Colic from grass pellets

[Pink Gorilla]

So I've been feeding my 30 year old horse soaked Dengie grass pellets for the past week due to him struggling to chew hay. I've been introducing them gradually, increasing the amount a little each day. So by day 7 I had got up to 1.5 scoops of dry pellets (pre-soaking) per day. I've then been soaking them for 12 hours before splitting the amount over 3 buckets per day and making them much sloppier than the recommended 1:4 ratio. Anyway last night he colicked! His tummy kept rumbling really loudly before he would kick his belly a few times and trump out loads of gas. This lasted a few hours. Vet says the grass nuts could be too rich, like an overload of lush spring grass. Has anyone else had this problem? I daren't feed them anymore.

 

[sportsmansB]

I had one who couldn't eat hay and she had soaked grass pellets mixed with soaked fibre beet.
I never had any problems, in fact I felt it benefitted her when the grass did come as she was more accustomed to it.
Maybe you need to mix it with something else for bulk until he gets used to it, and literally introduce a hand full at a time?

 

[twiggy2]

I looked after a horse in his mid-late thirties and he was fed oaken grass pellets, non molasses sugar beet and veteran mix, he had three of the half moon hanging buckets full of this is every night and was on long grass all year round, lived out on just grass in user nd out for at least 7hrs a day in winter. He could manage long grass but not hay/haulage.
So he was still getting lots of forage and roughage with the grass.
He lived like that for 4 yrs, he colicked in his final week but it's was tumours making their presence felt and he was put to sleep when they started investigating.

 

[NOISYGIRL2]

Perhaps you'd be better off with something like fast fibre 7.5% sugar/starch combined, speedibeet 5% both lower than the grass nuts I believe they are 16%

 

[SEL]

It could be the sugar levels - I know my PSSM horse is really sensitive to them. I actually used to feed her a soaked scoop before clinics so the sugar rush would give her a bit more oomph

 

[Auslander]

That's a very short time to introduce such a large volume of something. I wouldn't knock them on the head completely, as they are great for older horses, but after 7 days, I'd be up to about 1/2 a scoop unsoaked.

 

[milliepops]

That's a very short time to introduce such a large volume of something. I wouldn't knock them on the head completely, as they are great for older horses, but after 7 days, I'd be up to about 1/2 a scoop unsoaked.

agreed

There are other brands that are lower in sugar/DE if that would be better, Meadow Magic from Emerald Green is one example and they are a step down from their normal grass nuts due to the grass species used.

 

[peanut]

Over the last couple of years I've had great success with grass pellets for my old pony with poor teeth. There's never been a gut problem but then they are all different just as we are.

 

[Pink Gorilla]

Ok thank you. Ive been having a look and the brand i used do have much more sugar than some other brands. Also I probably did introduce it a little fast. I was worried about him going hungry without hay (he'd had a recent colic scare which I wondered was due to impaction from poorly chewed hay), so I was keen to get the grass pellets introduced so he didnt go hungry and I thought over a week was fairly reasonable. But I think I did more harm than good. He's still a little grumbly and uncomfortable today ?

 

[twiggy2]

If he had already had a colic scare then I would introduce them as slowly as you can, can he still eat grass and does he have access to any?

 

[Pink Gorilla]

Yes he's in an acre paddock during the day and stabled at night. The grass is very short in the paddock though which he finds hard to pic up with his old man teeth. We're not sure if he had colic the other week. I just got down in the morning and he was extremely vacant, lethargic and tired when I got there. Was off his food and laying down when I turned him out. No colic signs other than that though and he completely perked up and was back to normal by lunchtime. Vet just suspects he maybe had a little colic in the night.

 

[twiggy2]

Have you had bloods run?
I would be concerned there maybe something else going on.
Does he have access to anything he can easily eat when he is turned out?

 

[Pink Gorilla]

We did in December when he has his first quiet day. Was worried about anemia at first. All blood cell counts were normal (red and white). Liver and kidneys etc normal.

 

[Pink Gorilla]

Temperature, pulse, respiration always normal (I also check regularly now too). When he's not having a moment he's his usual bolshy, full of it self and looks well conditioned with a shiney coat etc.

 

[Pink Gorilla]

He can graze the grass, he just can't pick up as much as a horse with good teeth. He's holding his weight fine though, not skinny or fat. And I give him 3 chaff feeds a day at the mo, plus a little linseed and a senior balancer mixed with plenty of water to keep him hydrated.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I wonder if because the temperatures have been so mild for the time of year, the grass pellets had started to ferment while they were soaking. I have never soaked grassnuts for such a long time, they are not like sugarbeet. I have used soaked grassnuts with dried grass chaff to give them bulk, in order to avoid choke, for old horses in the past and only soaked the pellets for about 15 minutes. They do soon breakdown.

 

[Goldenstar]

What colour is he ?

 

[Follysmum]

Emerald green Meadow magic are a good bulk feed if grass nuts are too much

 

[Winters100]

I used grass pellets when my girl had a tooth out, but this is not how I prepared them. I soaked them in boiling water and fed them as soon as they were cool. I was told not to keep them too long before feeding. Maybe the product you are using is different, but are you sure that it can wait that long before serving?