Hello, I desperately need advice for my boy Moses, he is a rescue in my care for 3 years now, he is approx 25 years old, weight is 1550, he has always presented with loose stools, gassy, and even squirting liquid several times a day. He does not have salmonella or any other gastro disease that I am aware of. He is up to date on worming, shots etc., however upon the advice for more fiber I added Speedibeet to his diet, he did great, even had an almost normal stool after 5 weeks. Well then he had a colic with impaction, he is in the hospital now, at Tufts, due to come home on Monday, thank goodness!!
So I am so afraid to feed him the beet pulp, and just want him to be happy and comfortable. I saw your recipe for a happy horse,would that work for him do you think?? In addition to his grain and pulp I was also giving him Platinum Performance Wellness Supplement and Bio Gest as a pro-pre biotic.

Could you please offer us some advice, we have a new start when he comes home and want to give him the best. We came too close to losing him and want to avoid that as long as possible. Thank you very much for your help.

***

Update on Moses: He had a setback this a.m., a colic incident and the vet found dirt inside upon a rectal exam. He is back on the IV to help force his system to flush things out we hope without surgery.

Needless to say I hope with all my hopes he will get through this and come home, and still need advice for his diet. Please and thank you for the help.

Soaked beet pulp is actually very good to help prevent impactions by adding more water to the digestive tract, so talk to the veterinarians at Tufts about doing back to this. I would not feed grain if at all possible. Then I would suggest very, very gradually adding oil to his meals. If it takes a bit of something "sweet" to get him to eat this that's fine for now. Very gradually increase the oil and try for at least 2 cups per day. The happy horse diet with alfalfa pellets or cubes and oil is fine too, but since he did so well on beet pulp I'd stick with that. If you want to use alfalfa I'd recommend the cubes, and soak them, so that you add more water. Tufts will probably have checked his teeth to be sure that he can adequately chew feed. If not, be sure your veterinarian does this. If you can feed as close to pure fat (which is digested and absorbed in the small intestine, and his diarrhea is most likely a large intestine problem) and fiber (which helps keep the large intestinal "bugs" happy) I think you will be very pleased with results. Good luck, and do let us know how things go!

Hi Dr. Valentine,

The vets at Tufts are insisting the Beet pulp is making Moses have more gas, that in general it can cause more gas. They are giving him small frequent meals of Nutrena Senior pellets and soaked hay cubes, mostly an alfalfa base, along with Psyllium.
Do I risk causing a colic incident by simply all these changes in his diet?? You feel the beet pulp is better than a senior feed with other forage? Now that the dirt has come to be a factor, they have proposed that perhaps the beet pulp caused this sand/dirt to move further through his system, causing more problems?? I just don't know what to do.
Thank you for your help.

Sounds like he may have some sand that needs to clear out. We'll all keep hoping for recovery without any need for surgery.

I had not heard this about beet pulp but I would listen to the veterinarians at Tufts, as they have more experience with diet and colic than I do. Basically the beet pulp is good because it is high in fiber. Senior feed and soaked hay cubes will be just as good. The frequent meals is also an excellent idea, and the senior feed is low in starch and sugar and high in fiber. If there is sand/dirt in his system this needs to clear, and fiber is the best way to do that. Psyllium can help here also. I don't think that the changes in diet they have made will cause any colic risk - what they are feeding is high in fiber and low in starch and sugar, which is a good thing, and frequent meals are a good way to try to help keep the system working.

Dr. Valentine,

Thank you for your advice and positive thoughts. Moses is still at Tufts, slowly getting some more out each day, surgery is still an option but trying to avoid it. While going through this with Moses I have really needed to analyze the diets etc. for all my horses. I also have a Percheron/Morgan, who is only 10, he is perfect except he has always been very tooty. He is also on a small amount of Gro n Win with Biogest, I would like to get him on a preventative EPSM diet as well and am deciding between Triple Crown Low Starch or Pennfields Fibergize. Which do you think is best, and I also have a Quarter Horse who is an easy keeper. Any suggestions for the gassy issue and food advice is great. I want to make the best educated decision and protect them all as best I can. Thank you again for your time and help.

Honestly, there are a lot of ways to achieve an EPSM diet these days, and the best products will be the ones you are happy buying that your horses are happy eating and that keeps them healthy and in good weight. Either the Triple Crown or the Pennfields would be fine with added oil. For easy keepers you might want to look for Lite feeds, or feed a straight fiber feed such as alfalfa or other hay products with added oil. I won't say this will reduce gas production, as some horses just do this more (and louder) than others, but it will help maintain good muscle health.

Dr. Valentine,

Sadly Moses passed on today, he and the vets tried so hard, but it was his time to join and make hoofbeats in the sky. Thank you for your thoughts and help.
When you could if you could advise me on my previous thread, in regards to the Fibergize or the low starch?? Thank you so much.

So sorry for your loss, Krista. I thought I'd add my two cents about those feeds. (Not the Pennfield, I never tried it.) I went with Triple Crown Lite over Low Starch for my horse because it is lower in calories but claims to provide all the vitamins and minerals they need in as little as 2 pounds a day. If weight control is an issue, Lite is the way to go. If it's available near you, Nutrena also makes a Lite feed that is similar to Triple Crown (I don't think the nutritional quality is quite as good, but the NSC's are even lower, 11% vs. 16% for TC.) I never got calorie info from Nutrena.

Purina Horse Chow is another decent choice in regard to price, calories and NSC's but it's not particularly nutritious compared to the other feeds.

If calories are not an issue, then, as Emily Latilla said: Never mind!

Krista, I am so worry to hear this. Everyone certainly did everything they could here, though. Gastrointestinal issues in any horse can be very difficult to treat, and problems become even bigger in drafts.

Krista... so sorry to hear about Moses, but he knows that you gave him the time and love with you that so many never get the chance for.
sincerely,
becki

Thank you to all for your kind thoughts and advice, I have never lost a horse before, it is such a huge loss, it hurts so much. In honor of Moses, my hope is that his passing could save another horse, please do a sand test on your horse, and use a sand colic product as needed. I did do this whenI first rescued him, but apparently he had this sand in him for so many years, that is why he had the runny manure for all the years, the Vets were amazed at the amount and how much pain he must have endured over the years yet he was always such a beautiful boy, gentle in every way with me and my children. I know I could not have saved him now, but only hope his loss can help another. Thank you.

Krista, you are doing every horse owner a tremendous favor to pass on such valuable information. Losing a horse is like losing a part of the family, for sure. Keep his memory in your heart....