Eating straw and colic?

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NellRosk

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Following on from 'My horse is too fat' thread, I've taken his rug off which was met by uproar as apparently he was too cold and I got a text off someone who kindly said they'd put his rug back on :rolleyes3:

I'd previously been giving him ad lib haylage in a hay bar, this has been swapped to a double net that I've been filling half with some nice straw and mixing in with some hay that I managed to source to slow him down and lower the nutrition. I'm just a little upset really because my YO berated me yesterday saying didn't I know feeding straw caused colic and that I should give him a '12.2 sized net'. Horse in question is a 16.1 ID and would finish a small net in an hour so surely 14 hours with nothing to eat would be terrible for his digestive system? I'm aware lots of straw can cause impaction colic but is my horse at any danger with what I'm doing? (Btw he used to decimate a straw bed every night with no ill effect when he was stabled on straw).
 
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My porky horse can never be bedded down on straw because of the danger of her eating it and getting impaction colic ... however, I do mix some straw into her haynets as it is a good source of low calorie fibre which makes her feel nice and full.

ETA: I meant to say that I would agree with what you are doing :)
 
mushroom said:
My porky horse can never be bedded down on straw because of the danger of her eating it and getting impaction colic ... however, I do mix some straw into her haynets as it is a good source of low calorie fibre which makes her feel nice and full.
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Yeah I had to change fatso on to shavings because he was literally eating a bed a night! Is she okay with the straw mixed in?
 
Mine are all bedded on straw and happily munch on some with no ill effects, I think like many things it is an old wives tale that it will cause colic, if they are starved then eat a load of straw they may colic but so could they if they gorge on any feed, feeding less hay and straw mixed should do no harm and is certainly better than leaving him for hours with nothing, that could cause colic or ulcers.
 
be positive said:
Mine are all bedded on straw and happily munch on some with no ill effects, I think like many things it is an old wives tale that it will cause colic, if they are starved then eat a load of straw they may colic but so could they if they gorge on any feed, feeding less hay and straw mixed should do no harm and is certainly better than leaving him for hours with nothing, that could cause colic or ulcers.
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Thanks be positive, there's no way I could give him a tiny net at 5 and expect him to stand with no food from 6pm to 8am the next day, absolutely no way and I'm a little shocked my YO suggested it tbh
 
Some of the basic chaff feeds are chopped up straw, mixing in a little straw with his hay/haylage isn't going to do him any harm.

It seems that people at your yard want to stick their noses in where they're not wanted. Someone rugging your horse when you don't want it & a YO who should keep her unsolicited comment to herself & get on with her own jobs. :(
 
NellRosk said:
Yeah I had to change fatso on to shavings because he was literally eating a bed a night! Is she okay with the straw mixed in?
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She's absolutely fine with a mixture of hay and straw, and also because the straw takes more chewing, she's actually more satisfied
 
If you are in doubt I would check with your vet first, I just text my vet with queries like this and he doesn't mind at all. Personally I wouldn't do anything which might risk impaction colic but if it is an old wive's tale then that's OK. The vet is the best person to ask and put your mind at rest.
 
Straw can cause colic in some horses.
However a horse is at more risk of ill health caused by over weight .
I feed fatty chopped oat straw in a big bowl when he's not in hard work.
You need of course to keep an eye on his number the softness of them .
Interestingly there's some research showing that on the ulcer front horses are less affected by being without food in the night than during the day .
However six pm to eight am is far far to long for a horse to be without food .
I see no issue at all with what you are doing .
Just keep going .
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
It seems that people at your yard want to stick their noses in where they're not wanted. Someone rugging your horse when you don't want it & a YO who should keep her unsolicited comment to herself & get on with her own jobs. :(
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I know it's really annoying actually having other people telling me how to manage my horse, I like to just keep myself to myself and get on with things instead of offering up pearls of wisdom to everyone else. :(
 
Goldenstar said:
Straw can cause colic in some horses.
However a horse is at more risk of ill health caused by over weight .
I feed fatty chopped oat straw in a big bowl when he's not in hard work.
You need of course to keep an eye on his number the softness of them .
Interestingly there's some research showing that on the ulcer front horses are less affected by being without food in the night than during the day .
However six pm to eight am is far far to long for a horse to be without food .
I see no issue at all with what you are doing .
Just keep going .
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Thanks for the reassurance! I'm trying to get him exercised every night to keep everything in his gut moving and healthy.
 
I put round bales of straw out in paddock for my donkeys and fatties so they always have adlib fibre to munch on, they then get a small barrow of hay once a day! I have been doing this for year and (touches wood) never had an impaction colic! I think impaction colic is due to lack of water and straw so as long as drinking enough you should have no problems.
 
horsefeed said:
I put round bales of straw out in paddock for my donkeys and fatties so they always have adlib fibre to munch on, they then get a small barrow of hay once a day! I have been doing this for year and (touches wood) never had an impaction colic! I think impaction colic is due to lack of water and straw so as long as drinking enough you should have no problems.
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Thanks horsefeed, very reassuring!
 
I've known of lots of people that have supplemented their horse diets with straw with no ill effects at all - in fact in hotter countries that can be all the have to offer them at certain times of year.
 
I have fed straw for the last 20years to a variety of types and never had a problem, they have a bale to nibble on in the field and the ones in a barn have hay and a round bale. I think any horse that was hungry would binge on any food stuff to excess and give themselves colic, I had one do it with leaves off the trees after a gale. Most of the high fibre feeds are chopped and treated straw in a nice expensive bag.
 
Leaving him without hay is far more likely to make him colic than feeding hay in a small holed next mixed with straw!

both of my horses live out, the field hasn't been rested for a while but there are green shoots coming through so they are now having ad lib barley straw (just chucked a big bale out) and a small net of hay per day.

I would say though make sure your horse has loads of fresh water, my two probably drink 1.5-2x as much water when eating straw.
 
We have one who can only have chopped oat straw, as she colics on any other straw, but she in her early twenties, has a tooth missing and we haven't tried her on long straw since she had her awful teeth rasped. The fat Appy eats long wheat straw (her bed!) when she runs out of hay ration :) She has no problem with it.
 
samlf said:
Leaving him without hay is far more likely to make him colic than feeding hay in a small holed next mixed with straw!

both of my horses live out, the field hasn't been rested for a while but there are green shoots coming through so they are now having ad lib barley straw (just chucked a big bale out) and a small net of hay per day.

I would say though make sure your horse has loads of fresh water, my two probably drink 1.5-2x as much water when eating straw.
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My thoughts exactly!! He has 2 of the large tub trugs a night with water and one is next to his net so he can dunk (which he does...excessively!) :)
 
Many years ago I nursed a very sick horse with impacted colic from eating his bed. He recovered but later went on to consume his bed and die! (At another yard I might add)

Feeding a mix of hay and straw is a great idea, just remind your YO what oaten chaff is made of- Oat Straw!
 
Tnavas said:
Many years ago I nursed a very sick horse with impacted colic from eating his bed. He recovered but later went on to consume his bed and die! (At another yard I might add)

Feeding a mix of hay and straw is a great idea, just remind your YO what oaten chaff is made of- Oat Straw!
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Sorry to hear he died, albeit not in your care.

Yes very true! I might throw a few buckets of water over his net as well to damp it down a bit and help him eat it.
 
Last horse I trested for colic was a 3 year old who had scoofed his straw bed all in one evening.....
so yes it can cause colic(He was fine by the way but ended up kept in at the clinic overnight on a drip drugs and regular lunging until he had settled)...so yes straw can cause colic but only if they are pigs and eat it all at once!
 
Aru said:
Last horse I trested for colic was a 3 year old who had scoofed his straw bed all in one evening.....
so yes it can cause colic(He was fine by the way but ended up kept in at the clinic overnight on a drip drugs and regular lunging until he had settled)...so yes straw can cause colic but only if they are pigs and eat it all at once!
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That's what Roski did on straw, good job he was okay after! So the general consensus is that half a net will be okay?
 
NellRosk said:
I'm just a little upset really because my YO berated me yesterday saying didn't I know feeding straw caused colic and that I should give him a '12.2 sized net'. Horse in question is a 16.1 ID and would finish a small net in an hour so surely 14 hours with nothing to eat would be terrible for his digestive system?
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This is no where near enough! Colic can be caused by not having enough to eat and spending many hours without forage. Also gastric ulcers and vices! Sounds like an odd YO to me! Slowing him down, as you are doing, is the way to go IMHO.

ps. I am not a fan of feeding straw (few nutrients and can be high in sugars I believe) but some seem to feed it with no problems.
 
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I haven't read all the responses but have you said which type of straw you are feeding? We made some rather lovely oat straw (heads left on) and alfalfa hay mix last year. 100 large round bales of it and my horses all loved it. I fed it at the beginning of the winter and saved the top quality hay for later. I have around 50 horses living on my farm and none had any problems with the mix, all looked fabulous going into winter; nice shiny coats etc. but as I say it's oat straw as that's the only straw I will use with horses.
 
amandap said:
This is no where near enough! Colic can be caused by not having enough to eat and spending many hours without forage. Also gastric ulcers and vices! Sounds like an odd YO to me! Slowing him down, as you are doing, is the way to go IMHO.

ps. I am not a fan of feeding straw (few nutrients and can be high in sugars I believe) but some seem to feed it with no problems.
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My thoughts exactly! I said a small net wasn't enough for him but that's how she got weight off her horse so clearly the only way to do it. :rolleyes3:
 
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