FOUNDER ALERT
“Lord send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth”.
We have received the rain we prayed for, and what a difference it has made! The grass is green and growing again so the sugar content will be high, which can cause founder or laminitis. Be careful with those fat or chronic founder horses that are on the grass. Limit their pasture time and put them in the dry lot.
Hay alert
Hopefully with the rain we will get another cutting of hay in October. Currently, quality horse hay is expensive and hard to find. We have had a lot of calls about feeding cow types of hay. DO NOT feed Sudan Hay, Sorghum hay, Hay Grazer, or Corn stalk hay. Do not feed grass clippings. All of these are BAD for HORSES and can cause a major digestive upset. Straw can be eaten by the horse but cannot be fed instead of hay.
Use caution when feeding round bales to horses that have heaves or asthma. The dust from the round bale and these humid days can make breathing difficult and can cause asthma attacks.
Alfalfa pellets that are fed dry (not soaked with water) are a common cause for choke. I can’t tell you how many chokes I treat due to horses being fed unsoaked alfalfa pellets! The dry pellets are hard, and must be chewed slowly to accumulate saliva to wet them, or they get stuck in the horse’s esophagus. This results in a choked horse and preventable vet bill.
Horses should consume more than 1% of their body weight in forage per day (that’s more than 10lbs). A flake of hay weighs approximately 5lbs, so feed more than 1 flake am and pm. Feed in a slow feed hay net with small openings for hay access to make the hay last longer. A scoop of alfalfa pellets weighs 3lbs dry and 5lbs wet. Unlike humans, the horse’s stomach continuously secrets gastric acid. The horse’s intestinal system is made to consume small amounts of forage through grazing, justifying the constant stomach acid production. The fiber and saliva of free choice forage buffer the stomach acid. Feeding high amounts of grain and not enough forage can cause colic or ulcers.
PROBIOTICS
Probiotics help GI health, decrease adverse effects of antibiotics on intestinal flora, and help prevent colic. Probiotics should contain live microorganisms in large numbers and be beneficial for the horse. To improve probiotic viability:
1. Choose a product with an expiration date and lists the amount of microorganisms.
2. Look for products with an enteric protection to help the microorganisms survive the acidic stomach and small intestine to reach the large intestine and cecum.
3. Store at room temperature (which is not the feed room in the barn).
Microorganisms for people may not benefit horses given the difference in diets and intestinal systems. The use of probiotics in newborn foals can cause diarrhea.
MICROBIOME
Limited research has been done to identify which probiotics, prebiotics, or nutritional supplements are the best to support the microbiome (gut flora) of the horses Gi tract. The intestinal microbiome plays an important role in the horse’s immune system. Seventy percent of the horse’s immune system is located in the digestive tract and the intestinal microbiome play an important role. There is an inner layer of the intestines which has lymphocytes (immune system defense cells). Both beneficial and non- beneficial bacteria are in the microbiome of the horse’s intestine and they remain in balance in the healthy horse. When an imbalance between these bacteria occurs, the bad bacteria take over causing an immune response and inflammation of the gut. Colic, fever, toxicity, gut shut down, reflux, and diarrhea can occur requiring intense and prolonged veterinary treatment. Feeding probiotics to horses with sensitive intestinal systems or under stress and a forage-based diet helps keep a healthy GI system.
Tips to decrease stress in your horse
- Provide regular turnout and exercise. Walking increases gastrointestinal motility.
- Stay on a consistent schedule.
- Offer forage 24/7, utilizing a slow feed hay net.
- Observe change in social structure (the horse being alone, lost his buddy, stalled)
- Play Relax Trax in the barn download. https://eequinerelaxtrax.buzzsprout.com/1835303/9061146-equine-relax-trax?t=0
Castration signs: September 5-10 and October 1-7.
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