Hi and thank you for this service,
I am not quite sure what to do and I thought you could help. I have a 4 yr old quarter horse who shares his lot with a goat. I have had this horse since Sept. and he coliced for the first time a few days ago. He at first went to his feed and ate some and then began rolling, kicking at his stomach and running. The vet came out and said it was probably gas pain. The next day he was fine till the evening feeding when he did not want any pellets, took one bite of hay, and then rolled and then stood still shifting his weight back and forth on his hind legs, he looked very uncomfortable and tired. Since then I have kept him off of his pellets (he was on 1 pound of patriot 14% and 1 pound of alfalfa pellet,with a half ounce growstrong mineral and 1 tbsp. fat supplement energy oil twice a day).For the past few days I have only given him brome and praire hay(which he has always had, in addition to his pellets) he has done fine with that for the past few days, I'm scared to give him pellets now. also the grass is starting to come up a little in his lot, but its just a lot not a pasture so i don't think that adds much to his diet. Will he be ok just on hay? I ride him about once a week but i plan on doing some speed events on him soon? I just want whatever is best for him,any advice would be helpful. thank you,
Cindy Sappok

Where are you from? Wichita, KS

How did you locate this forum? Through yahoo

Hi Cindy,

I'm sorry to hear about your colic episode. Colic is very frightening and can have many causes. Based on what you've told me, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the diet you were feeding. However, if the bacteria living in his hind gut are at all compromised, it can be problematic.

So, I would suggest a few things...

First, keep him on a hay diet (along with the pasture you described) as his main feed source.

Next, he will likely need some additional energy source, along with his supplements. So, some beet pulp would be a good idea. In his case, I would suggest soaking it.

And, finally, I would add Ration Plus to his diet to keep his digestive system in good working order.

Once you start working him more, his diet should be re-evaluated. I would especially like to delve further in the possible causes of his colic episode since it is important to know the cause in order to prevent a future problem. So, if you are agreeable, it would be helpful to coordinate a phone visit.

Keep me posted.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Dr. Getty,
Thanks so much for your reply, the info was helpful. He is still eating his hay and seems to be happy, but like you said he may need an additional energy source. I am still doing some research and keeping my options open, and I will keep you updated. Thank you so much again,
Cindy Sappok

Where are you from? Wichita, KS

How did you locate this forum? Through yahoo