RE: [RC] [RC] to blanket or not - Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M.
Thanks for the info, Susan. I do
feed about 30-40 percent alfalfa during the winter and during colder spells
(low 30s) I feed about 25 percent more hay, but it was someone else wondering
about acclimating their horse to colder temps. Anyway, in reading the
article that Patti referenced below, it got me wondering about impactions in
the cold weather from horses not wanting to drink very cold water, and someone
recently asking about giving fluids rectally. So I wondered, if you suspected a
horse were impacted would it help to give a Fleets enema, like we do with the
newborns? Or are they too small to be effective? Just curious.
Kathy
Oops, sorry, couldn’t keep track of
who started what questions. J
Fleet enemas are way too small to do any
practical good. If the horse is impacted, you really do need a vet to
administer large amounts of fluids via NG tube, IVs, whatever. Note in my
previous post re enemas the warnings and risks involved with trying to
administer an enema to a horse---about 2 years ago, I was on my way to see a colicky
horse at a local barn. I was maybe a half hour away, the horse needed
treatment but wasn’t critical, thrashing on the ground or anything like
that. A local shoer who shall remain unnamed (mostly because I don’t
know who it was, for which he should be grateful) told the owner, “Hey,
let me show you how to save a $300 colic bill”, stuck a hose up the horse’s
behind and turned it on. When I got there, the horse had a ruptured
rectal wall and probably ten gallons of water and feces sloshing around the
abdominal cavity. Yup, the owner saved a $300 colic bill and instead paid
it to the woman who hauls away dead horses. Nice work.
As for horses not drinking enough water
when it’s really cold, yes, they definitely drink more when it’s a
bit warmer than iceberg. They did good research on it in dairy cows as
well (because more water intake means more milk production) and found water
intake increases by about 10% (which is significant) when you raise the temp to
50-60 degrees Fahrenheit, or improve the water quality or do anything else to
make it more appealing. I realize warming water can be a good trick in cold
climates, but it’s useful if you can figure out how to do it and how to
pay the electric bill for having done it. When my guys were having to
break ice to get into their troughs, I’d try to get out at least once a
day and bring each a bucket of nice, warm “tea”---some alfalfa
pellets dissolved with some molasses in a bucket of warm water. They
slurped it down as a treat and at least got in an gallon or two extra a day.
