Feeding Baking Soda for Gassy belly? What else?

P

PooJay

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 July 2011
Messages
493
Visit site
This is an odd one, horse gets very gas bloated. She's out from 6am till 2pm at the moment and when she comes in to her stable from the grass she's gassy and bloated and because she can't walk it off, it stays and is effecting her when i ride 3 -4 hours later.

In an ideal world i would muzzle her....but she's one of the very few horses i've known that will not eat through one. I persevered for 5 weeks and gave in because she was so depressed - she tried a few times the first few days but the grass must've spiked her nose so she would then would spend the rest of the time just hanging her head looking horribly depressed....so i am stuck restricting her grazing.

She's also not happy out at night and in during the day, she gets very grumpy and depressed standing in as she has no view of anything apart from another horse that weaves all day - so again, i can't change her routine as i do not want a weavy horse!

I have picked out from google that some people feed a teaspoon of baking soda to prevent gas bloatedness from happening. Has anyone actually tried this?

If not Baking Soda does anyone have any suggestions? Currently feeding equinourish for excess flatulence which doubles as a balancer but it's not working too well for the trumpyness.

Any help would be appreciated :)
 
I didn't realise that excess flatulence was a problem in horses, mine is a right trumper! :D

Ours have been on new grass for under a week, and have now gone back to the eaten down paddock to relieve their bellies, we find its easier to do this so they get richness a little at a time. Mine has got gassy colic a couple of times nothing terrible - just him looking uncomforatble and curling his lip up a lot, I don't let that happen now.
 
Bicarbonate of soda (not baking powder ;)) can be used to help combat excess acid from grass, it seems. I don't know if it would affect gas or bloating, though... worth a try!
 
I'll give fennell a try! Is it something you buy for horses or do i just buy it in ground form from the supermarket? Oh and how much should i feed :o

and whoops on the baking soda lol if i fed her baking soda she'd probably end up trumping bubbles and flying away charlie and the chocolate factory style! :D

thanks guys!

My mare really does have quite a stupendous amount of flatulence (hehe :D) but i've found as the grass has gotten shorter but with this fresh growth all the time, the trumps don't escape quite as easily and she's staying distended and not letting go of it. That's what seems to be causing the problems riding wise, she goes all stuffy and doesn't want to lift her back and step under with the left hind. Bloody grass :mad: hate the stuff!
 
Stencilface said:
I didn't realise that excess flatulence was a problem in horses, mine is a right trumper! :D

Ours have been on new grass for under a week, and have now gone back to the eaten down paddock to relieve their bellies, we find its easier to do this so they get richness a little at a time. Mine has got gassy colic a couple of times nothing terrible - just him looking uncomforatble and curling his lip up a lot, I don't let that happen now.
Click to expand...

wish our yard would do this, we get swapped onto long rich grass at the start of the spring when it's most risky, then they eat that down, then we get swapped back onto the long grass in the other field in Autumn when it's most rich and risky!

It's very hard to manage and my poor madam spends most of her time at these points of the year eating soaked hay in her stable to keep the pounds off. It's a never ending battle!

I don't think excess wind is a massive problem, it's when the don't fart it out that it causes a problem. When the grass is normal, Mrs Pooj sounds like a one horse band with the trumping....but recently she's started to keep hold of it and at times stopping for a trump when i'm riding like she stops for a poo (which i'm naughty to let her do but hey ho) it's worrying.....still considering the possibility of ulcers but she has no other symptoms :confused:
 
I feed a 15 ml scoop but I know you can feed at least twice that a day. I got mine from Progressive Earth on ebay but I don't see why the supermarket stuff is no different in the meantime...
 
We have our own grazing, so its up to us to manage it, if I had it all my way they'd all be a bit trimmer (bar the oldest oldie who is perfect atm) but my mum is a sucker for their poor hungry faces, I try to tell her to look at their bellies, and not at their eyes, but she'll never listen :rolleyes:
 
Think about a track system for the grazing--so they take more exercise to fill their bellies

''Fennel seed

Anti-spasmodic, carminative, expectorant. The old remedy and still sold in chemists as a gripe water for babies with colic! Horses will readily seek out and eat this herb if available in their field.

Nutritionally supports: healthy intestinal functions, horses prone to flatulence. Healthy respiratory functions.''
 
Stencilface said:
We have our own grazing, so its up to us to manage it, if I had it all my way they'd all be a bit trimmer (bar the oldest oldie who is perfect atm) but my mum is a sucker for their poor hungry faces, I try to tell her to look at their bellies, and not at their eyes, but she'll never listen :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

haha i'm a bit of a sucker for a "feed me" face too....but the pone is still on mouse rations so far :) much to her disgust! I'm worried that these fennel seeds are supposed to stimulate appetite too - that is one part of Jay that is healthy enough lol :D

Cuffey - trust me, if i could do something like that i'd be on paddock paradise like a shot - unfortunately, i'm stuck with what is availabe at my yard and we aren't even allowed to section of the field and strip graze. It's fair enough, it's not my land so i've got to accept what the yard offers and it's pretty good in every other way. i've yet to find a yard that doesn't have grass politics tbh :rolleyes::)
 
Protexin gut ballencer, use it for the very reasons you described. Cannot recommend it enough...brilliant stuff!
 
pigpony said:
Protexin gut ballencer, use it for the very reasons you described. Cannot recommend it enough...brilliant stuff!
Click to expand...

oooh sounds expensive!. i'll give the fennel seeds a go first as they're the cheapest and if they don't release the beast within i shall try something like that :) thank you :)
 
I get the 600g pot about £23ishh and lasts 60 days, only need a scoop a day ....so not too bad! But yes fennel would be cheaper lol!
 
pigpony said:
I get the 600g pot about £23ishh and lasts 60 days, only need a scoop a day ....so not too bad! But yes fennel would be cheaper lol!
Click to expand...

Aye, i've picked up some Fennel for £7 per kg, plus £5 postage so about half price. Fingers crossed that works because her supplement bill is about equalling our livery bill this month :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top