My Minis Broke Into the Tack Room!

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

Well, i think everybody knows i am a little overreactive, and today was another one of those days,

My grandmother was supposed to let the horses out this morning, and close the tack room gate. THe tack room has ALL of my tack and feed.

Well, she forgot to close it this morning, and when we came home at 6:30 today, it was COMPLETLY RUINED. ALL of my boxes of supplies and blankets were stepped on and dumped. The hay was everywhere. They made such a mess, Jazzy got stuck in the back and probably was there for a while. All of the goats alfalfa was gone, some of the stall mats have been chewed up, and i just had to throw out some squares of hay, they totally destroyed it, so much its probably not good for them to eat.

All of them are bloated. Colic is a big issue for me, as my friends horse died from unknown ulcers and colic 2 yrs ago. I walked all 3 of them for 30-45 min. They seemed really happy, and they even trotted sometimes. Of course, as immature as i am, im bauling. The worst always comes to mind for me, will they make it through the night? IF they do have colic. I know the symptoms of colic, as Bentley almost had colic last year (drooping head and eyes, slow when walking) none of them are showing signs of any (an example of me overthinking things,)

I might just be tramatized by there bloated bellys. I have worked SO hard to get that belly off, and seeing it again makes me feel defeated......

They ate dinner fine, just 2 cups of grain for B, 1 1/2 for Jazzy and 1/2 for Devil as always. they didnt get alfalfa. And they wanted MORE!!!! FAT PIGS

Im not giving them any alfalfa tonight or tomorrow morning and will give them a normal dinner (grain and alfalfa)

I guess my question is--is the walking for 30-45 min all i can do for them to not have a chance at getting colic, or is there something else? I need to get rid of the chances, im leaving early Friday morning for a show! AND, is there any way i can get rid of the bellys, or does it go away on its own?

 

[Minimor]

Did they get into the grain, or just the hay? If just the hay I wouldn't be too concerned about colic. I suppose it could cause a problem if they don't drink enough water & the hay was very dry, but I wouldn't be as concerned as I would be if they had pigged out on grain. If what they ate was a lot of alfalfa you could see some colic just due to the discomfort of loose bowels caused by the laxative effect of the alfalfa...I have seen that only once, in one of our Morgans that ate a helping of very green alfalfa pellets & they gave him cramps....again, I wouldn't be too concerned about any serious, life threatening colic. Also, if they ate a lot of alfalfa you may see some diarrhea. Any ill effects should have come and gone before Friday morning. Do try not to worry too much--chances are they are going to be fine. (My answer will be some different if you tell me they ate 2 bags of grain as well!)

An overload of hay will certainly give them that bloated look, but it should pass once the hay goes through their system--I wouldn't think you will see any long term bellies from it--not from a one time gorging! I'm not entirely sure how long it will take for the bellies to go away again--I would think they will be slim again by the time you get to the show.

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

They just pigged out on hay and whatever bit of alfalfa was left, like, half a square, so no grain, we keep our grain in a tool box, meant for the back of a truck just for that reason. By dry hay, do you mean like coastal hay? Because thats what we have, i was feeling Devil all over and he seemed to have a problem with me touching his flank area? Was that cramping, i tried after the walk and he didnt give me a big problem, just seems really tight?

 

[Minimor]

I'm not familiar with coastal hay...I was thinking of a very dry grass hay, not real green, maybe a bit coarse, that's the most likely thing to cause impaction, especially if there isn't enough water intake. One thing about them eating free choice through the pile of hay--they will have eaten the choicest bits and left the rest--and if they ate some alfalfa that should help to keep things moving. Devil probably doesn't want you touching him just because he's stuffed and feeling FAT--much like if you really overate on thanksgiving dinner and you sat back and said ah, I couldn't possibly eat another bite...you wouldn't want someone pressing on your full tummy either. LOL (been there done that!!) If one of them gets crampy you will see him fidgeting, perhaps stomping his hind feet, turning around to look at his belly, lying down, getting up only to lie down again, possibly rolling, stretching, switching his tail, any one or more of those symptoms--at that point he might refuse food because he's too uncomfortable to want to eat. If the alfalfa causes cramps you may hear loud gut sounds from the increased gut action. Make sure they have all the water they want, and see that they are drinking--water intake will help to keep the hay moving through without any impaction.

Check on them a couple times in the night, but I really do think they will be fine.

 

[chandab]

The only thing I'll add is that even though they didn't get into the grain, I probably would have skipped the grain meal after their day of gorging on hay. Shouldn't really hurt either way, just my preference to skip the next grain meal after a gorging such as you mention.

 

[Marty]

I agree, and I'd be doing a lot more walking. So sorry this happened. Hope it will all be ok.

 

[shalakominiatureshowhorses]

Thanks for the advice! Everybody is fine and we are leaving early tomorrow for the show. When i was trotting them to dry off from their bath, they bucked and jumped with glee! They feel fine thank goodness. I think they are as excited as i am to get to the show!!!