Re: RC: Re: Re:Psylium

[Pam Johnson <pam-john@ma.ultranet.com>]

I would really appreciate hearing from the vets on whether psylium is
effective or not.  I remade my paddock two yrs. ago and had a sandy clay
put down which my horse drags onto his mats. Even though I feed in a
haynet, when he cleans what falls onto the mats, I'm sure he is consuming
some sand. Should I be worried about sand colic? Should I periodically feed
psylium? He has shown no signs of problems so far.

Thanks,
Pam in MA


 I worked with over a 150 horses as a vet tech in the army  in Southern AZ.
>> I do agree that the best sand control is keeping hay in feeders, or off
>the
>> ground in someway to prevent the ingestion of sand, but we used the
>psyllium
>> on a regular basis for over a hundred horses at a time due to the poor
>> pastures in our area. The psyllium worked just find in the amounts
>> recommended by the manufacturer for removing sand. Some of the horses we
>> treated actually had passed entire piles of sand instead of manure. These
>> were horses that  had been purchased in Mexico and brought across the
>border
>> with tons of sand in them.  These horses were also "hardkeepers" or thin
>> horses until they started receiving the psyllium doses.   It may be that
>the
>> manufactuers doses will not completely remove all sand, but they sure work
>> to at least cut it down and help the horse in the long run.
>>  I don't have any experience with bran, I never used it with the grain
>> because of the high phosphorus content.
>>
>> Anna and Keith and all out critters
>> (horses) Hobo(the old man) Shy Ann (the Mule)
>> Lizzy (momma) and Lightning (baby)
>> (Basenjis) Lady Queen of the house, and
>> her two sons George and Iceman and finally
>> Lilly (the prairie dog)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> However, the amount of psyillium
>> > needed to treat the equine large intestine/colon would certainly be more
>> > that a couple of small scoops that come with many of the psyillium
>> > supplements.  Last veterinary recommendation I heard from UCD was a
>> > pound per day for at least consecutive three days.
>> >
>> > I have yet to see a definitive reason why bran mash is fed.  I've heard
>> > that it has a laxative property, but have not seen it for myself yet.
>> > Would really like to hear the other Ridecampers' experience.  Others
>> > state that the bran's fiber content is the key, but if the horse is on a
>> > ration composed of mostly hay or pasture, then there's plenty of fiber
>> > already.  I am not discounting the possibilities of its value, just
>> > haven't seen the results for myself :-).
>> >
>> > And, then some state that the sand will clear out on its own if the
>> > horse is provided ample forage and exercise.  In the sandy areas where I
>> > have worked, we've had horses that required treatment often, and others
>> > that did not ever have a problem with sand at all (and were never fed
>> > bran or psyillium).
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>
>
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=