Another bad weekend and lessons learnt

Box_Of_Frogs

Box_Of_Frogs

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Wasn't gonna post this as it was so horrifying and I don't want to tempt fate. But when I read Amy May's experience, I thought I would, just to alert others. My 22 yr old Section D, very, very fond of his tummy and now only in light work, was turned out on lush spring grazing 7 days ago, just overnight. In during the day. I was monitoring him carefully with a weigh tape. All ok though he did put on 15kg in a week. Then he came in last Saturday and within half an hour was sweating for Britain, laboured breathing, miserable and very unhappy. He never did do the rolling and kicking at the flank stuff. Vet came asap and thank god ned had calmed a little by then though still miserable and unresponsive. After all his eye surgery, it's clear he has a high pain threshold so sometimes it's difficult to know exactly what IS going on. Anyway, as I expected, it was colic but the vet thought it was "Christmas Dinner Syndrome" ie too much good food too fast. Ned had an injection of Buscopan and literally within 10 minutes he was more his old self. By Sunday he was fine but what a terrible shock. Lesson learned (1) = NEVER put a good doer in light work out on lush grazing no matter how much weight they have lost over winter or how pitifully they beg for grass. Lesson learned (2) KNOW YOUR HORSE as horses with high pain thresholds can appear to be more well than they are. Lesson learned (3) we all know we SHOULD know our ned's normal pulse and breathing rate but I didn't know Sunny's AND I couldn't find my thermometer. Scary, scary weekend.
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Glad everything is ok now! We have had 1 colic and one bloated uncomfortable pony this week from the grass. I totally sypathize about feeling mean not letting them have tasty new grass. My boy is in a grazing muzzle every other day and still on the winter grazing fields as he is a laminitic. He coped with his muzzle fine last year, but really hates it this year
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Spends most of his day wandering the field looking sad. Glad Sunny has recovered
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If the abundant juicy grass came in a bag from Dengie or whoever, we would all take great care to introduce the new feed slowly over a couple of weeks... the same goes for new grazing!

With mine, I introduce the new grazing slowly, turning out on it for 1/2 and hour the first day, and build up over a week or so. The rich, fresh grass is enough to unsettle the gut and cause lami and colic. The lami is caused not by the richness of the grass so much as the shock to the digestive tract.
 
YorkshireLass, that is such wise advice about if spring grass came in a bag we'd introduce it over a period of 2 weeks or so. I will never, ever take new spring grass for granted again and pester to have my ned out on it asap. First year as DIY so I feel totally to blame for this. So sorry Sunny. I'm also horribly aware that the shock to his digestive system could very well mean that - as we speak - a bout of laminitis is brewing. Oh god.
 
I learnt this too years ago with my warmblood who wasnt even a good doer! Turned him out on not even lush grass, just a bit better than what he was on 24/7 and he came down with colic. However a quick injection sorted it very quickly. But still!

I am so wary of grass nowadays, luckily my grazing isnt very good. It is the cause of so many problems, not least laminitis which is just awful.
 
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