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I've been feeding the same year and area's bermuda, and I'm curious as
to how the vet is able to attribute increasing colic cases to the
bermuda specifically. Not to necessarily say he's wrong, but unless
he's hearing specifically from the Chino hospital that all they're
taking out of equine guts are steel wool pads of bermuda strands, I'd be
curious. Especially as the alfalfa this year has been exceptionally
rich and green, and the weather VERY weird, plus the un-irrigated So Cal
pastures are getting dry and brown (I know Carl doesn't think sand is a
colic problem, but the So Cal vets do, including as a seasonal problem),
I would be suspicious about other factors as well as bermuda.
Seems to me if someone was really all that concerned about bermuda, they
could feed it in a pellet rather than hay form. Since the primary
alternative to bermuda around here is alfalfa, I'd be alot more
concerned about the increased risks associated with straight alfalfa
than I would be with risks associated with feeding bermuda.
Of the people who had colicky horses being fed bermuda, I'd also be
curious to ask about their feeding practices---alot of people that would
never switch quickly from grass hay to alfalfa will do the opposite very
quickly and think nothing of it. The gut microflora associated with
digesting bermuda is different from that for digesting alfalfa, oat hay,
etc, and may be a factor as well.
Just my opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary.
Susan Evans Garlinghouse
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