Sand Clear, Sand Colic?

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

Hi Everyone--

I finally got around to getting fecal egg samples done on our horses. The vet said that there is a large amount of sand in the feces. I find this very unusual because the horses are out on fairly lush pasture, not a dry lot. The area where the horses are kept is "normal" soil, no sand. Where could they be picking up sand? I picked up the samples off of a dirt stall--could that be the problem?

The vet recommended doing Sand Clear. I have recently been reading up on it and their seems to be a lot of mixed reviews on the effectiveness of psyllium Fiber. Some ideas indicate if the sand is coming out is okay.... I'm not really sure???

Any suggestions or ideas would be great.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

You asked for and presumably paid for your Vet's advice. If you doubt the Dr.'s competency, then I would encourage you to either ask the Dr. to explain the opinion or find a new Dr. whom you deem to be more competent.

Your question is a husbandry issue which must take into account more than 1 fact (sand in the manure). Your local area issues including dirt quality and grass content along with intimate knowledge about how animals are kept on your particular farm including housing and feeding and a history of animal illness on your farm/area.

I encourage sand clear at times, but studies do not show it to be a cure-all for sand colic nor is it needed for every horse exposed to sand as not every horse will come down with sand colic given the same exposure.

Dr. Taylor

 

[stormy]

I don't think there is any perfect treatment for removal of sand in the gut...have read excercise, mineral oil drench and psyllium all help. I do know that both of my veterinarians, my local vet and the vet hospital I work with for major emergencies, treat sand colic with psyllium and recommend use of a psyllium product once a month. I have a high level of confidence in my veterinarians, do use sand clear or a similar product monthly and also feed outside horses on rubber mats.

 

[shorthorsemom]

If my vet ran a fecal and saw sand and recommended me try some sand clear, I would do it or pick a similar product and give your horse that. Its not expensive and your vet is good to mention that they saw sand in a routine fecal for eggs. I would also recommend that you run another sample after treatment and check for sand again. You can also check for sand youself, the directions on how to mix and decant off the fecal matter and look for sand are available on the internet.

Horses can eat dirt or manure of other horses. Dirt and sand can also be in your hay. you can soak your hay and look for dirt or sand in the bottom of the container. I had one hay supplier that overly raked his hay and he baled dirt in it. I changed hay suppliers for this reason for fear of sand colic.

You should have mineral block or loose available if you find out your horse eats dirt. I never thought oil did a good job of removing sand which is why psyllium is recommended over drenching and oil.

best wishes

 

[bevann]

I have LOTS of experience with sand.IMO many Minis pick up dirt and sand even on lush pasture since they seem to graze closer than big horses.If it rains(we had LOTS this spring and summer)the ground is soft and roots of the grass are easily pulled up by Mini teeth.The roots will ALWAYS have dirt or sand and the Minis eat the whole plant and are ingesting the dirt/sand with the plant matter.I feed a pysllium product DAILY to many of my horses.I use a product called EQUUS which is a pellet that smells like licorice.Mine will eat it right out of my hand.As previously said often times hay has some dirt/sand in it.If your vet could find sand in the fecal material it is there and often means there is more inside the horse since sand is heavy and tends to lay of the bottom of the intestines. Use a product and get rid of it,.Much cheaper and less stressful than a vet call for a sand colic.

 

[shorthorsemom]

yep, I have also heard that if the sand is showing up in the fecal that there is more inside the horse than you would think. Better safe than sorry.

I am interested in that product mentioned above if it is more palatable than sand clear. My guys are very suspicious of anything added to their feed. Pelleted additions work best for me as my feed is also pelleted.

The equus pellets are reasonable priced and got a 4.9 star rating. hmmm, might try that for my guys sometime.

 

[Riverrose28]

I see that you live in my home state of Maryland. It may not be visable to you, but, horses will eat dirt as others have said. I just went through the worst colic that I have ever seen, one of my mini mares was thrashing about so bad that she tore the hide off of her hips and scraped up her face. I was only using sand clear twice a year, now I add some to grain once a week, and will do the 7 day treatment every three months. I never want to go through that again. My vet arrived within 45 minutes, it was the longest minutes of my life as my mare was weak in the rear end, didn't want to stand or walk. I was so thankful that i DID have some banimine on hand or I think she would have twisted a gut. I live in Southern Maryland and am close to the river, but really don't see sand around except at the beach, but obviously my horses are eating dirt from somewhere. If your Vet sees sand in a fecal, I would certainly try to sand clear, before one of your babies colics. It really wouldn't hurt them, and you can buy it at TSC or your farm supply or Southern States, it's not exspensive.

 

[Debby - LB]

"I picked up the samples off of a dirt stall--could that be the problem? " it may not be "the" problem but it is a problem..never do a fecal with manure that has been on the dirt.

The best thing I've ever used to move the dirt out is a product called Assure plus.

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

Update: I spoke with the vet today and she said that the amount of the sand in the feces depends on how the horses eat. My mini and big horse were normal, but my aunt's horses were high, despite all being kept on the same property in VA. She said that there is more sand in the soil than you think. I will make sure the ones that need it get Sand Clear this week then I will do another test next week to make sure they are more cleared out.

Thank you for the suggestions.

 

[bevann]

shorthorsemom I had several Minis that would not eat Sand Clear.NEVER had a Mini that would not eat EQUUS.It smells great-just like licorice.Mine would eat a 5 gallon bucket of it if I let them.It is in pellet form.I order 150 lbs at a time so I'm never out of it.Many of the catalog and on line stores sell it.Never found it in any of my local feed stores.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Thanks Bevann, I am going to try it. I just thought it was my guys that hated the sand clear. love this forum and the endless supply of new ideas to try. thanks for posting.

 

[BSharpRanch]

My vet has told me to just use the generic brand of Metamucel. I usually get the Wal-mart one that is orange flavored. I put a small amount of oil on the grain (which they usually just get when medicating) shake to oil coat the grain then add the psyllium, shake well and feed. Repeat daily for three days to a week depending on the sand load in a test 12 hours after the first dose.

 

[happy appy]

This is what I use and my horses love them!

http://www.metamucil.com/metamucil-fiber-wafers.php

 

I live in Florida, and my 'pastures' have no grass -- they are dry lot and pure sand -- no dirt that would grow anything.

In all my years here in Florida (since 1981), I've never had a sand colic, but on the recommendation of my vet, I feed all the horses a generic psyillium granule that I get at the Purina store in a huge bucket that comes with its own scoop. The horses are fed 1/2 the scoop measure of psyillium once a day for 7 days each and every month without fail, and I believe in the stuff. I used to use both SandBlast or Sand Clear, but it was too expensive, and the generic granules worked just fine. I put it on top of their grain, and they wind up eating it all, or almost all. If there is some left, I still add the next dose, and by the end of the week, everything is gone from their feed bins, so I know each horse has had the full dosed treatment.

JMHO ~~Diane at Castle Rock

 

[Lloydyne]

I live on the beach and my horse has coliced once. I give him 2 tbls Walmart brand plain psyillium once a week. Seem to never have problems anymore.

 

[Tab]

Horses love plain metamucil. It tastes like plain sugar. The recommendation for use once monthly is a good one. They can get gassy from too much psyllium product.

 

[MyMiniGal]

I did the floating of the poo test, yesterday. First time doing it. We had about 4 balls of poo. Since it was my first time doing that. I wasn't really sure what we should be seeing, at the bottom of the bag. There was some tiny hay pieces, mostly. I felt for grit, and all I could feel was possibly 4 grains of sand...if that was what I was feeling. So does this mean, that Halo doesn't have much sand in her? I bought some Sand Rid, the other day, and do plan on doing that as a precaution, but wanted to see if she had any sand in her, at this time. When a horse has a lot of sand, is there a lot, at the bottom of the bag, when doing this test?

 

[disneyhorse]

You can feed 1/4 cup of whole flaxseed twice weekly (like Saturday and Sundays) instead of psyllium and it's pretty palatable when mixed in feed.

 

[stormy]

The sand test doesn't neccesarily mean they have no sand in their system if it comes out clean .... just tells you if there is sand there you definately have sand moving thru your horse...sand can sit in the gut not moving then suddenly break loose and start moving thru.