Gassy colic causes - too little grass??? Or too much!

now_loves_mares

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Apologies, this will likely get very long! I’m also going to post in multiple forums!

Early in February, my mare broke her pedal bone. About a week later she started going off her food, and long story short was found to be suffering from a caecal impaction, Right Dorsal Colitis (ie inflamed/ulcerated colon), and gastric ulcers – probably a reaction to the Danilon. She spent a month in horsepital, had 6 weeks worth of gastroguard for the gastric ulcers, IV fluids and the impaction cleared fairly well. The colitis was tougher – she was on sucralfate for a while, but the vets said there is little that they can do medically as it’s hard to get a drug to act as far into the digestive system. So google research led me to put her on a no-hay diet. Since late March she has been on 6 sloppy feeds a day/night of alternating soaked high fibre cubes and soaked grass nuts. Breakfast and dinner was chaff, unmollased sugar beet and topspec balancer. She’s on cosequin for the foot, plus has been on liquid coligone in her feed twice a day. She gets pink powder (4 scoops a day). I have been getting up at 3am every night for nearly 3 months to try to keep her on a regular feeding schedule. Technically she has been on box rest, but as she kept colicking we started short bursts of hand grazing, then for a while she was turned out on our garden (right by her stable). About 5 or 6 weeks ago the farmers who own the field right by our house allowed us to fence a bit off so we could start increasing turnout (she is still not sound on her foot, hence didn’t want her traipsing up and down to her normal field which is much further away).

All was going well and she was up to nearly 4 hours twice a day in the field, and had gone nearly 6 weeks without colic. She then colicked again. This was a gassy bout, she then colicked again about a week later (last Friday), also gassy, a change from her previous problems. Back to Google, which suggests the most obvious cause is rich grass. But what really confuses me is that she and her Shetland companion had slowly been eating down the ungrazed grass; but she didn’t colic until it was down to very short almost non-existant? There are lots of things going through my mind so that now I’m more confused than ever!
1. Buttercups – could those cause gassy colic?
2. I’ve been reading about sugar levels in grass. Could she have been eating “old” grass when it was long, but now that it’s grazed down, she’s eating the fresh new growth. Is that higher in sugars therefore more likely to ferment?
3. Sugarbeet – as the weather has warmed up I’ve taken her off this in case it was fermenting.
4. Weather itself. May was wet and cold in my part of the country. The colics seemed to coincide with it slightly warming up – change to the grass structure?
5. Weather again – could hotter weather actually increase the chance of excessive fermentation.
6. Soaked meals. I had started to cut those down to keep her weight in check. Possibly combined with the short grass, she wasn’t getting enough fibre (and/or water). Can’t do wrong for doing right, or something!
7. I read one tiny snippet on the internet about lack of food being a cause of gassy colic, so as above could the short grass and no hay, and reduced other meals be actually causing the problem.
8. If that was the case, would I be better just taking my chances with her normal field (10 acres, never fertilised so not lush but plenty to eat) or is that just asking for trouble? This is my main contradiction/confusion! Am I starving her into colic, or overfeeding her into it?? My gut tells me she can’t possibly be gorging herself on the tiny ¼ acre bare patch she is on.
9. Coligone – can you feed the liquid in feeds? I have been, but OH noticed the carton said not to. Would she be better on powder instead?
10. Time of day of turnout. Temporarily I’ve cut her grass right back and making sure she eats loads of her soupy meals instead. My plan is to work towards her staying out overnight instead. I’m also very very slowly trying her back on to hay, and if that works she can at least fill herself up a bit more on that, so she doesn’t pig out so much once out at grass.
11. Any other remedies for gassy colic that work? Charcoal? Fennel seeds? I’ve read US forums about people using Gas-x, which is an American human drug, the UK version seems to be windeze. Anyone actually tried this. I’ve started adding dried mint to her feed as I happened to have some from when she was first ill and went off her food.
I’ve never had to deal with colic before this horse, and before her injury she was so easy to keep, never suffered as a result of change to feed/routine/weather/exercise.

I am really unsure about what is the best course of action! Her foot is slowly getting better all the time, but she really needs a year in the field now – hard to do if it’s going to cause colic…Anything I’m missing or not considering? Any suggestions or advice very very welcome!
 

Rockchick

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my mare is extremely prone to gassy colic. in the summer months it is caused by too much lush/ spring grass.... She is turned out in a grazing muzzle during the day and comes in at night... :)
 

Ladythewelshy1995

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Apologies, this will likely get very long! Im also going to post in multiple forums!

Early in February, my mare broke her pedal bone. About a week later she started going off her food, and long story short was found to be suffering from a caecal impaction, Right Dorsal Colitis (ie inflamed/ulcerated colon), and gastric ulcers probably a reaction to the Danilon. She spent a month in horsepital, had 6 weeks worth of gastroguard for the gastric ulcers, IV fluids and the impaction cleared fairly well. The colitis was tougher she was on sucralfate for a while, but the vets said there is little that they can do medically as its hard to get a drug to act as far into the digestive system. So google research led me to put her on a no-hay diet. Since late March she has been on 6 sloppy feeds a day/night of alternating soaked high fibre cubes and soaked grass nuts. Breakfast and dinner was chaff, unmollased sugar beet and topspec balancer. Shes on cosequin for the foot, plus has been on liquid coligone in her feed twice a day. She gets pink powder (4 scoops a day). I have been getting up at 3am every night for nearly 3 months to try to keep her on a regular feeding schedule. Technically she has been on box rest, but as she kept colicking we started short bursts of hand grazing, then for a while she was turned out on our garden (right by her stable). About 5 or 6 weeks ago the farmers who own the field right by our house allowed us to fence a bit off so we could start increasing turnout (she is still not sound on her foot, hence didnt want her traipsing up and down to her normal field which is much further away).

All was going well and she was up to nearly 4 hours twice a day in the field, and had gone nearly 6 weeks without colic. She then colicked again. This was a gassy bout, she then colicked again about a week later (last Friday), also gassy, a change from her previous problems. Back to Google, which suggests the most obvious cause is rich grass. But what really confuses me is that she and her Shetland companion had slowly been eating down the ungrazed grass; but she didnt colic until it was down to very short almost non-existant? There are lots of things going through my mind so that now Im more confused than ever!
1. Buttercups could those cause gassy colic?
2. Ive been reading about sugar levels in grass. Could she have been eating old grass when it was long, but now that its grazed down, shes eating the fresh new growth. Is that higher in sugars therefore more likely to ferment?
3. Sugarbeet as the weather has warmed up Ive taken her off this in case it was fermenting.
4. Weather itself. May was wet and cold in my part of the country. The colics seemed to coincide with it slightly warming up change to the grass structure?
5. Weather again could hotter weather actually increase the chance of excessive fermentation.
6. Soaked meals. I had started to cut those down to keep her weight in check. Possibly combined with the short grass, she wasnt getting enough fibre (and/or water). Cant do wrong for doing right, or something!
7. I read one tiny snippet on the internet about lack of food being a cause of gassy colic, so as above could the short grass and no hay, and reduced other meals be actually causing the problem.
8. If that was the case, would I be better just taking my chances with her normal field (10 acres, never fertilised so not lush but plenty to eat) or is that just asking for trouble? This is my main contradiction/confusion! Am I starving her into colic, or overfeeding her into it?? My gut tells me she cant possibly be gorging herself on the tiny ¼ acre bare patch she is on.
9. Coligone can you feed the liquid in feeds? I have been, but OH noticed the carton said not to. Would she be better on powder instead?
10. Time of day of turnout. Temporarily Ive cut her grass right back and making sure she eats loads of her soupy meals instead. My plan is to work towards her staying out overnight instead. Im also very very slowly trying her back on to hay, and if that works she can at least fill herself up a bit more on that, so she doesnt pig out so much once out at grass.
11. Any other remedies for gassy colic that work? Charcoal? Fennel seeds? Ive read US forums about people using Gas-x, which is an American human drug, the UK version seems to be windeze. Anyone actually tried this. Ive started adding dried mint to her feed as I happened to have some from when she was first ill and went off her food.
Ive never had to deal with colic before this horse, and before her injury she was so easy to keep, never suffered as a result of change to feed/routine/weather/exercise.

I am really unsure about what is the best course of action! Her foot is slowly getting better all the time, but she really needs a year in the field now hard to do if its going to cause colicAnything Im missing or not considering? Any suggestions or advice very very welcome!

did you ever get any answers to your questions? We are going through similar at the moment
 

teddypops

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My Shetland has gassy colic last Sunday and vet said to get her on better grass as she is usually in a bare paddock to keep her weight down.
 

Pinkvboots

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I would say it could be a lack of food, I would get her on some soaked hay first before putting her on better grass, then I would very slowly introduce the good grass over a period of a few weeks, and at the same time cutting the hay down.

I have started to put mine on the foggage this week they had just over an hour on it yesterday, I have taped off a small area for them initially and just increase daily but still giving them a bit of hay, they then go on the bald field overnight until the foggage patch has been eaten down then I open up the patch for them overnight as well.
 

bestivick

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Apologies, this will likely get very long! Im also going to post in multiple forums!

Early in February, my mare broke her pedal bone. About a week later she started going off her food, and long story short was found to be suffering from a caecal impaction, Right Dorsal Colitis (ie inflamed/ulcerated colon), and gastric ulcers probably a reaction to the Danilon. She spent a month in horsepital, had 6 weeks worth of gastroguard for the gastric ulcers, IV fluids and the impaction cleared fairly well. The colitis was tougher she was on sucralfate for a while, but the vets said there is little that they can do medically as its hard to get a drug to act as far into the digestive system. So google research led me to put her on a no-hay diet. Since late March she has been on 6 sloppy feeds a day/night of alternating soaked high fibre cubes and soaked grass nuts. Breakfast and dinner was chaff, unmollased sugar beet and topspec balancer. Shes on cosequin for the foot, plus has been on liquid coligone in her feed twice a day. She gets pink powder (4 scoops a day). I have been getting up at 3am every night for nearly 3 months to try to keep her on a regular feeding schedule. Technically she has been on box rest, but as she kept colicking we started short bursts of hand grazing, then for a while she was turned out on our garden (right by her stable). About 5 or 6 weeks ago the farmers who own the field right by our house allowed us to fence a bit off so we could start increasing turnout (she is still not sound on her foot, hence didnt want her traipsing up and down to her normal field which is much further away).

All was going well and she was up to nearly 4 hours twice a day in the field, and had gone nearly 6 weeks without colic. She then colicked again. This was a gassy bout, she then colicked again about a week later (last Friday), also gassy, a change from her previous problems. Back to Google, which suggests the most obvious cause is rich grass. But what really confuses me is that she and her Shetland companion had slowly been eating down the ungrazed grass; but she didnt colic until it was down to very short almost non-existant? There are lots of things going through my mind so that now Im more confused than ever!
1. Buttercups could those cause gassy colic? viva tv apk
2. Ive been reading about sugar levels in grass. Could she have been eating old grass when it was long, but now that its grazed down, shes eating the fresh new growth. Is that higher in sugars therefore more likely to ferment?
3. Sugarbeet as the weather has warmed up Ive taken her off this in case it was fermenting.
4. Weather itself. May was wet and cold in my part of the country. The colics seemed to coincide with it slightly warming up change to the grass structure?
5. Weather again could hotter weather actually increase the chance of excessive fermentation.
6. Soaked meals. I had started to cut those down to keep her weight in check. Possibly combined with the short grass, she wasnt getting enough fibre (and/or water). Cant do wrong for doing right, or something!
7. I read one tiny snippet on the internet about lack of food being a cause of gassy colic, so as above could the short grass and no hay, and reduced other meals be actually causing the problem.
8. If that was the case, would I be better just taking my chances with her normal field (10 acres, never fertilised so not lush but plenty to eat) or is that just asking for trouble? This is my main contradiction/confusion! Am I starving her into colic, or overfeeding her into it?? My gut tells me she cant possibly be gorging herself on the tiny ¼ acre bare patch she is on.
9. Coligone can you feed the liquid in feeds? I have been, but OH noticed the carton said not to. Would she be better on powder instead?
10. Time of day of turnout. Temporarily Ive cut her grass right back and making sure she eats loads of her soupy meals instead. My plan is to work towards her staying out overnight instead. Im also very very slowly trying her back on to hay, and if that works she can at least fill herself up a bit more on that, so she doesnt pig out so much once out at grass.
11. Any other remedies for gassy colic that work? Charcoal? Fennel seeds? Ive read US forums about people using Gas-x, which is an American human drug, the UK version seems to be windeze. Anyone actually tried this. Ive started adding dried mint to her feed as I happened to have some from when she was first ill and went off her food.
Ive never had to deal with colic before this horse, and before her injury she was so easy to keep, never suffered as a result of change to feed/routine/weather/exercise.

I am really unsure about what is the best course of action! Her foot is slowly getting better all the time, but she really needs a year in the field now hard to do if its going to cause colicAnything Im missing or not considering? Any suggestions or advice very very welcome!


Have you ever received an answer to your question? Now we go through the model.
 

rabatsa

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When in a bare paddock all the grass eaten is new lush growth and full of sugar. Longer grass has more fibre in its makeup.
 

TheFarmIsFull

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Apologies, this will likely get very long! Im also going to post in multiple forums!

Early in February, my mare broke her pedal bone. About a week later she started going off her food, and long story short was found to be suffering from a caecal impaction, Right Dorsal Colitis (ie inflamed/ulcerated colon), and gastric ulcers probably a reaction to the Danilon. She spent a month in horsepital, had 6 weeks worth of gastroguard for the gastric ulcers, IV fluids and the impaction cleared fairly well. The colitis was tougher she was on sucralfate for a while, but the vets said there is little that they can do medically as its hard to get a drug to act as far into the digestive system. So google research led me to put her on a no-hay diet. Since late March she has been on 6 sloppy feeds a day/night of alternating soaked high fibre cubes and soaked grass nuts. Breakfast and dinner was chaff, unmollased sugar beet and topspec balancer. Shes on cosequin for the foot, plus has been on liquid coligone in her feed twice a day. She gets pink powder (4 scoops a day). I have been getting up at 3am every night for nearly 3 months to try to keep her on a regular feeding schedule. Technically she has been on box rest, but as she kept colicking we started short bursts of hand grazing, then for a while she was turned out on our garden (right by her stable). About 5 or 6 weeks ago the farmers who own the field right by our house allowed us to fence a bit off so we could start increasing turnout (she is still not sound on her foot, hence didnt want her traipsing up and down to her normal field which is much further away).

All was going well and she was up to nearly 4 hours twice a day in the field, and had gone nearly 6 weeks without colic. She then colicked again. This was a gassy bout, she then colicked again about a week later (last Friday), also gassy, a change from her previous problems. Back to Google, which suggests the most obvious cause is rich grass. But what really confuses me is that she and her Shetland companion had slowly been eating down the ungrazed grass; but she didnt colic until it was down to very short almost non-existant? There are lots of things going through my mind so that now Im more confused than ever!
1. Buttercups could those cause gassy colic?
2. Ive been reading about sugar levels in grass. Could she have been eating old grass when it was long, but now that its grazed down, shes eating the fresh new growth. Is that higher in sugars therefore more likely to ferment?
3. Sugarbeet as the weather has warmed up Ive taken her off this in case it was fermenting.
4. Weather itself. May was wet and cold in my part of the country. The colics seemed to coincide with it slightly warming up change to the grass structure?
5. Weather again could hotter weather actually increase the chance of excessive fermentation.
6. Soaked meals. I had started to cut those down to keep her weight in check. Possibly combined with the short grass, she wasnt getting enough fibre (and/or water). Cant do wrong for doing right, or something!
7. I read one tiny snippet on the internet about lack of food being a cause of gassy colic, so as above could the short grass and no hay, and reduced other meals be actually causing the problem.
8. If that was the case, would I be better just taking my chances with her normal field (10 acres, never fertilised so not lush but plenty to eat) or is that just asking for trouble? This is my main contradiction/confusion! Am I starving her into colic, or overfeeding her into it?? My gut tells me she cant possibly be gorging herself on the tiny ¼ acre bare patch she is on.
9. Coligone can you feed the liquid in feeds? I have been, but OH noticed the carton said not to. Would she be better on powder instead?
10. Time of day of turnout. Temporarily Ive cut her grass right back and making sure she eats loads of her soupy meals instead. My plan is to work towards her staying out overnight instead. Im also very very slowly trying her back on to hay, and if that works she can at least fill herself up a bit more on that, so she doesnt pig out so much once out at grass.
11. Any other remedies for gassy colic that work? Charcoal? Fennel seeds? Ive read US forums about people using Gas-x, which is an American human drug, the UK version seems to be windeze. Anyone actually tried this. Ive started adding dried mint to her feed as I happened to have some from when she was first ill and went off her food.
Ive never had to deal with colic before this horse, and before her injury she was so easy to keep, never suffered as a result of change to feed/routine/weather/exercise.

I am really unsure about what is the best course of action! Her foot is slowly getting better all the time, but she really needs a year in the field now hard to do if its going to cause colicAnything Im missing or not considering? Any suggestions or advice very very welcome!

I have had gassy colic in my horses on a number of seperate occasions and I believe it’s from the sugar beet. Most recently I was making a bulk lot and using it over 2-3 days and I believe in that case it was starting to ferment.
Before that it was made fresh but I believe it was making the feed a bit too mash like. The feed was 30% soaked sugar beet.
I have now stopped all sugarbeet and feed fibre protect which is kind of like haylage chaff (I’m not sure what it’s called in the UK) and I feed that along with my other mixed feeds and haven’t had an issue since. I was very lucky and all of my colic cases were not too serious and resolved with beer (at the vets advice) and a little hand walking.
 

Apizz2019

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A lady at the yard I'm on had a horse who had right dorsal colitis, for reasons unknown.

Sadly, he suffered repeated bouts of colic and eventually displacement and was pts.

I can't offer any advice but there does seem to be lots of resources available online, with veterinary advice.

This article looks to be informative..
https://www.vetfolio.com/learn/arti...do-i-diagnose-and-manage-right-dorsal-colitis

Good luck!
 

Birker2020

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Apologies, this will likely get very long! Im also going to post in multiple forums!

Early in February, my mare broke her pedal bone. About a week later she started going off her food, and long story short was found to be suffering from a caecal impaction, Right Dorsal Colitis (ie inflamed/ulcerated colon), and gastric ulcers probably a reaction to the Danilon. She spent a month in horsepital, had 6 weeks worth of gastroguard for the gastric ulcers, IV fluids and the impaction cleared fairly well. The colitis was tougher she was on sucralfate for a while, but the vets said there is little that they can do medically as its hard to get a drug to act as far into the digestive system. So google research led me to put her on a no-hay diet. Since late March she has been on 6 sloppy feeds a day/night of alternating soaked high fibre cubes and soaked grass nuts. Breakfast and dinner was chaff, unmollased sugar beet and topspec balancer. Shes on cosequin for the foot, plus has been on liquid coligone in her feed twice a day. She gets pink powder (4 scoops a day). I have been getting up at 3am every night for nearly 3 months to try to keep her on a regular feeding schedule. Technically she has been on box rest, but as she kept colicking we started short bursts of hand grazing, then for a while she was turned out on our garden (right by her stable). About 5 or 6 weeks ago the farmers who own the field right by our house allowed us to fence a bit off so we could start increasing turnout (she is still not sound on her foot, hence didnt want her traipsing up and down to her normal field which is much further away).

All was going well and she was up to nearly 4 hours twice a day in the field, and had gone nearly 6 weeks without colic. She then colicked again. This was a gassy bout, she then colicked again about a week later (last Friday), also gassy, a change from her previous problems. Back to Google, which suggests the most obvious cause is rich grass. But what really confuses me is that she and her Shetland companion had slowly been eating down the ungrazed grass; but she didnt colic until it was down to very short almost non-existant? There are lots of things going through my mind so that now Im more confused than ever!
1. Buttercups could those cause gassy colic?
2. Ive been reading about sugar levels in grass. Could she have been eating old grass when it was long, but now that its grazed down, shes eating the fresh new growth. Is that higher in sugars therefore more likely to ferment?
3. Sugarbeet as the weather has warmed up Ive taken her off this in case it was fermenting.
4. Weather itself. May was wet and cold in my part of the country. The colics seemed to coincide with it slightly warming up change to the grass structure?
5. Weather again could hotter weather actually increase the chance of excessive fermentation.
6. Soaked meals. I had started to cut those down to keep her weight in check. Possibly combined with the short grass, she wasnt getting enough fibre (and/or water). Cant do wrong for doing right, or something!
7. I read one tiny snippet on the internet about lack of food being a cause of gassy colic, so as above could the short grass and no hay, and reduced other meals be actually causing the problem.
8. If that was the case, would I be better just taking my chances with her normal field (10 acres, never fertilised so not lush but plenty to eat) or is that just asking for trouble? This is my main contradiction/confusion! Am I starving her into colic, or overfeeding her into it?? My gut tells me she cant possibly be gorging herself on the tiny ¼ acre bare patch she is on.
9. Coligone can you feed the liquid in feeds? I have been, but OH noticed the carton said not to. Would she be better on powder instead?
10. Time of day of turnout. Temporarily Ive cut her grass right back and making sure she eats loads of her soupy meals instead. My plan is to work towards her staying out overnight instead. Im also very very slowly trying her back on to hay, and if that works she can at least fill herself up a bit more on that, so she doesnt pig out so much once out at grass.
11. Any other remedies for gassy colic that work? Charcoal? Fennel seeds? Ive read US forums about people using Gas-x, which is an American human drug, the UK version seems to be windeze. Anyone actually tried this. Ive started adding dried mint to her feed as I happened to have some from when she was first ill and went off her food.
Ive never had to deal with colic before this horse, and before her injury she was so easy to keep, never suffered as a result of change to feed/routine/weather/exercise.

I am really unsure about what is the best course of action! Her foot is slowly getting better all the time, but she really needs a year in the field now hard to do if its going to cause colicAnything Im missing or not considering? Any suggestions or advice very very welcome!

I've had many prior episodes of gassy colic with my previous horse and two left splenic entrapment (left dorsal displacements, the second of which was the one I thought I'd lose her with as she was in so much pain.) The vet felt her colon sat a little higher than most horses so the slightest bit of gas from the grass elevated it and then it would get stuck between the gut wall and the spleen. All the other colics had been gassy colics. I strip graze religiously and am very careful about allowing much grass in other situations, at shows/fun rides/out hacking.

Since reading that water that is not changed frequently in the paddock can be a contributing factor of colic I had been scrubbing out and changing my horses water bucket every other day throughout spring and summer and had not one colic this year (before she was pts in June) or last year where usually I might have had two or three small gassy colics that I would have rectified by putting her on the walker (this was my vets usual advice). Usually with the gassy spasmodic colics I have just put her on the walker for 20 mins quite fast and the horse has recovered within that time but since the second entrapment I had been more worried than usual and not quite as blase.

So on the occasions I had the vet out they have all told me to withhold hay and feed until the next day (always been out in the evenings). It's not going to hurt the horse to withhold food for such a short period of time but then I've always been the type to go by the letter in respect of any treatment and rehab my vet has suggested!

I believe it allows the digestive system time to recover.

It will be interesting to see how Lari fares come the Spring but I think I will just strip graze as a precaution, especially as when he first came to me he had hamster cheeks after a few days out.

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johnpeter123

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My Shetland had a stomach ache last Sunday, and the veterinarian asked him to take him to a well-lit lawn, often with an open blanket to protect his weight.
 

Lois Lame

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... I might have had two or three small gassy colics that I would have rectified by putting her on the walker (this was my vets usual advice). Usually with the gassy spasmodic colics I have just put her on the walker for 20 mins quite fast and the horse has recovered within that time but since the second entrapment I had been more worried than usual and not quite as blase.

My riding instructor used to canter a colicking horse. It would usually defecate after a while, then be okay. I only ever saw this once, maybe twice, but it made me think that some brisk moving for this sort of colic might be answer.
 

Birker2020

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My riding instructor used to canter a colicking horse. It would usually defecate after a while, then be okay. I only ever saw this once, maybe twice, but it made me think that some brisk moving for this sort of colic might be answer.
Not sure that would be a good idea nowadays but what they would say for gassy colic is to keep the horse moving, a brisk go on the lunge or 20 mins on the walker at a good pace, if you know the horse well and you can assume 100% that it is gassy colic that it has.

But the problem is for other types of colic doing this could prove fatal. A colicky horse that has to have a surgical outcome in order to survive would get exhausted very quickly from any form of exercise to making it move would be counterproductive.

The old wives tale that you shouldn't let a horse roll when it has colic because it can cause a twisted gut has been debunked. It was incorrect information when a number of horses that had rolled were found with a twisted gut. It was just coincidence and the twisted gut wasn't caused by the rolling. The rolling was as a result of an already twisted gut.
 
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