Your horse’s immune system

Your horse’s immune system

Mar 10, 2020 | Horse health

YOUR HORSE’S IMMUNE SYSTEM

We all know that without an efficiently working immune system your horse will be exposed to all manner of health issues.  So, in this blog we’ll look at what the Immune system is and how you can optomise it.

Your Horse’s Immune System – What is it?

An immune response is simply the ability to mount an effective defence against malignancies and invading micro-organisms by producing immunoglobulins (antibodies).

According to Ian Tizard, PhD, BSc, BVMS, MRCVS, who authored the book, Veterinary Immunology, An Introduction, the basic requirements of an immune system include four components:

  • A method of trapping and processing antigens
  • A mechanism for reacting specifically to the specific antigen (becoming antigen-sensitive)
  • Cells to produce antibodies or to participate in the cell-mediated immune response
  • Cells to retain memory of the event and to react specifically to the antigen in future encounters

When Boosting Your Horse’s Immune System Matters

Just like us, your horse’s immune system becomes less competent with age. Also, weanlings, young horses, stress, and poor condition can also negatively impact the immune system. This in turn makes them more vulnerable to disease and infections.

Significantly, supporting the immune system is vital to those with specific health issues or equine athletes whose bodies are constantly put under stress from competition or travelling. Even weather changes can also stress your horse’s immune system, so you want to be especially careful of management strategies during these times.

Gut Health to Boost Your Horse’s Immune System

Considering that 70% of your horse’s immune system is in his GI tract, the immune system itself is directly affected by the health of the digestive system. Several other organs such as the thymus gland and the bone marrow, are the sites where white blood cells are produced. Others, including the spleen, lymph nodes, and liver, trap microorganisms and foreign substances. They provide a place for immune system cells to collect, interact with each other and with foreign substances, and generate an immune response.

Nutritional Support

The nutrients most associated in immune health are antioxidants, micro and macro minerals, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids (particularly Omega 3) and glutamine.  However, there must be an overall balance of all nutrients when it comes to good immune health.

Antioxidants

Vitamin E, vitamin C, selenium and beta-carotene – the precursor to vitamin A, all have a positive effect on the immune system.

Macro And Micro Minerals

Micro-minerals include such elements as zinc, copper, cobalt, and manganese. While macro-minerals include calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

Omega 3 And 6 Fatty Acids

Studies show that both fatty acids, more so Omega 3, play a role in the immune function of clinically normal horses.

Glutamine

Glutamine is an amino acid. The immune system needs to receive an adequate supply of L-glutamine to protect against illness and potential tissue damage. L-glutamine deficits can result in:

  • diarrhea
  • atrophy of intestinal villi
  • mucosal ulceration in the stomach and colon
  • increased intestinal permeability
  • necrosis
  • digestive complications
  • poor nutrient absorption

Gut Support for Your Horse’s Immune System.

A combination of both MOS & FOS prebiotics is a powerful tool when it comes to supporting your horse’s immune health.

MOS 

MOS (mannanoligosaccharide) contains high levels of beta-glucans.  These are shown to support a healthy immune system and may increase its reaction capacity. MOS itself enhances immunoglobulin production during gestation. This improves the quality of the colostrum and the transfer of immunity from the mare to foal at birth.

FOS Prebiotic

Short-chain  FOS (fructooligosaccharides) are selectively fermented by some bacteria in the intestinal microbiota.  By providing beneficial bacteria with a good source of food they can strengthen the immune system.

Nucleotides

Nucleotides are the building blocks of RNA and DNA molecules in the horse’s body. Research has shown that all horses and ponies can benefit from the inclusion of additional nucleotides in their diet.  However,  performance horses or those with health issues have the greatest requirement.

The cell regeneration process is accelerated with Nucleotides.  Cell regeneration allows an animal to recover much quicker from the type of stress it is under (performance, illness, disease, injury, etc.).

Most pertinently to immune health, Nucleotides also assist with the activation and proliferation of lymphocytes. They help these white blood cells perform their primary function.  ie. produce antibodies to attack invading pathogens and destroy cells already invaded by microbes. Keeping these cells functioning properly ensures that the horse’s immune system is actively warding off potential threats.

How Do Fibregenix Balancer Supplements Help Boost Your Horse’s Immunity?

Fibregenix contains immune-boosting nutrients, all in a highly bioavailable form. Bioavailability is really important, because it’s a measure of how well an ingredient is absorbed and utilised by the horse.

Alongside the all-important key antioxidants, (Vitamins A, C, E and selenium) there’s a full range of chelated trace minerals. Digestible protein supplying all the required amino acids has also been added.  Another highly important component of Fibregenix is the gut health supplements.  These consist of Purified Nucleotides and MOS & FOS prebiotics. All this means that a Fibregenix balancer supplement will provide your horse with everything needed for a healthy immune system.

Whether your horse is a seasoned performer, a veteran, a youngster or just in need of boosted immune support, Fibregenix is instrumental in taking your horse’s immune health to another level.  In fact, many of our customers have noticed how quickly their horses recover from illness or even avoid illnesses or viral issues where other horses in the same yard are struggling.

So don’t take any chances with your horse’s health.  Just let Fibregenix do the hard yards for you.

Reviewed and amended Feb 2022

Helpful guide to cut cost | not care

Helpful guide to cut cost | not care

Feb 14, 2020 | General feeding practices

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Owning horses – How to Cut Cost not Care

Every year, prolonged drought conditions around Australia compounded with bushfires or floods, keep horse feed prices soaring. Owning horses is at an all-time high, leading to some tough choices. But with a little planning and tweaking, there are some ways to help reduce those spiralling costs.  The key, of course, is to ensure you’re not compromising your horse’s health and welfare. So, here is a guide to help cut cost, not care when owning horses.

  1. Agistment / location

If your horse is on agistment it’s one of your biggest expenses.  Here are a couple of ways to consider saving on your bill.

  • Review the facilities you’re paying for and check you need them all. If you’re paying for someone else to provide all or part of your horse’s day-to-day care, you could reduce costs if you did more yourself, even on a temporary basis.
  • Look for suitable grass agistment or rent a paddock, which can be even cheaper if it’s shared. Just remember you’ll need to consider if this offers suitable facilities e.g. water supply, electricity, shelter, secure fencing, storage, the amount of grazing and the quality of the grass.  Try and put in place a paddock maintenance programme which could help ensure you have adequate grazing all year round.

  1. Feeding to cut cost, not care

Are you unnecessarily over-feeding your horse? Could he do better on less feed? Two important points to note here are:

  • The vast majority of horses manage very well on a forage-based diet and a Fibregenix horse supplement balancer if necessary. (Check out our Fibregenix range) Your vet or nutritionist can advise whether your horse really needs additional feed depending on their nutritional requirements.
  • Fortnightly weigh taping and body condition scoring (fat scoring) will help you monitor your horse’s weight fluctuations and prevent obesity. Horse weigh tapes aren’t completely accurate, but they do give an indication of the weight and are useful for monitoring.  NOTE: Weigh tapes aren’t effective for donkeys so use a heart-girth measurement instead.

  1. Bedding

We have a lot more choice these days when it comes to bedding. So do your research to find the best and most affordable options for you and your horse.

  • Despite the initial outlay, rubber matting can help you get the most out of your bedding and reduce costs.
  • Muck out wet and manure regularly to maximise your bedding and protect against ill health.

  1. Horse share

Sharing your horse with someone else can reduce costs in all areas.  However, there are two vital things to remember when considering horse share:

  • Signing an agreement and setting expectations with a sharer is vital to ensure you’re both happy.
  • Don’t agree to anything you aren’t comfortable or happy with. Best to get your agreement checked by a qualified legal advisor.

  1. Working together to cut cost, not care

If you share a yard with other people, why not club together to save money and time?  Consider these cost-cutting ideas:

  • Many feed, forage and bedding suppliers offer reduced rates if they can deliver in bulk.
  • Ask your vets, farriers and other professionals if they can reduce rates for group visits.
  • Save fuel by sharing transport wherever you can, or consider if it’s safe and possible to walk or cycle to the yard.
  • Share daily duties, e.g. one of you doing the morning duties and another doing the evenings. This will save time, money and fuel.

 Owning Horses and Routine preventative health care 

Prevention is always better than cure so there are some simple protocols to follow if you really want to cut cost, not care.

  • Have the fundamentals in place and it should save costs associated with preventable disease later on.
  • Discuss worming, dental checks and feeding routines with your vet to ensure you’re applying the most effective and economical regimes for your horse.  Eg Getting faecal egg counts done can save on expensive worming strategies.

  1. Farriery

  • Don’t delay trimming and keep to a regular foot hygiene regime, even if your horse is unshod.
  • Discuss shoeing options with your farrier. Depending on workload or health status, your horse may not need to have a full set of shoes. If there isn’t much wear on your horse’s shoes, your farrier can usually refit them.

  1. Resist marketing and over-supplementing to cut cost, not care

Think carefully about what your horse really needs to keep him happy and healthy. Does he really need all those supplements? Is there some way you could consolidate these into one product? Take a look at a Fibregenix horse supplement balancer to see how it can save dollars in the long-term.

  • Don’t overload on unnecessary supplements, rugs or equipment. Does your horse really need 20 plus rugs or the latest ‘matchy-matchy’ set? There’s plenty of good quality second-hand equipment out there.
  • Look after your existing equipment so it lasts longer. Making sure you spend money on necessary equipment at the right time can save you money in the long term.

  1. False economies

There are some things you just shouldn’t compromise on when owning horses. Short-term savings that may affect the quality of your horse’s care and welfare will just cause you more problems in the long term.

  • Proper veterinary care: DO NOT be tempted to diagnose and treat conditions yourself. ALWAYS seek veterinary guidance if there’s a problem. Most vets can give you basic advice over the phone.  Discuss disease prevention with your vet and yard owner to ensure suitable procedures are in place.
  • Vaccinations: Lapsed vaccinations leave your horse vulnerable to disease.
  • Regular hoof care: Taking shoes off to save money without consulting your farrier or vet could lead to lameness and additional expense.
  • Worming and dental checks: These essentials can be reviewed, as outlined above – but not avoided. Getting faecal egg counts done can be an easy way to save on the cost of expensive wormers.
  • Professional services: Don’t use a cheaper, unqualified person to do a professional’s job.
  • Keep up with repairs to damaged property and equipment.  These are vital to safeguard your horse’s safety and security and avoid unnecessary vet bills.
  • Insurance: If you’re not insured against veterinary fees, you must be confident that you have enough money for an unexpected bill.  Third-party liability cover is highly advisable for all horse owners, as claims for accident or injury to people have been known to run into millions of dollars.

  1. Be realistic

Look ahead and budget effectively to meet your horse’s needs.  Remember, horse care costs can increase in the dry months when there’s no grazing and you have to start paying for hay. So be prepared for this if taking a horse on in the winter when there’s usually more green pick available. Ideally, put a little money away every month or when you can, so you’re prepared if an unforeseen circumstance arises.  Not having a contingency plan can greatly reduce the options available to you once the problem has become too overwhelming to ignore.

Reviewed and amended Feb 2022

Biosecurity at competition venues

Biosecurity at competition venues

Feb 14, 2020 | Horse health

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Follow these top tips for Horse Biosecurity Management at shows to keep your horse healthy and safe

How up to speed are you with Horse Biosecurity management at competition venues? The Show season is cranking up and many of you will be heading out with your equine athletes.  You may even be staying over for one or more nights. But how are you going to keep your horse free from potential disease when you get there?

It’s something we so often take for granted.  Therefore, being aware of how easily viruses are transmitted and taking a few precautions before, during and after travel, can make all the difference.

I remember taking two of my horses to a National Breed Show where they were stabled for two nights.  Within a week of returning home, both my horses came down with a severe respiratory cough and snot nose virus.  They were off work for weeks but had been perfectly healthy prior to this.  After that, I always made it a priority to disinfect the show stables they were in.  And this was before I even got them off the truck.

Before you leave

Ensure your horse’s vaccinations are up to date. If not, get them done in plenty of time before the season begins – strangles and tetanus are the standard.  However, if your horse is a seasoned campaigner that spends a lot of time away/interstate, consider influenza and rhinopneumonitis.

Keep sick horses at home. Watch for signs of fever, nasal discharge and diarrhea before you leave.

Horse Biosecurity Management At the Show

Wash your hands frequently! Just as you would during cold and flu season. Consider carrying handy disinfectant gel or wipes to use not only for your hands but also on surfaces you often touch.

Limit exposure. Don’t allow horses to have nose-to-nose contact. Limit the general public’s contact with your horses and your contact with other horses. If possible, request stables with solid walls high enough so horses can’t touch noses over the top.  Preferably without any gaps or cracks in the walls. If open-sided stables are unavoidable, consider requesting a stable on an end or outside wall.  Consider covering open walls with carefully-secured tarps.

Keep Your Distance! Horse shows are known to be great social occasions. Unfortunately, even the most innocent and friendly interactions can present a danger to your horse’s health.  Avoid strangers and keep your horse a safe distance away from others. Avoid grazing in common areas.

In and Around the Stables

Clean and disinfect stables at show facilities. You’ll be keen to unload horses and equipment as soon as possible after a long journey. But how do you know the health status of the horse that last used the stable you’ve been assigned? Disease’s unseen pathogens aren’t only waiting to find a new host in your horse.  They’re also happy to hitch a ride home and infect stablemates. Worryingly, disease pathogens in saliva and respiratory secretions can remain on dirt floors, walls and doors for extended time periods.  Spray-on commercial disinfectants are readily available and the best choice. Diluted bleach is an inexpensive disinfectant but works best on a surface that’s been thoroughly cleaned.

Mind those sharp edges! Thoroughly inspect the stable area for loose nails, debris and any other dangers to your horse’s physical safety.

No Sharing! Don’t share feed and water buckets, hay bags, grooming tools, tacks, or mucking out equipment. Disinfect these items frequently and after arriving home from an event. Use only your own feed and water buckets. Label them with each horse’s name and don’t use them for any other horse to avoid cross-contamination.

Use special caution with water sources. Don’t fill buckets or allow a horse to drink from a communal water tank. Always use your own hose. If a shared hose can’t be avoided, don’t submerge the end or nozzle in your horse’s bucket. Alarmingly, one of the easiest conduits for strangles to move from stable to stable is through a shared water hose.

Horse Biosecurity Management When you get home

Keep up your Biosecurity management at home. Upon returning home wash your hands, shower, and change clothing and shoes before working with horses kept at home. Any horse in a public environment can pick up a pathogen and incubate an illness for several days.  This can happen whilst not showing any outward symptoms. Ideally, every horse who goes to a show should be segregated from others for at least a week…  After a competition, monitor horses for any developing signs of illness. This can be a cough, nasal discharge, lethargy, decreased appetite or elevated temperature. Finally, be sure to wash all the clothes and equipment before coming into contact with other horses.

Look after your horse’s immune system.  Ensuring your horse has a healthy and strong immune system can go towards protecting him and can certainly help with his recovery if he does succumb to an infection.  Fibregenix feed balancers focus on optimising your horse’s gut health, where 70% of the horse’s immune system is. Additionally, a Fibregenix balancer is chock full of antioxidants which are also key to a healthy immune system.

In summary, the healthier the horse, the stronger will be his resistance to infection. Horse Biosecurity management at shows is a valid and worthwhile practice to follow.  There’s nothing more soul-destroying than having your competition horse out for the season because a few simple protocols weren’t undertaken.

Reviewed and amended April 2021

Locking stifle problems

Locking stifle problems

Feb 11, 2020 | Horse health

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Locking Stifle

Similar to the human knee, a horse’s stifle joints are like hinges—some of the largest in a horse’s skeletal system.  Locking stifle problems can occur when a stifle joint becomes ‘locked’ due to overstraining or genetic joint problems. When the patella (kneecap) is unable to ‘unlock’, it means the patella is fixed in an upwards position. Be warned, a horse can panic when this happens, so it’s vital you stay calm and confident.Stifle diagram

Causes

Locking Stifle is most common in ponies, foals and horses that are unfit, although the precise cause is still unknown. However, what we do know is that there are several contributing factors.  These include :

  • poor conformation
  • lack of muscle strength in the hindquarters,
  • hereditary conditions

 

 

Signs of a Locking Stifle

Locking stifle can vary in its severity. If your horse has a mild case, he may simply trip or stumble every now and again.  More severe cases can result in him being unable to flex a hindleg and having to drag the offending limb. Don’t mistake a locked stifle for stringhalt. This neurological disease causes exaggerated and uncontrollable movement, sometimes making your horse jerk its hind leg up high while stepping.

Your vet can help you determine if any of the following signs indicate your horse has a locking stifle:

  • dragging hind feet (maybe showing wear on the toe)
  • reluctance to pick up feet
  • resistance to moving on a circle
  • kicking out for no apparent reason
  • hopping
  • resistance to cantering or cross canters
  • swinging hind-leg to the outside while moving
  • frequent stumbling or even falling

Prevention & Treatment Options for Locking Stifle

There are several treatment options. Whilst surgery is currently the only cure, there are options to help reduce the risk of an episode.

  • Generally helping to improve muscle tone, particularly in the quadriceps, will help to support the surrounding joints.
  • Trail Riding – increasing the distance and speed very slowly and over several weeks, will help a horse achieve its fitness level in a safe way.
  • Exercise over cavalletti’s (raised trotting poles) is a great way to help improve muscle strength and suppleness.
  • Lungeing your horse or hill work eg riding it on a slight incline so that it drives with its hindquarters also makes for safe training when done in small, slightly increased intervals.
  • Feeding a high-quality joint supplement should also help. This will aid good joint health, as well as promoting the health of the soft tissues surrounding the joints.

Remember: Always discuss your strategy thoroughly with your vet before beginning any training regime.

A Liquid Solution providing Additional Help for Locking Stifle…

Fibregenix Joint & Bone RLF contains key ingredients to help nourish and protect joints.  These include Glucosamine, Hyaluronic Acid, organic MSM and Rosa canina (rosehip). An additional benefit is the cutting-edge bone supplement of Calcium chelate and Vitamin D3.

The specific Ingredients in Joint & Bone RLF that assist with managing locking stifle:

  • Organic MSM helps to provide the building blocks for protein, which are vital for tendon and ligament strength.
  • Rosehip can aid the reduction of swelling within a joint. This may occur as a result of a locking stifle due to the joint being put under excess pressure.

Conclusion

Locking stifle is a problem that with the right approach can be managed and mitigated.  It’s important you start slowly, avoid overworking your horse, and thoroughly discuss your strategy with a vet before beginning any new training regime.

Always consult with your vet if you have any concerns about the way your horse is moving.

Reviewed and amended April 2021

Understanding colic

Understanding colic

Jan 16, 2020 | Digestive health

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Understanding Horse Colic 

 

Understanding colic and knowing how diet management can help prevent it is fundamental for your horse’s health. Furthermore, today’s surgical advances have made it a viable option for some, with improved recovery rates compared to 10 years ago. However, it’s still the nightmare of every horse owner as it remains the leading medical cause of death in horses. Colic is loosely defined as abdominal pain and may range from mild to life-threatening. It can fall into a variety of categories, depending on the specific underlying cause.

Understanding Horse Colic – 4 Common Types

Impaction – caused by a blockage in the intestine
Spasmodic – Characterised by increased intestinal contractions
Tympanic (gaseous) – A build-up of gas in the intestine
Sand – Inflammation or blockage of the intestine resulting from ingested sand

Understanding colic symptoms – what are they?

  • Sweating
  • Kicking or biting at the stomach
  • Lying down or rolling repeatedly
  • Uncomfortable, reluctance to eat
  • Reduced or no passing of droppings
  • Lack of gut noises
  • Excessive gut noises/gurgling.

IMPORTANT: If you suspect that your horse has colic, contact your vet straight away.

Understanding colic risk factors

1. Meal Size

Larger meals move more quickly through the digestive system meaning the horse is less able to fully utilise the feed.  This increases the risk of starch and sugars over-spilling into the hindgut. For this reason, you should limit your horse’s meal size to 0.4kg per 100kg bodyweight.

2. Dietary Changes

When it comes to understanding colic, dietary change is the strongest and most consistently reported risk factor. These can be changes in batch or type of forage or concentrate.  Management changes, eg stabling and turnout time.  Quantity and frequency of feeding – all can be associated with an increased risk.

The risk is significantly higher two weeks after a change in forage and/or concentrate feed.  And with multiple changes in either throughout the year, it increases the risk further.

Adapting to a new concentrate or forage feed, is now thought to take a minimum of three weeks. Particularly if there’s a significant difference in the protein, starch and/or sugar level. As such, it’s recommended you make feed changes slowly over 2 – 4 weeks to reduce the challenge to the gut.

3. High Levels of Cereals or High Starch Feeds

Feeding your horse more than 5kg of concentrates per day has been associated with a greater than 6 times increase in colic risk.  This includes diets containing more than 2.7kg of oats. Unfortunately, horses on high starch or cereal diets are often further compromised by having less than ideal forage intake.  Additionally, they may have restricted turnout time and undergo higher levels of exercise.

Cooking cereals by micronisation or extrusion gelatinises the starch content.  This is said to improve utilisation in the foregut which reduces the risk of undigested starch entering the hindgut.

4. Forage

It’s generally found that a recent change in forage is more harmful than a recent change in grain or concentrate.  This is probably because forage represents the largest part of the diet. There’s also, unsurprisingly, an increased risk associated with forage of poorer nutritional and hygienic quality, along with limited grazing.

5. Hydration Levels

Dehydration is one of the most common causes of colic for horses that are travelling and working hard. Dehydration compromises the bacterial population, normal gut function and motility, which emphasises the importance of electrolyte supplementation in working horses.

Understanding horse colic risk periods

Changes in management tend to occur simultaneously with the seasons, typically autumn and spring. This is when the risk of colic may be increased. A  change in forage (grass/hay/haylage) can increase the risk most significantly,  Therefore it’s important that you’re aware of practices that can help reduce this:

Spring

Typically a time of transition from hay/haylage to grass, which represents a major change in moisture and fibre levels. The fibre content in spring grass is much lower than in hay or haylage. This makes it a major change for the horse’s digestive system to cope with.

  • Introduce to spring pasture slowly and/or increase turnout time gradually.
  • Continue to offer hay/haylage in the paddock.  Alternatively, bring the horse in for a few hours with access to hay/haylage to boost fibre intake levels.

Autumn/winter

Similarly to spring, the main consideration is a change in moisture content, as well as a change in nutrient levels.

  •  Again, the main defence is to make the forage changeover gradual.  Where possible, it should ideally be over 3 – 4 weeks.
  • Damping hay will ease the transition from grass, with its high moisture content, to hay with low moisture content. With haylage – this may be less of a concern as the moisture content is higher than that of hay.
  • The grass will always provide significantly more nutrients than hay/haylage.  So you need to be aware of this and make changes over a long period of time.

General Feeding Recommendations

  • If you’re feeding cereals, only use cooked cereals.  Preferably micronised or extruded to make their starch content more digestible. Oats are the exception as they’re generally fed “raw” and they’re easily chewed. Their simpler starch structure is also more easily digested than other cereals.
  • Make any dietary changes slowly over 2 – 4 weeks.
  • Feed plenty of fibre. Fibre helps maintain a healthy microbial population and pushes out any excess gas which sits in the gut. It also increases pH of hindgut compared to starch and retains water which will reduce incidence of dehydration.
  • Keep meal sizes small.
  • Where possible, keep starch and sugar levels low.
  • Feed digestive enhancers eg  those found in Fibregenix balancers, during high-risk periods.

Feeding Recommendations – Tympanic (gaseous) Colic

  • Hay is preferable over haylage products which, like grass, ferments more quickly in the hindgut producing more gas.
  • Take care with access to spring or rich pasture.
  • Avoid long spells of inactivity and keep your horse moving to encourage gut motility. Exercise and turnout on poorer grazing, so he has to move about to “search” for grass.
  • Where possible, provide ad-lib forage. Keeping the fibre moving through the gut helps to remove gas.
  • For good-doers, divide the hay into small rations throughout the day to keep forage passing through. Small-holed nets will extend eating time and keep the horse moving/foraging.
  • Avoid feeds that ferment more quickly and therefore produce more gas in the gut. Feed meadow hay – not too soft and green but also not too stalky and fibrous – instead of haylage.

Feeding Recommendations – Impaction Colic

  • With any sort of impaction colic, dental health is always an essential consideration. This can’t always be helped, particularly with the older horse. So make sure that any fibre sources you feed your golden oldie are easy to manage.
  • Another contributing factor can be a lack of water intake/moisture in the diet. Monitor this by using buckets in preference to automatic feeders. This can be of particular concern during the winter when horses tend to drink less.
  • Plenty of water and physical movement (e.g. turnout and/or exercise) helps to promote gut motility, keeping things moving.
  • If feeding hay, ensure it’s soft and digestible. Haylage can be an option as it’s typically more digestible. Grass is the most suitable forage as it’s the most digestible of all.

Understanding horse colic and feeding after colic surgery

If major resections have occurred, the subsequent diet should take account of the remainder of the gut.  Therefore the feeding regime depends on the type of surgery performed. If less than 50% of the small intestine is removed, usually no special requirements are necessary. However, the site of the surgery in the hindgut and amount of gut removed influences the choice of diet.

For hindgut resection:

  • As the hindgut is primarily responsible for fibre digestion, if it’s been compromised, forage and pasture must be of good quality.  So choose soft leafy earlier cut hay, which is easier to digest, rather than coarser later cut.
  • If necessary, provide additional good quality fibre sources in a separate bucket as forage alternatives.
  • Feed the recommended amount of an appropriate compound feed or Fibregenix balancer to provide a fully balanced diet.
  • Bacteria in the hindgut are the horse’s principal producers of B vitamins. Colic and/or surgery are likely to compromise the microbial population and therefore the supply of these important vitamins. Supplementing with a probiotic and prebiotic can help restore the bacterial balance.  A Fibregenix balancer is ideal as it contains superior forms of pre and probiotics.  Furthermore, it’ll provide a useful B vitamin boost along with a range of key minerals and trace elements.

For small intestine resection:

  • This is where starch and sugar are digested and absorbed.  When this has been compromised, dietary starch and sugar levels need to be kept as low as possible to start with.  This means it’s best to avoid mixes so look for feeds which contain reduced amounts of starch.
  • Soaked high fibre feeds eg Speedibeet beet pulp

If the ileum is affected:
This part of the small intestine is where most of the absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins takes place. Such as vitamins A, D and E.  Calcium is also absorbed here and vitamin D influences the efficiency of calcium uptake.  Therefore any problems in this area may have a knock-on effect on the horse’s metabolism.

  • If compromised, the vet may need to inject these vitamins and dietary levels of calcium may need adjusting/increasing.
  • Avoid coarse forages, even after full recovery.

If the ileum is unaffected:
Feed oil as a concentrated source of calories to help keep meal sizes small.

NOTE: For any resections try to provide small concentrate meals and keep feeds as digestible as possible.

Reviewed and amended Feb 2022