chronic colic diet

My TB horse had a bad bout of colic about 2 months ago, that resulted in a twist. Surprisingly, it resolved itself by the time we took him to the specialty clinic 2 hours away. However, the vet said that he may be more susceptible to chronic colics since the blood supply was cut off to that area for a bit of time, but didn't cause complete necrosis. Since then, he's had 4 more less severe colics, but scary (and $$$) nonetheless. Each time, I've slowly reintroduced him to his typical grain (12% pellet) and hay(coastal) diet. And each time, he colics about a week after his normal diet is restored. I finally got to thinking that maybe he simply cannot handle the dense grain any longer and needs to be on a forage, roughage-based diet. So I put him on beet pulp, T&A hay, electrolyte supplement and a mineral supplement. Colic free ever since. BUT now he's losing weight, which I suspected might happen since he has such a high metabolism. The feed store owner suggested Seminole Wellness Equisafe and I've also been told to try a senior mash, but from what I've read, they both contain grain which I am VERY hesitant to put him on again. I was hoping someone on here may have had a similar experience and can recommend a possible feed solution to compensate for the elimination of grain. Thanks :)

I'm afraid I'm raising my hand on that

My 25 yo TWH has Equine Metabolic Syndrome<----complicated by confirmed hind gut ulcers and almost certainly strangulating lipomas in the GI tract. The equine hospital is a 4 hour drive so we're not going to confirm the vet's suspicions.

I've had this horse 22+ years; he never had a tummy twinge until his first I-could-have-lost-him-colic last March. There have been 7 or 8 minor colics since then.

Just like your TB, he cannot handle any sort of feed -- not even the non-grain/soy-free vitamin/mineral supplement called EquiPride.

The EMS has sent him from air-fern status to being a hard keeper. Meaning I have added rice bran to his diet for the last five years.

I noticed he could eat the rice bran and the Omega-3 Horseshine without getting tummy twinges.

So here's what I have been successfully feeding this guy since October 3rd and so far no c----s (I'm not even typing that word

I feed his feed pan stuff three times a day because twice a day is just too much for him to digest.

He's little by your TB's standards, 14.3H and around 975 lbs., meaning your guy can have more rice bran. Manna Pro told me that, under my horse's circumstances, he could have up to six pounds daily of their Max-E-Glo rice bran. You can get that at Tractor Supply either in meal form or pellets; I prefer pellets.

Daily totals:
1. 3-1/2 lbs equine rice bran.

2. 1 cup Omega-3 Horseshine, I will not grind my own flax for this guy.

3. 1 tablespoon Brewers Yeast in the AM, before he goes out to pasture.

4. 3/8th measure cup pure Chastetree. For his EMS BUT I have read chastetree is supposed to be good for hind gut ulcers/digestion, so I'm mentioning it. Just make sure there's nothing else mixed in.

5. 1 cup of crushed apples & carrots. I crush up about three days worth in the blender and keep it in the refrigerator.

6. Last and best of all, Tuttle Liquid 747 vit/min supplement. This stuff is awesome!!! It only takes one ounce daily.

http://www.y-tex.com/pdfs/747.pdf.

The carrier is molasses but it is not effecting my metabolic horse; his life is on the line thanks to the ulcers and lipomas. The vet said "ok" to this and he sees this horse a minimum of twice yearly.

If you go the liquid vitamin route, which I think is worth trying, stay away from Red Cell. I copy/pasted the website that shows it contains "meat solubles" and "liver" Doesn't show that on the bottle or on the web sites you order from and that's why I copy/pasted the doc I found

6.1 At night I carefully measure one ounce of Liquid 747 into the measuring cup, and just add the crushed apples & carrots to it. I carry a sport bottle of water to the barn and mix everything together.

7. Succeed SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program Equine Supplement After he's had ~one pound of hay to wake his tummy up, half to one hour later I feed him the Succeed mixed into one pound of rice bran pellets. Or you can buy the single dose syringes, if you decide to try it.

8. Almost forgot the timothy/alfalfa cubes. He's lost muscle mass thanks to the EMS and being 25 so I weigh 1 pound of dry cubes, soak them into mush and give him that in AM. Alfalfa used to make him nuts but not so much anymore; if I feed the alfalfa in the AM, he can go outside and have energy to get thru the day.

8. Good mixed grass hay.

So the bottom line is rice bran, a liquid vitamin, some flax, and some sort of potent digestive aid.

Tuttles is not very expensive, so you're not out much if it doesn't work.

I hope this helps - good luck

For some reason,I can't edit my post.

Item #2 is 1/2 cup Omega-3 Horseshine daily, NOT one cup.

Item #3 is TWO tablespoons of Brewers Yeast daily, NOT one tablespoon.

<sigh>

Thanks so much for your help! I'm going to pick up the rice bran and alfafa cubes tomorrow to add to his feed. We rode this afternoon and although he was fine, he was definitely lacking energy. Hopefully he will gain some caloric intake this way and I'll look up the Tuttle Vitamin Intake this week. I appreciate your help :)

Ick. I won't be feeding that to my horse any time soon

I found this website that has the 'dried meat solubles' and 'liver concentrate' listed in the ingredients: Red Cell - Horse Health Red Cell Liquid Vitamin Mineral Supplement For Horses @ Kyhorse.com

Oddly enough, SmartPak doesn't have those ingredients included on their copy of the ingredient list

I wonder if they've changed the ingredients over the years as a response to negative feedback on including meat products? I also found a PDF of the label, and it says 'CONTAINS NO BEEF PRODUCT INGREDIENTS' in big letters in a couple of places. I'd feel better if it said it contains to MEAT ingredients...

Red Cell is for anemia. In order to combat anemia, you need iron rich ingredients. Liver contains a lot of iron, so I'm not surprised it's part of the formula.

I'm curious if the vet checked to see if there were any lesions or tumors in the gastro system?

Alfalfa is good for horse bellies. I would feed alfafa hay and/or alfalfa cubes. Keeping him off from feed/grain isn't a problem if you can keep the weight on. Alfalfa will help with weight. Rice bran is likely something he'd tolorate, fatty acid sources like flax seed, chia seed or black oil sunflower seeds would be good to offer as well.

Iron supplement.

Marshmallow root and Dandelion root are both excellent for colic prone horses as an herbal supplement. You can feed the herbs dried or buy human caps.

DiGize essential oil and peppermint oil when you notice colic symptoms while waiting it out or waiting for a vet. 20 drops of each, mix with a little oil or applesauce and syringe in like de-wormer. Also 20 drops of each rubbed on the side of the tummy you hear less gut sounds from.

He was thoroughly checked while he was at the specialty clinic for 5 days...they repeatedly checked the intestines for damage and found nothing sustained. All the parts of his intestine returned to normal size with no evidence of ulcer, tumor or laceration.
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