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Spring
is in the Air -- Beware
New
green grass brings danger of Colic and Founder
Spring is in the air and the flowers, budding trees and
pastures turning green are a wonderful sight.
But all this new green grass can cause big problems for your horse or
pony. Horse’s digestive systems
are very sensitive to change. Like a kid in a candy store, some horses will
“pig out” on the new grass and the result can be a serious case of founder
or colic.
Colic is a horse’s belly-ache.
But a belly-ache in a horse is life threatening.
The first reason for this is because unlike humans, once food passes into
the stomach of a horse they can not vomit or regurgitate it.
If a human ate so much that the stomach could simply not hold or process
the food (or if the food was contaminated) it would come back up.
In the horse it continues to build acids and pressure causing severe
damage.
The second reason has to do with the
horse’s anatomy and lack of reasoning ability.
When you or I have a stomachache, we can reason that it is probably
something we ate or the stomach flu. We
generally take some medication and lie down to rest.
The horse however, only knows that it is in pain.
In their attempt to rid themselves of the pain, they will lie down and
roll from side to side. Because of
the way the intestines lie inside the horse, this violent rolling can result in
one of the intestines being twisted. This
makes any further passage of food and/or feces impossible and the horse will die
without surgery.
Early symptoms of colic include
tail-switching, pawing, looking back at and kicking at the abdomen.
It progresses very quickly to sweating, lying down and getting up
frequently, and rolling on the ground. If
you notice these signs call a veterinarian immediately.
While you are waiting for the vet, keep the horse on his feet.
Usually this requires continuous walking because as soon as the horse
stops he will want to lie down and roll.
There are many causes and types of
colic. If the horse has consumed too
much green grass the colic could be the result of an impaction in one of the
intestines as it tries to process the grass.
The carbohydrate load of the green grass can also change the bacterial
balance in the intestines, leading to the release of lactic acid and endotoxins.
This condition can also cause founder.
Founder (properly referred to as
Laminitis) is a disease that causes irreversible damage to the horse’s hooves.
The release of endotoxins increases the blood flow while constricting the
small capillary vessels that nourish the sensitive inner structures of the feet.
The result is a swelling of the laminae (the inner structures of the hoof
including the bones, cartilage, tissue, ligaments and tendons).
Since the outer shell of the hoof is rigid, the swelling compresses and
does more and more damage. If left
untreated the inner hoof structure will die and the horse will have to be
destroyed.
Ponies and overweight horses
have the highest risk of Grass Founder. Horses
that are pastured on lush fast growing pastures, especially pastures containing
clover and alfalfa, are also at risk. Founder
can also be caused by overfeeding grain (Grain Founder), allowing overheated
horses to drink large amounts of cold water (Water Founder), riding for long
periods of time on very hard surfaces such as pavement or cement (Road Founder),
or as a complication after foaling (Postpartum Laminitis).
Symptoms of founder are high fever,
chills, sweating, diarrhea, and rapid heavy breathing.
The feet will be hot and painful. The
horse will alternately pick his feet up, or he may lie down. If
you know where to find the pulse on the fetlock, it will be fast and pounding.
If you suspect your horse or pony is foundering, call the veterinarian
immediately. Do not make the horse
move more than necessary and get the feet in cold water if possible.
Do not let the horse eat. If
you have mineral oil on hand and can squirt it down his throat do so.
Your veterinarian will most likely administer it with a stomach tube in
amounts of 3 to 4 quarts per 1,000 pounds of body weight.
If your horse is never kept in
a stall and is does not have very fast growing grasses like clover or alfalfa in
his pasture, you do not need to worry about the new green grass.
The gradual rate that grass grows in, along with the fact that your horse
is eating it constantly and consistently puts him at very low/no risk of colic
or founder.
If you have a very overweight
horse or a pony – even if they are pasture kept most or all of the time –
you would be wise to take them off the pasture and feed them hay for part of the
day during this time of year. Some
ponies are so sensitive they can only be allowed one to two hours of pasture
time a day. You can gradually
increase the amount of pasture time so that by summer most horses and ponies can
enjoy unlimited pasture time again.
Another risk factor is whether or not your horse or
pony has foundered in the past. If a
horse or pony founders once, he will be predisposed to do it again.
The damage from a previous case of founder will leave horizontal ridges
that go all the way around the outside of the hoof.
Repeated cases will make the toe curl up.
All hooves will curl up in this way if left to grow untrimmed for
extremely long periods of time (like your fingernails would curl under if you
never cut them) but the severely foundered horse’s hooves may look like wooden
Dutch shoes even when properly trimmed. If
you are considering buying a horse that has these ridges or wavy lines on the
feet, be sure to have x-rays taken before you buy to determine the extent of the
damage to the coffin bone inside the foot.
If you have a horse that is stall kept and turned out
for part of the day do not suddenly turn him out for much longer periods of time
( 3-4 hour difference) because the weather is so nice. Wait until grasses are
fully established in your pastures and your horse has had time to adjust to them
before gradually increasing turnout time. If
your pastures are very lush, you may need to reduce turnout time for a month or
so, then gradually increase it again.
Happy Spring!!
Stable Eyes
