Are Irish Draughts more prone to colic?

nic85

nic85

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As title really, Im sure I was told many moons ago that ID are prone to Joint (read as Hock) problems and my friend today said they are prone to colic.

Obvioulsly this could just be hear say and they dont suffere fomr anything more than any other horse...just a Q.

Thanks!!
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Hubby had an ID and he on;y had 2 episodes of colic in the 21 years we owned him. The first was the result of hubby feeding him a bucket load of oats to "perk' him up nefore a competition. He was subsequently banned from ever feeding horse ever again.
The second was at age 26 and unfortunately led to him being pts.
I have a Hanoverian who colics at the drop of a hat and a tb who has never (rushes off to touch wood) had colic I have owned him (27 years).
So in my experience it's the warmbloods you have to watch out for!!
 
Thanks for the reply!!
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Do you think that a horse who is weaned early (due to its size)may have problems later on in life?? The filly is 15 weeks and weaned...would this be cause for concern??
 
My Tb is prone to spasmodic colic, my Shire x Tb has had surgery for a blood clot in her small colon...
Regarding weaning early - it is always best for animals if you can mimic nature as far as possible - and foals are usually at foot til their dam rejects them when the next one is imminent.
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its all to do with how you keep and feed them i think. ID s tend to be good doers so might not get as much fibre, long stem fibre as a horse of that size requires! and possibly people trying to perk them out of their more normal laid back status, by feeding a more grain based diet? If you have a chunky good doer of sensible personality you cant make it into a flighty sports model by filling full of grain, but you have a fair chance of giving it colic!
 
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its all to do with how you keep and feed them i think. ID s tend to be good doers so might not get as much fibre, long stem fibre as a horse of that size requires! and possibly people trying to perk them out of their more normal laid back status, by feeding a more grain based diet? If you have a chunky good doer of sensible personality you cant make it into a flighty sports model by filling full of grain, but you have a fair chance of giving it colic!

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Do you ever think before you post?
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Well, I have a lot of IDs - and ISH's - and hardly get ANY colic. I have a total of about 60 horses (1 a coloured x TB, and the one WB is actually half ISH) - everything else is ID/ISH. I had one case of colic this year (unfortunately fatal) in a 20 year old RID mare; I had another 2 years ago in a pure-bred gelding after a rather long day's hunting (only mild) and an impaction colic the year before that (cured) in the Coloured x TB.

All my stabled horses get virtually ad-lib haylage and I've never needed to fill them up with grain to get them 'perky' - fitness does that!

To suggest that ID's are more prone to colic is - IMHO - rubbish!

Like all big horses, IDs CAN suffer joint problems - but then so can TBs - for different reasons!

There is no reason a weaned early filly should have problems later in life as long as she has been fed correctly - and not OVER-fed.
 
I think that many many moons (talking after the 1st world war) ago the genetic pool for ID was quite small and there may have been a bit of bad breeding.

In the last few decades the IDHS has taken great steps to improve the breed standards and the breed is no longer on the endangered list.

This could the origins of this rumour, which I don't think has any relevance to modern ID breeding.
 
Not just IDs but any big horses are more prone to displacement colics for some reason.

Ofcourseyoucan, as someone who nearly lost a much loved ID to colic this summer I resent your comment. I feed adlib hay, even putting hay in the field if the grass is poor, & no cereals at all but he still had colic that needed surgery to save him. And as for wanting to perk him up, well he's one of the last horses that you'd want to give more energy/fizz to!
 
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shilasdair - yes i do think before i post why?
Horses are more prone to colic cause of diet and ways of keeping, not breed! (my thought!)

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I felt compelled to ask you if any thought went into your posts, as I could see no evidence of it.
Much the same way that there is not much evidence that feeding fibre prevents/cures all colics.
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I now await your explanation of the benefit of hay with regards to blood clots in the small colon.
If only I (and my silly vets) had known!
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having owned 3 ISH's (ID/TB) only one was colicy and unfortunatly this was fatal. Over the years I've been around many different types and some are worse than others regardless of breed. I think it is like humans some are more suspectable to illness than others. It dosen't matter what we do its just the luck of the draw.
 
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Ofcourseyoucan, as someone who nearly lost a much loved ID to colic this summer I resent your comment. I feed adlib hay, even putting hay in the field if the grass is poor, & no cereals at all but he still had colic that needed surgery to save him. And as for wanting to perk him up, well he's one of the last horses that you'd want to give more energy/fizz to!

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What is the point of your resentment? It is perfectly clear that what the poster wrote does not apply to you and the horse you lost.

And Shilasdair, is it just me, or do other people wonder why so many of your posts seem to sound so rude?

I can't see why you have taken offence at what the poster wrote, I personally thought that they had a good point. My own IDx colicked the other day when he would not come in for the night and missed his nightime bellyfull of haylage. I can easily see how a lack of fibre in the diet would cause colic and I'm surprised that someone of your intelligence not only can't but chooses to attack someone making a perfectly valid point.
 
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For 'Ofcourseyoucan' - here, educate yourself about colic.
(Good luck in finding 'feed fibre' under the 'Prevention' links.)

http://www.liv.ac.uk/equinecolic/index.htm

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Sorry shills but in the video the second thing mentioned is fibre!!!

Why say educate yourself about colic? IMO ofcourseyoucan has already shown a good amount of knowledge by what was written in her post . Why have a pop at her?

I don't understand these posts sometimes ( shakes head)
 
I've owned my RID for nearly 2 years and touch wood, he has never been sick, sorry or lame! They are tough cookies.
 
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Ofcourseyoucan, as someone who nearly lost a much loved ID to colic this summer I resent your comment. I feed adlib hay, even putting hay in the field if the grass is poor, & no cereals at all but he still had colic that needed surgery to save him. And as for wanting to perk him up, well he's one of the last horses that you'd want to give more energy/fizz to!

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What is the point of your resentment? It is perfectly clear that what the poster wrote does not apply to you and the horse you lost.



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Cptrayes I resent the implication that all colic is caused by poor management, I quote <font color="blue"> "its all to do with how you keep and feed them i think." </font> While there may be many cases where this is true it's very upsetting when tou're dealing with a colicking horse &amp; people automatically assume it's your fault.

I also think that Ofcourseyoucan shows a common misconception about IDs - trust me when I say some of them are far from laid back &amp; quite a few have an interesting definition of sensible too
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Incidentally if you'd took the trouble to read my post properly you'd notice that I said nearly lost. He's made a good recovery from surgery, is being ridden again &amp; the only sign of his ordeal is a line of staples that no-one can get out (plus a paranoid owner
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And Shilasdair, is it just me, or do other people wonder why so many of your posts seem to sound so rude?


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As far as I can work out, anyone who disagrees with you and your view of the world = rude.
I am sure in RL sycophants are easier to find - on HHO, people tend to post what they think - if you don't like it, don't engage.
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Anyway, back to the question ... there's one reason IDs might be more prone to colic, since they are often grey and therefore more prone to melanomas. Horses that have external melanomas often have them internally too which can cause colic.

I had an ID vetted once, the owner had said that she colicked on rich pasture and had to have her turnout restricted, but the vetting picked up melanomas which I was informed could have been the reason for the colic.

But then other breeds are predominantly grey too, a lot of Arabs for example. And yes, I know a grey Arab that colics badly. Should the question be, are greys more prone to colic?
 
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And Shilasdair, is it just me, or do other people wonder why so many of your posts seem to sound so rude?


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As far as I can work out, anyone who disagrees with you and your view of the world = rude.
I am sure in RL sycophants are easier to find - on HHO, people tend to post what they think - if you don't like it, don't engage.
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My point illustrated completely, I think

You were wrong, as was pointed out to you by someone else. I think you owe the poster an apology, but instead you seem now to have attacked me.
 
Great point about greys, never thought of that one. Another reason, apart from the cleaning problems, that I won't buy one.
 
Well actually there is a grain of truth in that - if you will excuse the pun.

I have known a number of these sport horses who have had repeated episodic colic - and have found complete relief moving onto a completely grain free diet (and that measns completely - no wheatfeed as is found in certain leading balancers...). One of them was mine, and the other two belonging to friends.

So the poster may have not deserved your rather rude reply Shilasdair.
 
Aw, are the ickle barefoot peeps still upset that they couldn't provide the 'evidence' from that thread eons ago?
Let it go, people - it's only a forum
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and not worth stressing about.
If you don't want to use shoes, fine.
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I think Shilasdair that folks are simply commenting that you seem rather rude and abrasive in your posts.

Yes, it is only a forum, but that does not mean that you should throw manners, courtesy and self-restraint to one side!
 
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I think Shilasdair that folks are simply commenting that you seem rather rude and abrasive in your posts.

Yes, it is only a forum, but that does not mean that you should throw manners, courtesy and self-restraint to one side!

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No, actually, you, cptrayes and the other barefoot one, Araminta, specifically joined this thread to attack me.
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I am very flattered though!
And if memory serves, I don't think any of you were paragons of courtesy in your previous threads, but thank you for your advice, which I'll view with the gravity it deserves.
Have a great weekend.
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