Re: Enteroliths

[Kim <kim@redhorsetech.com>]

> Yeah but...   what about the fact that UCD is in the heart of the Sacramento
> Valley where (I'll bet) 95% of the horse owners feed alfalfa?  Not arguing,
> just wondering if this finding has been replicated in areas where other hays
> are fed, such as the Midwest where they feed Timothy and other grasses.

Hi there,

I "lived" at UC Davis for five years before moving to Lubbock, Texas
half a year ago.  Most of the boarding stables there fed around half
alfalfa, half oat hay (oat in the morning, alfalfa at night) with grain
supplementation usually provided only by the owner if needed.  The few
"keep-em-at-home" owners I've met did (for the most part) feed 100%
alfalfa, mostly because the short supplies of oat hay they can get isn't
very palatable for their horses, and ends up as bedding.  Not exactly a
much beyond a combined 200 rat (horse) survey, but hopefully a bit
helps!

Lots of research papers out there do indicate that much of the alfalfa
from California (especially from Southern California) have moderate
amounts of phosphorus, but is quite a bit higher in nitrogen, magnesium,
and calcium content compared to alfalfa from other regions of the US. 
FYI: The calcium in alfalfa is not usually used in formation of the
"stones", but instead is responsible as "buffer"; It has been suggested
that it is primarily responsible for dropping the pH of the large
intestine/colon, which provides a more suitable environment for forming
stones.

In this part of Texas (Lubbock is a bit over 100 miles south from
Amarillo (Panhandle)), most of the boarding stables feed half alfalfa,
half coastal burmudagrass hay.  I haven't seen a bale of oat
hay/timothy/anything-else here yet.  The alfalfa here certainly is not
as "rich" as the California alfalfa I'm used to feeding, by visual
appraisal (maybe a bad growing year in Texas?).  I certainly plan to
send samples to the lab for testing, just for my own curiosity's-sake.

Some papers are finding increased reports of enterolithiasis with other
vet schools in the US (many from the southern states and Illinois)---
possibly an increased awareness of this type of obstruction or ??? 
Research, if anything, is never ending ;-) --- there's always another
factor that needs to be studied!  

Back to the grind...


Kim

"Doughnuts and Pepsi --- Because breakfast is the most important meal of
the day!"