use a med hole Haynet that can hold about 6 to 8 good size flakes…we fill it at 2pm and he always still has some left at the 6am feeding! So yes, as long as they have access to hay all day outside as well, a Haynet can last 12 hours.
