Changing feeds more than 4 times per year can cause colic

Birker2020

Birker2020

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I am sure that I have read somewhere, that by changing a horses feed (presume they mean chaff and hard feed) more than four times in a twelve month (or thereabouts) period can cause colic due to change of flora in the hind gut??

Is this true?
 
This seems a bit crazy. Ours probably get changed that much but as their diet is grass and hay I don't think it makes much difference. This year so far mine has had: high fibre nuts, then fast fibre, then fast fibre and speedibeet, then speedibeet and high fibre nuts, and now he's on those plus oats.

What aboit worming? That's far more disruptive than a feed change imho. And with the potential to do damage.
 
If that is the case, how do non-domesticated or free roaming horses manage as their intake type could change daily?

Or is it more when concentrates and 'hard' feeds are in the equation, rather then the swap of grass based diets?
 
I'd be more concerned about the random cocktail of supplements that some people feed. A slosh of this, scoop of that, oil of the other - its like a potion.
 
Most feeds will have broadly similar ingredients - it's not like we're trying to move them from grass to bacon and eggs. As long as it's done slowly, and the feed stuff is always appropriate, I can't see that several changes over a year are more dangerous than just one.
 
It would be interesting to know how long it takes gut flora to adjust - normally if you introduce new feed you do it gradually over a period of a few days. I would imagine that is how long it takes, not 3 months!
 
My horses are fed a small amount of what I feed every day all year round .
In summer the amount is tiny .
But I was taught it's the way to keep bowel fauna as healthy as possible.
 
I don't really understand why anyone would change the type of food they give their horses four times in one year unless they are trying to find the solution to a problem. Like Goldenstar, I feed the same stuff all year round, just a different quantity. With the exception of haylage which I sometimes stop altogether but always restart when there is still plenty in the grass so they aren't suddenly gorging on it.

Can people who do change on a frequent basis tell us why?

The gut is full of kilos of bacteria of all different types. I can imagine it takes more than a few days to find a new equilibrium.
 
ycbm said:
I don't really understand why anyone would change the type of food they give their horses four times in one year unless they are trying to find the solution to a problem. Like Goldenstar, I feed the same stuff all year round, just a different quantity.
Click to expand...

Same here and this was my thought when I read the OP yesterday.
 
Having settled on a feed that works with all the horses I only vary amounts now. But there have been times that we have switched frequently. If you count an animal that has come through import, changed hands or come through a dealer a chnage 4 times a year is quite possible.

The year we got my daughter's eventer he would have had 3 or 4 feed changes already in the preceding 12 months as he had come from his breeder in Ireland to a producer here, through a dealer and one private home before we bought him. (Long story - complex and very talented horse, but jolly difficult.) In the first 4 or 5 months with us he changed feed at least 3 times. From the diet at the previous yard to the diet the others got which didn't suit. Through one other variation before settling on something more or less similar to the regime he has now. Then there was one further change about 4 or 5 months after that. Not to mention any more minor changes like swapping supplements, adding linseed etc.

Each change was done over a minimum of 10 days to allow the gut to adjust. Normally I wouldn't switch that much - but he was particularly difficult to keep condition on without fizzing up. And then having got him sorted we had to change the others to minimize the number of feed bins needed. Once settled we only change amounts - unless you count things like a brief course of Procell or EnerG.

And despite all the changes he didn't colic....
 
I'll confess to buying whatever's cheap/fits in my available car space that day/is on special offer. Nothing I've owned has had colic, though I wouldn't chop and change so much if I did buy something with a history of colic. They only get a small amount, mostly fibre based things too, so maybe that makes a difference. If energy levels are different in the new feed I'll adjust the quantities up/down as appropriate and there will be a few days changeover between the old sack finishing and the new one starting, each sack would last about a month.
 
Any sudden change in feed will ulter and change the bacteria in the hind gut, but if done slowly it should be fine. 4 times a year is complete and ulter rubbish! Who makes up this stuff
 
I don't believe that changing food 4 times or more in a year would cause colic if they were introduced slowly. If there was a sudden change, then yes, that may affect risk of colic.

Don't forget that when feeding a new supplement they usually have a few days of a loading dose e.g. 20g for 4 days then 10g afterwards. I always wonder what the sudden increase in something can do, but I just go with the getting the vitamins etc. up to a effective level and shouldn't have much negative effect.

That said, Billy has been on the same feed for the past 5 years so the only thing that has changed is the price of the feed!!
 
I'm thinking back to the time my horse was in horsepital with a fractured leg. He was presented with a large 'tray' with a handful of every feed type they had at each meal, before he decided what one he would like that day.

He gets the same feed consistently at home, but there was basically allowed anything that he would eat! Never colicked, despite all the morphine (thanks god).

Many feeds have similar ingredients, I wouldn't worry at all about changing brands, or between different simple fibre based feeds. I have added oats and micronized linseed (for example) when required for weight gain too.
 
Mine has been on the same feed for about 3 years.

Only difference is that this year I have added a balancer instead of the usual Vitamin and Mineral suppliment.

In summer I lower the chaff and oats and up the speedibeet for hydration especially if she has worked hard on a hot day.
 
I wonder whether it is more that there is a higher risk of colic in horses who than have more than four changes of feed in year, rather than that number of changes causing colic. The sort of horses that are likely to have more than four changes of feed a year may be more at risk anyway - those who are swapping homes/ownership frequently, those who are in poor condition etc. And add to that not everyone changes feed over gradually, it would be logical to see an increased risk of colic. But that is not quite the same thing as saying that four or more changes a year directly causes colic.
 
applecart14 said:
I am sure that I have read somewhere, that by changing a horses feed (presume they mean chaff and hard feed) more than four times in a twelve month (or thereabouts) period can cause colic due to change of flora in the hind gut??

Is this true?
Click to expand...

No it's not true. Any change in a horses diet needs to be done over a period of a week or two. It's a sudden change in diet that can cause digestive disturbance.

When you want to change anything in the horses diet, start with a small quantity of the new food and gradually increase the amounts each day.
 
I new I had read it somewhere and after extensive google searching I've found it. Its an article by a vet and lecturer and the University of Minnesota.

Paragraph 5 reads

5. Watch horses carefully for colic following changes in exercise, stabling, or diet.

Colic risk increases during the two weeks that follow changes. Farms that make more than four changes in feed in one year have three times the incidence of colic than farms with less than four feed changes. Even changing the batch of hay can increase the risk of colic. Make only gradual changes in diet, housing, and exercise whenever possible. To make changes in feed, mix ¼ new with ¾ old for about seven days, then increase the percent of new feed gradually.




http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/health/preventing-and-treating-colic/
 
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We know there is a risk with any feed change; gut flora can be disrupted and colic becomes more likely. So the more feed changes, the more colic risk.

So ANY feed change is related to a heightened risk of colic.

4 changes in one year sounds like seasonal changes which makes me wonder how gradual the change is introduced, why they are doing it, etc ... Could be linked to all sorts.
 
Would someone tell this to my 23 year old section A who will eat anything and is like having a large grey Labrador.
I think cold weather and lack of water is really more likely to cause colic than changing from one bag of feed to another. I am a food tart and by what ever is on offer with the same DE. After all most of them come from the same four large factories and its doubtful they clean the machines between runs that much.
 
Thanks applecart14 for the article - I am spmewhat concerned by the sentence in the first point about water and long journeys
'When traveling on longer trips, stop to let horses drink and/or have a veterinarian pretreat them with mineral oil before starting.'

Mineral oil will cause the horse to scour so dehydrate the horse. Can anyone make sense of he comment?
 
applecart14 said:
I am sure that I have read somewhere, that by changing a horses feed (presume they mean chaff and hard feed) more than four times in a twelve month (or thereabouts) period can cause colic due to change of flora in the hind gut??

Is this true?
Click to expand...

Possible but there must be other factors.
 
applecart14 said:
I new I had read it somewhere and after extensive google searching I've found it. Its an article by a vet and lecturer and the University of Minnesota.

Paragraph 5 reads

5. Watch horses carefully for colic following changes in exercise, stabling, or diet.

Colic risk increases during the two weeks that follow changes. Farms that make more than four changes in feed in one year have three times the incidence of colic than farms with less than four feed changes. Even changing the batch of hay can increase the risk of colic. Make only gradual changes in diet, housing, and exercise whenever possible. To make changes in feed, mix ¼ new with ¾ old for about seven days, then increase the percent of new feed gradually.




http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/health/preventing-and-treating-colic/
Click to expand...

Too many variables. Worming schedule, stress, how long a horse goes without feed, feed type.... I'm afraid this is not really a proper controlled analysis.

Colic from a sudden change in forage I accept that it does cause colic e.g. grass 24/7 to sudden hay 24/7 during storms etc (happened to me sadly) but not moderate change. I'd like to know if worming has an impact or grain fodder...
 
wench said:
Sounds like rubbish to me. I tinker around with food quite a bit, and have never had a problem.
Click to expand...

Same here and we've been feeding nine horses ranging in age from 3 to 21 for many years now without an issue. I have had two colics but neither was related to their feed. Like others have mentioned, I tend to buy what is on special offer. We don't do large hard feeds but do feed plenty of hay which I've been buying from the same farm for many years.
 
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