My filly bloats when she eats grass

[minis3]

She always does. It doesn't matter if she is in the pasture for 15 minutes or 2 hours. She bloats. My 2 geldings are in the same pasture with her and this doesn't happen to them. She has never had colic and this bloating does not seem to cause her any discomfort. My horses are usually in their drylot and only get pasture a few times a week. And I always start them off slowly in the spring with short times in the pasture. Meant to ask my vet about this but I always have so many questions for him that this one I forgot. Does anyone else have a horse that bloats this way? I watch her like a hawk for hours after I bring her in from the pasture and she has never had any colic or problems with this bloating. It just looks like it would be uncomfortable.

 

[Loess Hills]

We have a mare with a similar problem with grass bloat. We really have to limit her time on grass............about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, with hay and grain besides. (She's nursing a foal)

Spring is a particularly serious time with the rich grass. One day we let her out an extra half hour and she ended up with gas colic. Her symptoms were quite different than the traditional colic. She just laid down in her stall and wouldn't get up! We took her out, walked her, called the vet and ended up taking her in the trailer to the vet. The trailer ride must help, because along the way she pooped, and seemed to feel better. Her temperature was slightly elevated and she really didn't want to walk around. He said that sometimes horses don't show the classic colic signs like rolling and acting very uncomfortable. Sometimes they just lay down, and that is exactly what happened to her. A shot of banamine helped her feel more comfortable, and then we just gave her dry hay until the morning. As the pastures dry up later in the summer and fall we will be able to leave her out longer with no problem.

 

[minis3]

Thank you Loess Hills for your reply. She has never shown any signs of colic and has never laid down either. All 3 of my horses take a good nap when they're back in their drylot but always standing. I appreciate your response as I now will know to watch for her laying down after she has grass. Your experience has given me something new to watch for that I wasn't aware of from a grass bloat. Thank you so much. If she happens to lay down at any time after having grass I will know there is quite possibly a problem.