Colic? Over 3 Mouthfuls of FOOD?

[beccachow]

We decided the old man, Buddy, had dropepd WAAAAY to much weight and needs some grub. So DH went out, seperated every one nicely, gave Buddy a small ration of soaked grain (just starting him out), and dropped small portions of grain in the other buckets to shut them up. Pelleted SR feed. He comes back in the house an hour later and claims Sunny the Palomino (only about 13 or 14) colicked after eating three mouthfuls. Backed up, pawed the ground, dropped and rolled, etc. He said he got a halter on him and he refused to get up. A neighbor saw and came in to help, as soon as the neighbor came in he hopped up...went over and started nibbling hay, and pooped. WTHeck? I say he choked mildly. DH insists it was colic. Anyone ever heard of a horse colicking on a few mouthfuls of food? If so, how do I prevent this again; they will HAVE to be fed. PS: Buddy horse has a history of choke, so I need to keep them all seperated so he doesn't feel threatened, though he IS kingpin. Thoughts???

[2horses]

I would bet choke more than colic - my older gentleman Hank choked three times, all on a pelleted senior feed (Purina Equine Senior), fed dry. Each time he pawed and laid down, he was uncomfortable and didn't know what else to do. I'm guessing your guy swallowed enough to push it on down and then felt better.

I am feeding a different senior feed now (ADM SeniorGlo), he can eat it dry without issue.

I would either soak it for everyone or not feed it to them at all.

[beccachow]

Hmm...you know, Sid did this last winter over hay. Other than the :doh" moment of They Need to be Floated that just hit me, I think it would be just as easy to soak a big old bucket full, give Buddy his bigger share and pour a handful of it into the other buckets too. Off to look up ADM SeniorGlo!

I hate to get a huge bag of regular grain just for the other two...they only get a handful, they are fluffy enough, and the mice love the stuff no matter how well I keep it!

[jill.costello]

Yup, they can & do throw themselves around and roll with choke. I never feed a pelleted feed without soaking it; it begins to expand the minute they salivate on it, and then continues to expand on the way down their throat! Not worth the risk when a squirt of water in each pan will prevent this....

[beccachow]

Yeah, DH likes to say I am the overly dramatic one, lol. I had it pegged for choke, Buddy is a frequent choker. But since I wasn't there, I will allow him his moment of believing himself to be right, lol. Both are truly frightening.

[Rogo]

All these years I've never experienced choke or colic. All I've ever fed is Bermuda and DE, both free choice fed, hay or pellets depending where I live, from foals on up.

The pellets are small and easily gummed by the oldsters with less teeth. No need to add water. Mountain Sunrise pellets from Utah and sold in the feed stores here.

I've never fed grain. And I know the DE is a big help towards good health. Perhaps never having to stall my critters has also helped.

My present mount is well filled out and 23 years old. Easily does the tough mountain rides. Never have had a skinny equine.

Glad you had a good outcome.

[beccachow]

Yeah, my are out 24/7 and they had round bales all winter PLUS boosters of good green square bales. They all looked GREAT. The Buddy did his usual March weight drop, I am used to it, he gets it all back by the beginning of April...then he dropped even MORE. I HATE to grain, HATE IT. I hate the attitudes, I hate the choke and colic, I HATE it. Hopefully he'll come back around for this Spring, but darn it all, I need to accept he needs more this winter . Worming is on the list, too. I will check into Mountain Sunrise pellets and see about it, if they offer it here.

Did feed them today, come to find out from my neighbor that the feed amount was quite a bit more than I had asked. A handful equals a scoop, apparently . Today Sunny got about 1/4 cup soaked just to have it, Sid got about 1/2 cup, and Buddy got about half a scoop. A few days and I'll slide him up to 3/4 a scoop, etc. But the rest only get a tiny amount, something to shut them up.

[farmergirl]

Both of our horses get soaked beet pulp with equine senior in the morning. One of my horses flings feed all over the place being silly if I don't soak the equine senior, so that's the way we've fed it for quite awhile now.
Together, the beet pulp and senior feed make what we call "horsie oatmeal"

[offthegrid]

I agree with the choke diagnosis. Both my mares will choke on pelleted feeds - my TB if it's dry; my paint if it's soaked. Never if it's dry, but perhaps it was wet but not soaked enough.

Anyway, I mix feeds now; I feed TC Lite most of the summer but with a cup of TC senior to help break up the texture. It seems to work perfectly.