mild colic in weather changes

[krissy3]

Hello,

I have a mini that seems to have mild colic with weather changes. He is very wild , and is fearful of being touched...so when he lets me touch him while he is lying down , I know he is not feeling well. We have had huge tempature changes in the last few weeks ...snow one day , sun the next , then snow again , and big temp changes in the night. I have noticed someones poop is very small, and I think a lot of us agreed on another post that is due to not drinking enough water.

As of now , he is intertested in food, is walking around , is active, and not showing signs of pain , just sleepy , and letting me touch him. Whatever he has is very mild , and I will keep a watchful eye for changes. What do you think of a warm and very sloppy , watery mash for dinner tonight? Mash seems to make them drink a little more water for some reason , my mash mixture must have a little salt in it . They have plenty of water buckets with warm water. The ground outside is very wet with 6 inches of slushy snow, so that could explain him having an afternoon nap in the stall on dry bedding. I tend to make unnessesary vet calls , so trying to keep my head from spinning with this .He ate an apple , and walked up to me for more, I will make surprize visits , and if I catch him lying down again I will re think my calmness and call the vet. At this point it could be just a bored , little pony wanting an afternoon nap.

 

[wildoak]

Sounds like a warm mash would be a good thing, even if he's not feeling badly.

I tend to feed more beet pulp in the winter, and I make it extra sloppy to get more water down them. (and our winters don't hold a candle to yours lol).

Jan

 

[kaykay]

I have 2 mares that are very sensitive to abrupt weather changes. They both get a little gas colic. I give the minmal amount of Banamine to get them over the hump. The good thing is gas colic is one of the easier ones to resolve.

 

[Carolyn R]

Sounds like they could use some extra fluids. They do tend to change their drinking habits from season to season or with drastic temp changes.

I tend to side with the idea of overkill, LOL. 3/4's of the year my horses get wet feed (normal ration balancer and/or grain depending on the horse, mixed with water, 2:1 water /feed ratio) and I give them oil year round ,about 1/2 of an ounce per feeding. They don't really "need" the oil, but it gives them a great shiney coat and keeps the insides lubed up.

They also get free choice hay.

I think soaked beet pulp is a great way to get fluid in them, mine tend to do very well with just soaked grain. I do let the grain sit about tem minutes with warm water to fluff up.

 

[krissy3]

forgot about the oil , yes i agree with keeping things smooth in there. will add a bit to the mash. I did have a check on him and found him at the hay bag chewing away on some hay. I think it was an over reaction on my part , but will still get a bit of warm water in via mash , he did poop , and it looked "A-OK". Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[mysticalpark]

Sounds like they could use some extra fluids. They do tend to change their drinking habits from season to season or with drastic temp changes. I tend to side with the idea of overkill, LOL. 3/4's of the year my horses get wet feed (normal ration balancer and/or grain depending on the horse, mixed with water, 2:1 water /feed ratio) and I give them oil year round ,about 1/2 of an ounce per feeding. They don't really "need" the oil, but it gives them a great shiney coat and keeps the insides lubed up.

They also get free choice hay.

I think soaked beet pulp is a great way to get fluid in them, mine tend to do very well with just soaked grain. I do let the grain sit about tem minutes with warm water to fluff up.

What type of oil do you use?

thanks,

Nicky

 

[Carolyn R]

I use the veg. oil from Sams club. 5 gallons for $23, or whatever veg oil is on sale if I can't get to Sams club. I pour it into a 1 gallon container and use a 1 oz pump from Tractor Supply (1/2 a squirt). Corn oil is great too, but it gets too thick in really cold temps.

 

[Marty]

I think it was an over reaction on my part

Don't second guess youself. Go with your gut instincts.

I also think you can't go wrong with a sloppy mash. Good luck.

 

[cre]

We have a mare that does a little belly cramp dance whenever the barometric pressure changes drastically. After many vet checks & bills.... a little banamine, a quiet night in the stall with some hay & water & everyone is happy in the morning.

 

[muffntuf]

When it gets really cold up here in MN and my kids are not drinking as much water, I start up oil as well. I use soy oil, its cheap and does a great job. I feed wet beet pulp all year if I can. Sometimes when it is really below it will freeze on them, but they have something to do all night then.