Common causes of Horse Colic.
1. Inadequate water intake
Horses need gallons of water a day, often more than 8 gallons. Depending on the grazing diet, exercise level and ambient temperature, you may need to raise the water supply considerably. Plenty of fresh clean water.
2. Onset of sudden feed changes
It is vitally important to make changes in grain supplements, over a period of 7-10 days. Care is needed,as many people do not know that hay can do just as much damage. Even though you may feed the same kind of hay, hay grown in two different locations will have different levels of sugar, starch and protein. Its important to know also the type of soil that you have on your land.
3. Overfeeding on grain
Most horses these days are fed way too much grain, out of convenience. Grains are low in fiber and high in starch. A horse has a limited ability to digest starch due to their digestive system which is designed to graze and digest grasses and plant material. Any sugars and starches that are not digested from grain, end up in the bowel, where they can cause major problems. Sugars and starches can create gas in bowel and bloating contributes to horse colic development.
4. Inadequate worming program
Worm infestation in horses are high on the list as a cause for horse colic. That is why it is so important to set your horse on a regular worming schedule. There are even companies on the internet that can help you with your worming schedule.
5. Lack of exercise
Regular exercise promotes intestinal mobility, as the horse moves, the bowel content gets broken up and mobilised. Also a horse that exercises consumes more water to lubricate and rehydrate regularly, thus also helping the bowels. A horse that is kept stalled all the time is an accident waiting to happen.
Horse colic is a preventable condition, one which has claimed many horses lives. Our aim is to help horse owners become more aware of the resources available to them to improve equine health related matter such as horse colic.
This article was submitted from Anthony Monteith who is a member of the Horse-Colic information blog. He is involved with his wife in the development of a retreat and treatment center for horses and horse owners in Ireland, called 'Shanto'. He has been involved with natural horsemanship methods and practices equine health related disciplines, such as equine massage. Please offers your comment, experience and view points about horse colic by visiting our info blog
http://www.horse-colic.info
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anthony_Monteith
1 comment:
The term colic is not, in itself, a specific diagnosis of what is wrong with the horse. Colic is merely a term for horses suffering abdominal pain. Read it more here.
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