A horse in the throes of colic
When cold weather arrives, changes in diet and stabling often occur at the same time as changes in activity which can impact your horses risk of colic.
To prevent colic, it is important to be consistent in all areas of horse health care especially when cold weather brings major changes in feeding and activity levels. Since horses are grazers with relatively small stomachs and long stretches of intestine, they are meant to eat small amounts throughout the day with enough water to keep their systems hydrated and enough exercise to keep digestive motility active.
Follow these 10 tips to keep your horse free from colic:
- Establish a daily routine – include feeding and exercise schedules – and stick to it.
- Use slow feeder haybags, feed free choice or use other means to allow your horse a consistent supply of hay or forage material that can be eaten 24/7 and feed a high quality diet comprised primarily of roughage
- Avoid putting feed on the ground, especially in sandy soils where horses might ingest colic-causing sand..
- Provide exercise and/or turnout on a daily basis no matter what weather conditions are. Change the intensity and duration of an exercise regimen gradually, and be consistent in the amount of exercise time and intensity.
- .Maintain proper parasite control and routine dental maintenance to decrease incidences of colic.
- Provide access to clean, fresh water at all times since horses require large amounts of water to move feed material through their gut.
- In cold areas, warm your horse's water with a heater. According to research, horses prefer water that ranges between 45 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and will drink more water if it is in the proper temperature range.
- Add salt and trace minerals to the diet as the weather cools to keep water intake consistent and help to reduce colic.
- Check hay, bedding, pasture, and environment for potentially toxic substances, such as blister beetles, noxious weeds, and other ingestible foreign matter.
- Reduce stress. Horses experiencing changes in environment or workloads are at high risk of intestinal dysfunction. Pay special attention to horses when transporting them or changing their surroundings, such as at shows.