Giving my horse Rennies?

katiieking

katiieking

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So I have a very chunky 17.2h gelding!

(You can see him on my blog under 'The Horse' section, he's the grey!)

Unfortunately, he does take colic sometimes, although always very mild! Stomach rumbling and paw stamping, or a very runny poo filled bed and it's all messed up in the morning!

However, my sister heard giving him Rennies will help keep it under control! So we gave it a try, and it got rid of his last case of stomach rumbles in less than 10minutes! He had two tablets!

So, my question is, has anyone used them before? And as far as I can find online, they arn't of any harm to horses, anyone any advice on this either way?

Thanks! :)
 
Our vet recommended using Acid-X herb treatment, however we found it didn't stop it, and was no use once his stomach did start to grumble! Hence why we were then advised Rennies by a horsey friend!
 
tallyho! said:
Have you thought about what may be giving him colic in the first place?
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Yeah, we've been through everything unfortunately! He's currently living outside and he's a lot better, he's still getting hard feed though, and his hard feed has never caused him an issue! (Whether living out or in!)

The main reason he colics is if he eats his haylage too quickly (he coughs something shocking on hay, and this makes his windsucking really bad!), we've done different things like putting the haylage on the floor, in small holed haynets, giving him it in small batches but he just wolfes it down anyway! It's not so bad when he's in the field, just the random grumble.

My issue is, the competition season is here and I want to have him inside a bit more to get him fitter and ready to compete, and I don't want to cause him any pain!
 
What is his hard feed?

I am starting to think that your horse is prone to it and whatever damage was caused long ago when wind sucking. Sounds like being out and moving is the key.
 
tallyho! said:
What is his hard feed?

I am starting to think that your horse is prone to it and whatever damage was caused long ago when wind sucking. Sounds like being out and moving is the key.
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He's on plain chaff (low molasses content) and a condition beet which is low sugar.

Oh we have no doubt that he is prone to it! :) But we just want to be able to cure the grumbling, as it's uncomfortable for him!

We have no issue with what is causing the colic, and we know that it's a life time condition. But the question is will Rennies (or similar stomach treatmeants to reduce gas) cause him any harm? I just want something that will help relieve any pain! :)
 
Horses produce stomach acid all the time, unlike humans that only do so when anticipating a meal. Using antacids isn't really going to help, assuming that the colic is caused by overly acidic stomach in the first place - which would be rare.

What have the vets said about it ?
 
Not sure about Rennies... But it is only calcium carbonate and Epsom salts essentially...

We had a colicky mare and started her on gastri-X by Hilton herbs. She was a lot better. You add it to feed as normal.
 
They can help neutralise it, yes - but tbh 2 rennies versus an entire horse stomach, which is constantly producing more acid, is highly unlikely to have any/much effect. If the colicky symptoms are because of gut spasm ( for whatever cause - diet, gas etc ) then something to soothe the spasm would be more beneficial.
 
saalsk said:
They can help neutralise it, yes - but tbh 2 rennies versus an entire horse stomach, which is constantly producing more acid, is highly unlikely to have any/much effect. If the colicky symptoms are because of gut spasm ( for whatever cause - diet, gas etc ) then something to soothe the spasm would be more beneficial.
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Ahh I see what you mean! Great thanks for the help! Will definately try and look into finding something along those lines :)
 
I read online that they could help with the issues associated with gastric ulcers which I suspected my boy may have, so tried him with a couple of tablets. They didn't seem to help much and he had an extremely loose poo about an hour later :/ Don't know if it was the rennies that caused it; I'm sure they work for some horses just not mine!
 
Forgot to add - I've started mine on a little brewer's yeast in his feed every day and that seems to have helped his gut as well as working as a calmer as he was getting very stressy!
 
I've been using Happy Tummy charcoal on two of mine, one who had colitis and the other had mild colicky symptoms and neither has had any further issues since being on the Happy Tummy. It might be worth you googling it and having a chat with the suppliers as they were very helpful when I spoke to them.
 
I give my colicky mare, who I also believe is prone to ulcers Aloe Vera juice which seems to help, I am also careful not to give her feeds which will encourge her to colic. Does Rennies contain renitidine? I think vwets do sometimes prescribe that for colic.
I didn't understand your bit about wanting to bring the horse in to get fit - you can certainly fitten from grass and that way the horse won't lose fitness whilst standing in.
 
Maybe try brewers yeast or yea sacc to improve gut health. I used to feed limestone flour which helped one with ulcer symptoms. Or look into other probiotic like protexin.
 
I have a horse with a very delicate tum that gets easily upset on spring grass - think it's probably long standing damage and hind gut problems. I have had great success feeding a couple of tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda (plus a tablespoon YeaSacc) when the grass is growing. The bicarb has a similar acid buffer effect to the Rennies, I think. Safe to feed too, and horse eats it happily in twice daily tiny feeds.
 
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