What is Horse Colic - Signs, Causes, Symptoms and Prevention - Rick Gore Horsemanship

[BlushRushBeauty]

would putting molasses in the hay be a good alternative if your horse won't take it with water? Oh and btw, I was wondering if its bad to let your horse graze all the time, but only feed it once with grains on the days that you ride it? Or is it okay for it to be able to graze all day and then get hay twice a day but only get fed grain on the days u ride? (I don't do this, but my frends do :S) and I feel like its a bit cruel personally. whats your opinion?

[dahdahjafer]

Great information, have you made a video about fetlock swelling treatment.

[DaddyLJ1]

Hello Rick,

I have been trying to put weight on my 3 year old 16.3 TB-He has been on only alfalfa for 8 mos- He looks very ribby and thin- I have put him on oat barley and oats and small amount of alfalfa two weeks ago.He has more energy but its to soon to see if his weight has increased. Do you think I am on the right track?????

The my other horse will not eat the oat barley, any suggestions??????

[horseawareness]

@DaddyLJ1 : I think I answered you direct to your account, if I did not email me from my web site. Rick

[NJTammy]

Hey Rick, I was wondering your input on Grain. I give my horses Timothy Hay All Day, and then I give them Grain twice a Day and Always with in the same hour of the days when I do. For Example they get about 8 flakes of Hay all day in their Hay Feeder off of the ground and then I feed them between 7 and 8 am their grain and then again between 7 and 8 pm their second feed of grain. The reason so late at night is because it is extremely hot here right now so I am trying to wait for it to cool.

[horseawareness]

@NJTammy : It depends, how much you are giving and why? Is it a treat or needed for weight? Are there supplements added? Lots of factors, feeding all day (free choice) is good so horses don't gobble, they snack all day so less likely to colic, rush to eat or fight over food. Gain can be good or bad, less is more, so if I give grain it is small, maybe 2 cups max, but some give beet pulp, rice bran, oats, senior feed, weight gain powder and 10 other supplements, that is bad.

[TheCurious253]

when horses graze, do they automatically know not to eat the roots of the grass? because there is usually a big chunk of dirt on the roots when you pull grass up with the roots.

[horseawareness]

@TheCurious253 : Horses don't normally pull up roots, they tear grass and eat the top, if they are pulling up roots they could be really hungry, the ground is wet or some horses were not raised on grass and have been fed hay their entire life, so they don't know how to tear and eat grass with pulling up roots.

[MegF142857]

Also being wormy.

We had one colic after having a set of vaccinations.

[honeyhearts27]

Thank you so much for posting this. I always wondered about it. Does colic ever get so bad that you have to put a horse down? I might have heard that somewhere.

[horseawareness]

@honeyhearts27 : Vet treatment varies, but that is always an option depending on the owner and the vet. A really bad case the horse will thrash and bang it's head until it bleeds and suffers and if the pain meds don't work and you can't stop the pain, that might be the decision. In the wild lots of horses die of this but that is caused by worms and not worming or horses eating bad food since they are so hungry.

[cyberg00se]

I came home and she was already fully down. Totally not there in the eyes. The "best vet in the state" wouldn't come out! We had some medicine, but without a vet, it may not be the correct one to give. The local horsey community really rallied and came out to help me. We got her stable for that day, but on the next she nearly died, but luckily we had a new vet lined up and on call. It happened to a few others in the community, so the theory was some bad food from the same store. Who knows. :(

[Andrea9514]

Would sprinkling flax seed into their grain instead of metamucil help?

[horseawareness]

@Andrea9514 : I don't think so, flax seed can be good for horses, but it can cause colic if given too much or too fast. Less is more with horses, so always do and give less than you want, anything that is too fast shocks the system and can react badly. The Metamucil and other fiber collects and helps carry out sand and dirt, just like the special sand remover products sold at tack stores, look at their ingredients and see what is in them.

[Andrea9514]

@horseawareness Ok, I was just interested in flax seed because I'm heard it makes their coats very shiny.