Sand clearout supplements - feeding suggestions please...

[Rudey]

My horses graze on sandy land. In the past I have used Sand Shifter as a clearout for them, and I am currently looking at just buying the pure psyllium husks (as advised on here previously about them).

As you may know, the product has to be added to a DRY feed. The feeding guidelines are 20g per 100kg of body weight. My two average around 500kg, and so that is 100g of yucky powder to try get down them.

Last time I had to feed them large amounts of chaff with garlic granules to try get it down them - lets just say they weren't overly keen!

I wondered if I could add anything more appertizing, bearing in mind it is not to be fed wet.

Suggestions would be appreciated please? xx

 

[Rudey]

Bump!

 

[TigerTail]

PSYLLIUM HUSK
Demulcent, mucilaginous. Pure, pharmaceutical grade psyllium husk. Our psyllium is the same main active ingredient used in many sand-removing supplements, but without the fillers, bran, pelleting agents, and ours is a lot more economical too! Psyllium is a main ingredient in our Gut Cleanse formula, with added herbs and biotech yeasts to assist its action and help soothe the gut as the sand is moved out.
Nutritionally supports: healthy normal digestive system, removal of sand, dirt, grit, undigested fibre and toxins from the gut.

http://thunderbrook.co.uk/individual-herbs/

 

[Archangel]

This is odd, I have always fed the husks in with normal wet feed, the horses don't know it is there (they would let me know). In humans even the powder (which can bulk out even more than the husks) should be mixed with liquid before taking. Perhaps I have been doing it wrong

I second Thunderbrook products, I think I should be on commission I rave on about them so much

 

[Rudey]

Thanks Tigertail and Rebel! I'm on my mobile, so I apologise to be short and sweet with my response.

The reason you feed Sand Shifter dry is because when wet it forms as a gel. Without looking I can't state the factual in's and out's, but it is fed dry so when it reaches the gut, it forms intoo a gel there? *shrugs* ???

The link Tigertail posted, states for their product to be fed as a warm mash.

Makes me wonder what the psyllium husks

 

[Rudey]

Stupid phone.... Was going to say, I wonder whether it would jave any effect either way on the psylliym husks I am looking at on ebay. Reading the desvription, it just says add to feed - not stating it to be dry or not. Hmmm.... Xx

 

[MCTM]

I have used SandOut and SandEx in the past - certainly I fed the SandEx dry (I think the Sand Out too). From memory they were small pellets and I never had any problem in getting my fussy mare to eat them. Despite using them as per the instructions she still got sand colic and had to be operated on (successfully) but I guess we were unlucky and nothing can be guaranteed to work 100%

 

[Rudey]

Oh my goodness, my typo's are appalling! :O Sorry!

MCTM, I'm sorry to hear even though preventative measures were in place, your horse still managed to suffer with sand colic. The worst type of colic I have ever seen that is for sure. Pleased to hear that your horse came out of the other side with surgery!

I have emailed the seller to double check how the product I am buying from them should be fed. I have trawled the internet on the dry wet issue, and I came across this...

Its basically a metamuscil for horses (it is an igrediant in metamuscil) and must be given to them dry as it expands inside the stomach becoming like a gel and colecting all the unwanted stuff like dirt that the horses cannot get out themselves. If given wet it actually causes colic in horses so must always be fed to them in dry feeds.

Reading down, somebody on there then said this....

Also i havnt had to try it yet but i was told to mix it in a small container with peanut butter, and make the mix into bite size balls/cookies- they love the taste and its dry so it dosnt make it swell. Not to mention even if they relise once its in there mouth its very hard to spit it out! (Thats what they used to put on the roof of MR ED's mouth to make him look like he was speaking)

and...

So to get the last bit into them i mixed it with peanut butter, i just got a large jar of home brand smooth peanut butter and mixed it by hand. It was a bit messy at first but once i got the consistancy right i rolled them into balls (one each). Id been feeding them peanut butter for a few days on bits of bread and carrots so they got the taste - which they LOVE! They ate the psyllium mixed balls in seconds and were looking for more. So problem solved! They get there dose in a cost effective way and they think there getting yummy treats!

That might be worth bearing in mind if I do have a hard time of it again! I did also start thinking about a spearmint supplement - perhaps the mint smell and taste would entice them to eat it? xx