straw consumption causing colic

[siennamum]

My mare is currently eating a lot of straw. It is doing my head in as she gets lots of hay, but eats it all and a lot of her bed. I am tempted to change to shavings, simply because the amount of straw worries me in case it causes colic. She will be getting more hay, I am changing to Rye as I think the timothy hay she is on this year isn't filling her up, but it has made me wonder.

How many people have experience of a horse getting colic from eating straw? I haven't - I wonder if it is as commonplace as we might think from all the dire warnings about straw eating.

 

[Izzwizz]

You are right to be concerned, a horse on our yard a couple of years ago died from colic after eating her bed. If I were you I would be changing to shavings to set your mind at rest....

 

[siennamum]

You are right to be concerned, a horse on our yard a couple of years ago died from colic after eating her bed. If I were you I would be changing to shavings to set your mind at rest....

arggh, you've single handedly made my mind up. She's been eating her bed in moderation for years, but this year it is ridiculous. Maybe just that the straw is particularly tasty.

 

[siennamum]

This is interesting though as it seems they really like to eat their beds even if they are on shavings:
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestr...and-eating-patterns-horses-straw-and-shavings

 

[Izzwizz]

I know that some people do feed straw to their horses and maybe some are ok on it, but the poor horse on our yard was very ill and sadly she died before they could save her. She was found to have a big blockage and part of her gut had died. Very very sad.

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

I have fed my TB straw mixed in with hay for the past three years and she has been fine. Her teeth are in excellent condition but I probably would not feed an oldie with poor teeth though.

 

[thatsmygirl]

Iv never had any problems with horses eatting straw. Am I being thick but what's the difference between them eatting straw bed and eatting a lot off chaff which is mainly chopped up straw anyway? Genuine question as I'm a bit dim at times

 

[honetpot]

Part of my ponies diet is made up of straw and I have done this for nearrly 15 years. I prefer this years clean barley but I have one mare who would eat it off the muck heap given half a chance.
I have never had a problem but they are out 24/7, have haylage as well and if its really dry and there's not much grass to pick at they get soaked sugarbeet or grass nuts.
I think the problem comes when you put a greedy or hungrey horse in a stable and they binge on it. I can not think were I read it but some horses can eat up to 1.5kg of shavings a night.
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestr...and-eating-patterns-horses-straw-and-shavings This is not the study but it does suggest its better for them to eat straw than shavings!

 

[doratheexplorer]

In Germany all horses are fed straw, I assume it is probably treated differently to bog standard bedding straw we have in the UK, but they all survive!

B eats his straw bed, not at a great rate, but normally takes a few mouthsfulls when he first gets in - dim creature!!

 

[TelH]

My mini Shettie had colic, it happened the same night she had eaten a lot of her straw bed. The vet said it was 'very possible' that the straw had caused it so I changed her to shavings. I have another pony who eats huge amounts of his bed if he is on straw too. It never did him any harm but I changed him to shavings too, better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Jesstickle]

I have fed oat straw mixed with hay lots of times quite deliberately and never suffered any unpleasant side affects. I think it's useful for horses that do a bit too well!

BH used to eat about half his bed every night when he was on straw. He was fine but I changed him off it as he was always carrying a big gut about after eating a huge haynet and half a bale of straw every night. Plus I hated having to bed up every single day!

 

[Bethie]

My TB had an impaction colic thought to be caused by him eating straw one New Years Eve, that was a fun night... He was eating a lot of straw at the time and its the one and only time he's ever colicked. Having said that, that is one horse on one night out of hundreds that I know/have known bedded on straw and I still bed him on straw now, although he did grow out of eating the stuff eventually. I also have a fatty native that I'm quite happy to feed straw to as a filler.

 

[dafthoss]

Mine has it mixed in with his forage at night never had a problem he eats much less now than when he used to trash his bed before moving on to his hay (very nice hay from that year tried a few diffrent fields but it made no diffrence he still had a taste for straw).

 

[Kellys Heroes]

Ours eats half her bed of a night costs a fortune!!
Have never known it to cause colic from personal experience.
K x

 

[Snowysadude]

Mine eats most of a new bale every time its added.... over his very nice expensive haylage! Hes never coliced. However was looking after a horse on boxrest who ate most of his straw and he coliced on it whilst owners were abroad - the vet said it can cause colic but usually its more due to the fact that its dry and like having dry hay can cause impaction when horse is not moving around. Said horse is always on boxrest but never coliced whilst on shavings, when boxrested for a year!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I've had 2 mares get colic from eating straw.
The first time, for some reason she decided that the hay was unpalatable, even though no-one else thought so and stuffed herself with wheat straw. She needed a Sunday vet visit, gallons of liquid paraffin (which mum had to queue at the emergency chemist's for) and was then absolutely fine.
More recently, we were feeding the Westphalian (and her companions) on barley straw as well as hay to aid weight loss. She got (very mild) colic twice. The 2nd time vet agreed with us that it was probably caused by the straw, so now we use different tactics to get rid of the weight.
I would be surprised if just eating a bit of bed after finishing the ration of hay caused colic, tbh.

 

[Holly Hocks]

Ok, so today I've been out and bought some oat straw chaff - no molasses added - just oat straw chaff......what's the difference between this and them eating the bedding? Have I just wasted money again? When I was much younger all the chaff was just chopped straw!

 

[JFTDWS]

mine are fed straw - normally barley but sometimes wheat. Cut with decent forage when they need it.

 

[Mince Pie]

Mine eat straw and I've never had any problems. I think as long as they chew it properly it's fine, besides as Holly Hocks said, most cheap chaffs these days are predominately chopped straw.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

My mare ate straw and got compacted colic.

late night call out from the vet cost nearly 100 pounds she had two large bottles of liquid paraffin and pain killers and loads worry to boot. NEVER GO THERE AGAIN.

Personally I would not take the risk you might go weeks months years ok then that dreadful day when you lose them. I wont use straw again

ATEOTD


if you bed them on straw there is always that 50/50 chance they will get colic and you lose them
. Bed them on shavings no risk.
that surmises it enough for me.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Ok, so today I've been out and bought some oat straw chaff - no molasses added - just oat straw chaff......what's the difference between this and them eating the bedding? Have I just wasted money again? When I was much younger all the chaff was just chopped straw!

I think that chaff should be fine as it is chopped short, whereas if it is fed from the bale it is long and the horse has to either bite it into short pieces or digest longer pieces within the gut. I'm seriously considering getting some oat straw chaff for mine which has colicked from eating long barley straw in the past. Mind you I'm in 2 minds as I'd never forgive myself if it made her ill. We've had enough disasters without causing one ourselves! But then I really DON'T want her standing in the stable with nothing to eat for any length of time either, decisions, decisions!

 

[Holly Hocks]

I think that chaff should be fine as it is chopped short, whereas if it is fed from the bale it is long and the horse has to either bite it into short pieces or digest longer pieces within the gut. I'm seriously considering getting some oat straw chaff for mine which has colicked from eating long barley straw in the past. Mind you I'm in 2 minds as I'd never forgive myself if it made her ill. We've had enough disasters without causing one ourselves! But then I really DON'T want her standing in the stable with nothing to eat for any length of time either, decisions, decisions!

I hope so - it's the oat straw by www.honeychop.com. Surely they're not selling something that is known to cause colic??? It's very fine and very soft, so I'm hoping mine are still standing up in the morning!!

 

[SpottedCat]

I actively seek out feed with straw in it because long fibres are so good for horses - and help prevent splash ulcers. For the same reason I also prefer timothy haylage over rye grass, because rye is mostly leaf.

I've just swapped back to bedding on straw and love it! (Apart from the smell of my coat after mucking out).

 

[Mancha]

My horse wouldn't dream of eating straw he's enough of a hay snob as it is Horses at work don't eat it either so personally never known it to cause problems, if i had a horse that was eating large amounts i must admit i'd be tempted to either change to shavings or mix fresh straw under old etc. A yard i used to work at fed such little hay that horses were so hungry they ate most of their beds aswell, none of them coliced but they didn't look well on it and it doesn't do their respiratory systems any good either!