Bloody hell - now he's eating the straw!

[moneypit1]

Fly is a foodie and he will eat his bed. Given up on shavings at the moment as so expensive BUT............my vet told me the other day that straw can bring on colic! Just another thing to stress over. Is this true? WHY??

 

[the watcher]

because it compacts in the gut - the vet is quite right

 

[moneypit1]

~Oh [****].....will totter over to stables and retrieve straw bed! thankies for that the_watcher! xx

 

[flowerlady]

If its barley straw even worse than wheat straw because its more appetizing and they like it better but the husks that are sometimes in it can make them choke.

 

[Donkeymad]

Spray it with a Jeyes fluid solution, that should stop him eating it!

 

[Mrs_Wishkabibble]

My mare gets impacted if bedded on straw as she eats it even though she had ad lib good quality hay.
Like Donkeymad says, spray it with Jeyes Fluid, they hate it!

 

[moneypit1]

Oh the Jeyes fluid thing! Tried that, he still ate it. Vet said to stop or she could see herself coming back fairly quickly to attend poisoning case! What a bummer! Guess will have to go back to shavings. I have rubber mats so should in theory only need a sprinkling. Thing is... although horses are NOT nesting animals, it makes me feel better if they have a big bed! Dough! xx

 

[Tinker_Belle]

I so know where you're coming from!!

Despite having plenty of hay my mare would eat her bedding not just a bit but the lot!!!

Even worse was she turned her nose up at the hay & there was still a full net when I went up the next morning!!!

It is quite true, they can get quite bad colic.

It's a faff & alot more expensive but I bed her on shavings now (she even attempted to eat the paper I tried bedding her on

)

Her stable floor is concrete so I have no choice but to bed her deep but yes Moneypit, I feel bad too if they don't have a nice deep bed

 

[merlinsquest]

It would be worth trying some stuff called Stable Fresh as when sprayed on bedding its not toxic but stops them eating it.... or has done in my experience!!!

It is really for deodourising... or however you spell that

 

[Lucy_Ally]

QR.

I think it depends, if your horse eats the whole bed then it can cause impaction colic; however, Spring eats a few mouthfuls of any fresh straw that I put in which hasn't done her any harm. I will sometimes mix the older bed in with any new straw which usually stops her and doesn't risk spraying anything potentially toxic in the stable.

 

[2K85]

Nightmare! I have a foodie too - I daren't try her on anything even remotely edible. At the vets last week she repeatedly kept trying to eat the lovely giant wood shavings they use there - I had to keep hold of her at the front of the box in the end!

 

[LindaW]

Mine used to eat just a few mouthfuls - or so I thought. She's 6 years old and has been on straw since birth (I bred her).

Wednesday evening week before last she showed the first signs of colic. 5 vet visits later she was rushed to equine clinic for intensive care. Was touch and go for a while whether she'd displace her colon. Came home on Tuesday, very fragile but having passed the impaction.

The bill for the care she required, which didn't include surgery, is over £2000. Straw isn't looking so cheap now - and she has a lovely shavings bed.

 

[Weezy]

QR: There seems to be a really big problem re: straw colic over here - I think it is the quality of straw you bed on TBH. I have always bedded on oat straw, and do now (in a 14 x 20 box I may add, so a LOT of it) and have never had a problem, and we are talking hundreds of horses over 30 years.

 

[Amys_Babies]

When i first had Buddy he had a straw bed but he kept eating it so i swapped it to shavings, now he doesn't eat it.

 

[Vicki1986]

my pony picks at her straw, i wouldnt say she eats a great deal of it. shes never [seriously touches wood] coliced. maybe i will start spraying it with jeyes then. i never knew it could bring on colic.